Noccalula Falls Park & Campground - Gadsden, AL - camp around an invigorating water fall

The Kiwanis Pavilion and Office of the Noccalula Falls Park and Campground is located at 1600 Noccalula Road in Gadsden, Alabama. Individual rates of admission to the park are $6 for adults, $4 for those fifty-five and over and $3 for children aged four to twelve. There is no charge for admission for those aged three and below. All rates are $1 less for those that have twenty-five or more in their group.

With proof of residence city and county residents can purchase season passes for $15. The rates of admission to the park include the entry, unlimited train rides, fall viewing, pioneer village and the botanical gardens. Each aspect of the park offers a unique experience to visitors.

The Kiwanis Pavilion which serves as the main office for the park is open from 8am until 4:30pm Sunday through Saturday. Noccalula Falls Park is open from 9am until 5pm the 1st of March until the 30th of May and from August 31st until October 12th. The park is open from 9am until 7pm May 31st through August 30th and 9am until 3pm from the 13th to 31st of October. The park closes November through March with the exception of Christmas at the falls event.

There is also the Noccalula Falls Campground which is a part of Noccalula Park. The park and campground are included in the Parks and Recreation Department of Gadsden. The park covers two hundred and fifty acres that include the water fall on the land that R.A. Mitchell once owned. Mitchell gave the land to Gadsden to allow everyone to enjoy the falls and enjoy the area. The R.A. Mitchell Elementary School which was named for him can be found across the street from the falls.

Noccalula Falls Park and Campgrounds most main feature is the 90 foot waterfall with a gorge trail that winds through the basin past caves, an abandoned dam, pioneer homestead, Civil War carvings and aboriginal fort. There is a replica of an 1863 C.P. Huntington train ride, the Gilliland-Reese Covered Bridge that was built during 1899, a mini-golf course and a petting zoo can all be found at the park. There is even a security gate to keep visitors to the area safe.

There are over twenty-five thousand azaleas in the botanical garden at Noccalula Falls. There is a bronze statue marking Noccalula Falls which drops down into the Black Creek ravine. The statue is of Noccalula a Cherokee princess that legend says fell to her death after her father ordered her to marry a man she was not in love with. When the statue was made it was the first to show someone jumping from a cliff and is made from pennies that were collected during the mid 1960's from the local school children.

Anyone in the Gadsden, Alabama area with an appreciation for natural beauty and history should make it a point to visit the Noccalula Falls Park & Campground. Additional information about the area and the policies of the park can be obtained by contacting the city's Parks and Recreation Department.