USA TODAY FEATURES ALABAMA’S JUNE WALKING TOURS

May 27, 2009

USA Today highlights Alabama’s June Walking Tours as part of a special travel article in the Life section. The article appears in the Friday, May 22 weekend edition of the newspaper and includes a photo of a home on the Decatur Walking Tour.

The walking tours take place every Saturday in June, include thirty towns from Florence to Ozark and are free. The Alabama Tourism Department has been coordinating the tours for the past six years.

A variety of community leaders will lead the one-hour guided tours through historic districts and courthouse squares each Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. The tour guides will share personal memories of growing up in their hometowns.

Towns and starting places for the June Saturday Walking Tours are: Ashland, High Point Coffee & Books; Athens, Limestone County Courthouse Annex Parking Lot; Birmingham, Civil Rights Institute; Butler, Jackson’s Jewelry and Gift; Centerville, Bibb County Courthouse; Cullman, Cullman County Museum; Dadeville, Tallapoosa County Courthouse; Decatur, Old State Bank Building; Demopolis, City Hall; Enterprise, Rawls Hotel; Fairhope, Fairhope Welcome Center; Fayette, Fayette Historical Depot; Florence, various starting locations; Gadsden, City Hall Gazebo; Gilbertown, The Village Shoppe; Guntersville, Chamber of Commerce; Hartselle, Downtown Historic Depot.

Huntsville, Alabama Constitution Village (June 6 & 13 only); Madison, Clay House Museum (June 20 & 27 only); Mobile, Cathedral of Immaculate Conception; Montevallo, Chamber of Commerce; Montgomery, Downtown Train Shed; Ozark, Confederate Monument/Courthouse; Prattville, Autauga County Heritage Center; Scottsboro, Jackson County Heritage Center; Selma, Selma-Dallas County Public Library; Sheffield, Sheffield Municipal Building; Tuscumbia, ColdWater Bookstore; West Blocton, Cahaba Lily Center; Wetumpka, Chamber of Commerce.

The tours are coordinated by Brian Jones with the Alabama Tourism Department. “Alabama is the only state in the nation to hold statewide, simultaneous walking tours. The beauty of the June Walking Tours is that any community, whether big or small, can do this. We have done more than 900 walking tours since the beginning of the program six years ago and they keep increasing in popularity every year,” Jones said.

Details are available at www.alabama.travel or by calling 1.800.ALABAMA (242.2262).
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