Beautiful and informative. They even have a small gift shop. Make sure to watch the short movie about the canyon.

One of the best visitor centers we have been too. The staff is so nice and informative. They told us the best trails for kids and the gift shop is really nice as well. read more

Little River Canyon Center - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Fort Payne, Alabama

Love this place! Such a beautiful spot & super awesome staff. I always stop at the falls & at the welcome center when I drive by on road trips. Great place to use the bathroom & stretch out your legs with an awesome view! A must see for sure! read more

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Awesome Place! Great Waterfall and Super Nice Boardwalk! This is a real gem to find on the side of the road! What a much boardwalk setup they have created here to see these majestic falls roaring endlessly over the rocks! This was the highlight of our day of chasing waterfalls and we also saw many other good falls that day. There is lots of parking and it's a nice drive through the countryside to get there. read more

Little River Canyon Center - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Fort Payne, Alabama

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Little River Canyon is a great stop if you're ever in Alabama. We went after we visited Desoto Falls and it was a great addition to our day trip. There is a overlook space however, there is no where to go down to the falls floor. (At least no where that we could see) It's handicap accessible, short and sweet if you ever just want to catch a cool view in Alabama! read more

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Awesome spot to get to a waterfall quickly for an excellent view. It's handicap accessible as well. They also have some trails nearby to see different parts of the river which are fun to checkout. There's even a swimming hole area as well. This is worth a stop even if you only have a few minutes just to see the beautiful waterfall while passing through the area. There's a visitor center as well, but it's closed because of the pandemic right now. It's dog friendly if your dog is on a leash. read more

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Such a natural beauty. I can't say I have ever seen a place so pretty in nature before, and so many look out points to view the canyon and falls. read more

Little River Canyon Center - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Fort Payne, Alabama

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Well done Jacksonville State University and the NPS! Excellent partnership between JSU and the park service, providing educational and research opportunities to the community. If you stop in - and you should - take in the 15 minute video that explains the functions of the center. They apparently do events here, too, such as the wedding that was being set up when I was there. There's a small gift shop. BTW, this is not the Yelp listing for the preserve itself. That's here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/little-river-canyon-national-preserve-fort-payne-2 read more

Little River Canyon Center - Cool benches out back, made from sections of an old bridge. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Fort Payne, Alabama

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Sunday, March 2nd, Tony and I visited the Fort Payne area and visited the Little River Canyon National Preserve. Here we saw the Little Canyon Waterfalls, and we also traveled around the Rim of the Canyon for some really spectacular views of the canyon and the Little River below. It is beautiful@@ and it is FREE so you should definitely visit. There are picnic tables at various overlooks to enjoy. I highly recommend this gorgeous drive and its only a few hours outside of Nashville. An easy day trip... Little River Canyon National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located on top of Lookout Mountain near Fort Payne, Alabama, and DeSoto State Park. Created by an act of Congress in 1992, the nearly 14,000-acre (5,700 ha) preserve protects what is sometimes said to be the nation's longest mountaintop river, the Little River. The canyon was historically called "May's Gulf", "gulf" being a common term throughout the Cumberland Plateau for this sort of feature (e.g. Savage Gulf in Tennessee, or Trenton Gulf nearby in Georgia, now renamed "Cloudland Canyon"). The canyon is sometimes said to be the deepest canyon in the United States east of the Mississippi River. Prior to being assigned to the National Park Service, the canyon area formed the southmost unit of Alabama's DeSoto State Park. read more

Little River Canyon Center - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Fort Payne, Alabama

Great waterfall and basically no hike. You park and you are right at the waterfall. The scenery is stunning ! We loved this place a lot it's so relaxing and gorgeous. Don't miss this place if you like waterfalls or nature. read more

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We have been here many times when visiting the canyon. They have different activities throughout the year for the kids. It is very clean and well maintained. read more

Talk about some waterfalls in all its natural beauty. LIttle River Canyon is breathtaking site too see, and also offers good short trails along the river takes you too different views. This occasions I went with friends lived in Rome, Ga drove little over hour half too get here. We first stopped at the Service Headquarters too get maps for the trails and lot of information about this National Preserve just added too the National Park System in 1992. We parked near the highlight or the main waterfall the Little River Falls. It truly something amazing see all that water rushing down and seeing people relaxing just like going too the beach up on top or look way down on the base of the waterfall. I thought seeing not only all these people going too the beach but on the upper river see bridge above with cars passing by just adds too the unique experience. We decided too take the trail too the Martha Little Falls. It close too mile but really takes less then hour. Still its nice short hike down and back. Its not that rough most part all flat surface, and roughest part would be the decent down too the Martha Falls look of rocks need watch your steps. Once you get down another site too see thinking everyone at the beach again. You see people diving off rocks at three separate areas since for most part the water deep enough the whole area. They mention LIttle Falls this Martha truly defines LIttle compare too the main falls not even half or quarter of the size. Still pretty cool. One that not much of nature person. I enjoy hiking the few times I do. Too stop by National Preserve truly gives you appreciation for the land we live in. Nothing better then some rock or cliff diving into mother nature (natural river no chemicals but the earth we live and walk on). If get chance sure place that would recommend check out like trail walking for going on river day in the sun. read more

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Swimming holes simply don't get better than this: Massive but still accessible waterfall? Check! Deep, clean, rock bottomed oasis for swimming/floating/relaxing? Check! Breathtakingly beautiful surroundings? Check! A little hike to make the reward of water that much sweeter? Check! This little gem is not to be missed if you are passing through and is worth the drive if you are in Birmingham, Gadsden or elsewhere within ~80 mile radius. An easy, carefree drive is totally worth the payout of this place. I drove from Birmingham and even spending just a few hours here was totally worth the journey. I can't wait until the next time I'll be back. read more

Little River Canyon Center - Perfection - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Fort Payne, Alabama

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This place has some good old fashioned burgers yum yum so if your looking for burgers that is close to being home made this is pretty close

We had such a great time! Beautiful view, definitely worth the stop. Will update my review with photos soon!

This place is so absolutely breathtaking! Always enjoy being outdoors without the hassle of people overbearing you.

Everyone was helpful and even offered several suggestions for trails after asking some questions to give us good options.

Little River Canyon National Preserve advertises itself as the Grand Canyon east of the Mississippi River. It doesn't disappoint. At about 600 feet deep and even wider across, it is a surprise to find tucked away at the base of the Appalachian Mountain range. If you merely drive along the road across from the LRC Center, you pass so many overlooks, both marked and unmarked, on the winding road. There are picnic tables at the marked stops where you can eat lunch, relax, set up your camera when you've forgotten your tripod. The road leads to an area where you can pay $3 to park and then swim with less dangerous waters. At the head of the river, near the Center and Little River Falls, there is an area to walk around and view the falls from a boardwalk. If you want to get in the water, there is "Blue Hole," an area across the street from the boardwalk at Little River Falls, but the entrance is rather hard to see when driving from the Center, and it is a bit of a small area. Personally, I swam and hiked down to the river at Martha's Falls. There was a short walk that was rather steep at the end to get to the water, but I have been having knee and leg problems and was still able to make it down, but I did so with care to avoid slipping on rock/mud/clumsiness. The current was rapid, but had plenty of room on the shore for people to sit and sunbathe on the rocks, relax, put their things, etc. The water was nice and cold. There were areas to jump into the water. HOWEVER- I would NOT recommend jumping into the water unless there are locals there who can tell you where to jump and if you are able to check out the area you're jumping into first. The LRC Center was a neat area that we stopped at for info, bathrooms, a short informational video about the opportunities in the area, and some drinks. While there we met Pete, who was either owner, or manager of the Center and he was more than kind and helpful. I really enjoyed the Little River Canyon. It's great even when you're staying 10 miles away at Desoto State Park like I did. I am still amazed at the hidden gem that is in the mountains of Fort Payne. read more

Another breathtaking example of the beauty to be found in Alabama. Little RIver Canyon is unique because it flows for most of its length atop Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. Forested uplands, waterfalls, canyon rims and bluffs, pools, boulders, and sandstone cliffs offer settings for a variety of recreational activities including fly fishing I'm told. Backcountry camping is allowed only in three locations off Little River Canyon: Slant Rock, Hartline's Ford, and Billy's Ford. The Little River flows for almost its entire length down the middle of Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. Over eons of geologic time, Little River has carved out one of the Southeast's deepest canyons as it winds its way from headwaters in Georgia before exiting the mountain and emptying into the Coosa River (Weiss Lake impoundment) near Leesburg, Alabama. Legend has it that a minor Civil War skirmish occurred on the rim. The main stem of the river is formed by the confluence of the 17-mile-long (27 km) East Fork and the 25-mile-long (40 km) West Fork. The Little River flows another 23 miles (37 km) from the confluence of the forks, through the canyon, to its end at Weiss Lake. The river boasts three major waterfalls: DeSoto Falls, Little River Falls (at the beginning of the canyon), and the seasonal Grace's High Falls. The last-named falls into the side canyon created by Bear Creek and is Alabama's highest waterfall at 133 feet. read more

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First time here it was very nice, clean bathroom and friendly staff. Miss Mary Cooper was a breathe of fresh air. She was very sweet and informative. She told us about everything we can do and everything we had to do! I look forward to making trips out here. read more

The parkway drive was very amazing, packed with scenic overlooks and beautiful scenery- I couldn't believe I was in Alabama! Wish we would have done this sooner during our yearly drives up to mentone, Al to drop our daughter up at summer camp. If you want to get in the water at the falls, bring some good water shoes/sandals because they rocks underneath are sharp and slippery. A definite must if you're in the area!!! read more

This federal facility has a nice little visitors center with a friendly employee there. Unfortunately, we visited on a foggy morning, so there wasn't much to see for most of the canyon. However, we did make the short drive from the center to the main attraction here, the large waterfalls. The recent rains made for an impressive falls. The is a wooden platform walk that leads you to a great view of the falls, and is just a short walk from the parking lot. Would love to come back and visit the rest of the preserve on a clear day. read more

Nice cozy RV park. Laid back friendly people. Lots and lots of shade. Not far from little river canyon and DeSoto state park.We will be coming back read more

I remember when I was a teenager, me and my brother and sister and friends would go there to have a fun time, this brings back memories. I have heard it has changed for the good and I'm glad because when we was going there it was not safe but now it is. It a beautiful place that family's would in enjoy now. Go check it out if you are in the area our take a vacation there . read more

Nice place to swim,get some natural way waterfall massage and make some cliff jumping. Need some basic climbing skills to go to waterfall.

Despite what Google says about the hours this place is open 10am-4:00pm Monday-Saturday and 1:00pm-4:00pm on Sunday. The Little River Canyon Center is an $8 Million visiting center building owned by Jacksonville State University and home to the Jacksonville State University Field Schools as well as the National Park Service. The building is LEED certified Silver for sustainability, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. You are greeted at the door by some very friendly people and offered a quick tour and to watch a film(about a 15min runtime) of what the Center is all about. The movie is a high production film experienced in an actual HD theater room. You can also just stop by to use the restroom (restrooms are extremely clean and nice) or enjoy a book with a cup of coffee in the library room. The building is full of useful information like trail advice, scenic road maps for the falls and canyon, hiking information, kayaking information, and more. You may rent many different rooms in the building for meetings, birthdays, events, formats, weddings, or whatever els you want. The back of the facility is beautiful and has an amphitheater concert stage equipped with LED lights and an event parking lot for the venue. Beginner hiking trails are also on the back of the building. Located on the grounds but detached from the facility are camp grounds normally booked for small retreats and group bonding experiences. The campgrounds have bathrooms and bathhouses. If you're ever stopping by to see the falls I recommend you stop by this place it's only on the other side of the bridge no more than a minute drive. read more