High Points, Fast Tracks & Hidden Gems in Talladega

Talladega had been on our radar for a while, and with a solid plan in place, we were excited to dive into everything this corner of Alabama had to offer. Over the course of 11 days, we checked off some big bucket-list items: exploring the Talladega Superspeedway and its rich NASCAR history, reaching the highest point in the state, and hiking through some truly beautiful parks.

In this post, we’re breaking down our time in Talladega day by day. From the Motorsports Hall of Fame to the track tour and the Walk of Fame, plus local museums, trails, and small-town discoveries, it was a packed and memorable stay that gave us a deeper appreciation for this underrated spot in the South.

Day 1: Tuesday Arrival

Tuesday was our drive day from Mississippi and it was relatively unremarkable. We headed out a little later than planned because Josh had a meeting run long, but it wasn’t too bad. When we got to our campground, we saw right away that two RVs on either side of our site were together, since they were hanging out in the gap between them that was supposed to be our spot. When the staff came to check us in, they asked if we were ok with them moving us to a more open area and we definitely were. We ended up having a neighbor on just one side, then on just the other side, and then no neighbors throughout the time we were there. We were able to save 20% on our reservation here through our Harvest Hosts membership now that they’ve bought out CampersCard.

Day 2: Wednesday Groceries

Wednesday was grocery day. We ended up at the Oxford, AL Walmart and it was really nice! We always judge new towns by their Walmart, and this one definitely passed the test.

Day 3: Working Late on a Thursday

Thursday we didn’t do anything interesting, which usually happens once or twice a week. We’ve said it before, and I’m sure we’ll say it again- full time RV life is still regular life and not everyday is fun and exciting.

Day 4: Friday at Choccolocco Park

Friday we decided to check out Choccolocco Park, a city park in nearby Oxford, MS. We were originally interested in their disc golf course, but it was a field course and the sun was brutal that day. But, I was very excited to see that they had a couple of Indigenous effigy mounds! We’ve visited effigy mounds in multiple states now and they always fascinate me.

Choccolocco was a Muscogee Nation town that was first settled around 100 BC, but the area was used by Indigenous Peoples since 8,000 BC. The earthen mound here was started around the same time as the original settlement. The stone mound in the park was originally on Signal Mountain, and was part of a larger cultural landscape that included several other mounds too.

There is a full interpretive trail around the park’s mound and past the two mounds with lots of signs telling the history of the site. One of my favorite parts to learn was that when the city started planning the park in 2007 they actually worked with the Muscogee Nation on developing the interpretive trail and have developed a relationship to work together to share the tribe’s history.

Day 5: Saturday High Pointing and More

On Saturday we headed out for our main event of the trip- summiting Alabama’s high point at Cheaha State Park. At the high point itself there’s a stone tower built by the CCC and a small museum. The park also has a nature center and Native American Museum (but that wasn’t open until later in the day). We did some hiking too- to Pulpit Rock, Rock Gardens, and Bald Rock. The views here were pretty incredible! We also hiked the Bigfoot Leave no Trace Trail, which has signs teaching you about LNT and also Bigfoot cutouts hidden along the trail- definitely a quirky walk!

After Cheaha, we headed back to town and decided to get lunch out at Mellow Mushroom. We had driven by here a few times and were intrigued by the giant mushroom statues outside. It ended up being really good pizza! It’s a small chain, but neither of us had ever had it before.

After lunch, we did a round through the antique mall next door, then decided to finish the afternoon with visiting the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. We were camping just down the road from Talladega Speedway, so this was our first racing-related activity of the trip. The Hall of Fame museum was really cool! There are tons of cars here, and not just regular race cars, but also prototypes and specialty ones.

Some of our favorite cars were one of Dale Earnhardt’s cars (left) and the wonder Bread car from Talladega Nights (right).

Day 6: Sunday Museums

Sunday was a rainy day, so we drove over to the town of Anniston for some indoor activities. On the same campus are the Anniston Natural History Museum and the Berman Museum. We started in the natural history museum and it was so much better than we expected! We figured it’d be your typical small town natural history museum, but it was so well done. We were especially surprised and amazed by the very large Africa exhibit. These kinds of taxidermied specimens are usually only in big museums in major cities! Apparently they were all donated by a local man, and they have some signage explaining where the specimens came from. 

The Berman Museum itself ended up being kind of a let down, it just wasn’t as well designed as the natural history museum. The story behind the museum is actually more interesting than the exhibits in my opinion. Farley Berman and his wife were both spies, who then spent decades traveling and collecting all sorts of interesting objects. Eventually they donated their collection of antiques, oddities, and weapons to form the Berman Museum of World History. The center photo is one of the most famous objects on display- Hitler’s silver tea service.

After the museums we did one last quick stop to see the World’s Largest Office Chair next to a furniture company downtown. (Spoiler alert: we also saw a giant chair in Georgia too)

Day 7: Monday’s Walk of Fame

On Monday we had some errands to run in town, but added in a quick stop in downtown Talladega. This is the Talladega Walk of Fame and is a really nice memorial and small city park.

Day 8: Tuesday Hikes

Tuesday we decided to go hiking so we checked out the Coldwater Mountain trails. These are multiuse biking and hiking trails and were pretty nice! They have a great system, too, where bikes go one direction and hikers go the other direction.

Day 9: Wednesday’s Talladega Track Tour

Wednesday was the day for our big Talladega activity- a tour of Talladega Speedway. This ended up being such a great tour! We had a great guide and the two other people on our tour were fun to hang out with too. We all hopped on a bus at the Hall of Fame and then rode over to the track next door. We went up to the Tower Extension and had a great view of the track. Josh is a big NASCAR fan, but even for me (who’s not) it was really interesting to see behind the scenes a little. After the tower, we headed back to the bus and rode down to the Garages where they host the Garage Experience during races. Just driving in a bus through the actual stadium was wild, but don’t worry, it gets even better. After checking out the Garage, we grabbed some photos at the Winners Circle. Then we all got back on the bus for the grand finale- a lap around the track! This was definitely a bucket list worthy experience. Seeing the corners up close and how straight up the lanes go was so amazing and definitely put things into a new perspective. If you come to Talladega, either for a race or not, you definitely need to do a track tour!

Day 10: Thursday Meetings

On Thursday Josh had a big meeting for work, so it was just an at-home day.

Day 11: Friday Move Day

Friday we packed up and moved to Georgia- our last high pointing state for a while! This ended up being an unexpectedly stressful drive, but we’ll save those stories for when the Georgia recap post, so check back soon!

As Harvest Hosts Affiliates, we earn commission on qualifying purchases.