A day trip to Huntsville: the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and more

Huntsville is about 45 minutes from Guntersville, and it makes a great day out. This is the Rocket City, where the rockets that sent astronauts to the Moon were designed, and its space museum is one of the best in the country. The city also has a pleasant downtown, good food and a mountain park.

Morning: the U.S. Space & Rocket Center

Head straight for the U.S. Space & Rocket Center when it opens, before the crowds. Start in the Davidson Center, where a real Saturn V moon rocket hangs above you, then walk out to Rocket Park and the Space Shuttle exhibit. Allow at least half a day, and more with children.

Afternoon: downtown Huntsville

Drive about 10 minutes to downtown for a late lunch. Walk around Big Spring Park, with its pond, bridges and the spring that the city grew up around, and the streets of old houses in the Twickenham Historic District nearby. Huntsville was briefly Alabama’s first capital, and the site where the state’s first constitution was written in 1819 is downtown.

Evening options

• A ghost walk: evening walking tours tell the stories of Huntsville’s old houses and streets.
• Food and drink: the city has a lively food scene and plenty of craft breweries. Try North Alabama’s white barbecue sauce.
• Monte Sano: for a sunset view, drive up to Monte Sano State Park on the mountain east of the city.

Tips

• Buy tickets ahead: on summer weekends and in school holidays, online tickets save time at the museum.
• Leave early: the drive is easy, but traffic around Huntsville can be heavy at rush hour.
• Space Camp: it runs separate programs that must be booked well in advance; a museum ticket does not include it.
• On the way: you can stop at Cathedral Caverns on the drive back if you leave Huntsville in the early afternoon.

Back at the lake, see our weekend itinerary for the rest of your stay.