Alabama’s Black Belt: A Tapestry of Culture, History, and Nature

The Black Belt offers groups a rich journey through Southern heritage and natural beauty

Named for its blanket of dark soil, the picturesque Alabama Black Belt region spans 23 counties across the state from Mississippi to Georgia. This fertile earth has long yielded a bounty of wildlife, and its waters are a wellspring of world-class fishing.

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The Black Belt is also home to watershed sites in the struggle for civil rights, where the great-grandsons and granddaughters of enslaved people risked their lives and changed the course of history. The area also features lush ecological diversity and a wealth of rural Southern culture, from world-renowned Gee’s Bend quilts to legendary country and blues music.

Here are some of the top attractions in The Black Belt of Alabama

Harper Lee

The Black Belt was home to Monroeville’s Harper Lee, who wrote the internationally acclaimed book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee was a native of Monroeville and lived there until she died in 2016. Her hometown was the inspiration for the fictional Maycomb, Ala., where the beloved characters of To Kill a Mockingbird came to life. Make plans to visit Maycomb, where the beloved characters of To Kill a Mockingbird like Scout, Jem, Boo Radley, and Atticus Finch come to life in the annual stage adaption of the book. Performed each spring in the old courthouse, it allows attendees an opportunity to transport themselves back to the time of the book’s setting.

Gee’s Bend Heritage Trail 

The first phase of the trail features new trail markers commemorating the 10 Gee’s Bend quilts that appeared on US Postage Stamps in 2006, with large-scale, full-color images of each quilt alongside a biography of its maker. This trail includes one-on-one, hands-on activities with the renowned Gee’s Bend quilters. The Gee’s Bend quiltmakers are a group of women and their ancestors from the Gee’s Bend area of the Black Belt, whose quilts are celebrated as some of the most significant artistic contributions to American art history. Earning international recognition and acclaim, exhibitions showcasing their work have been held in museums and galleries across the U.S. and beyond. Gee’s Bend quilts are now part of the permanent collections of more than 40 museums across three continents.

Outdoor recreation

The Black Belt is a fabulous place to enjoy the great outdoors. Your group can enjoy a day of whitewater rafting, canoeing/kayaking, fishing and hiking/biking. Flowing for 194 miles from its headwaters near Birmingham southwest through five counties, the Cahaba River is the longest free-flowing river in the state. Visitors can enjoy the river’s natural beauty at the Cahaba National Wildlife Refuge and the Alabama Scenic River Trail.

Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center

Black Belt Treasures is based in Camden, Alabama. The organization was started with the objective to stimulate the economy in Alabama’s Black Belt region through the sale and promotion of fine arts and heritage crafts, as well as the provision of arts education opportunities. Since opening in 2005, Black Belt Treasures has grown from representing 75 artists to over 450. These artists are comprised of talented painters, sculptors, potters, basket-weavers, quilters, woodworkers, plus more. Groups can take pottery workshops at the center.

James Beard winner Scott Peacock’s Biscuit Experience

Biscuits are a beloved symbol of Southern cooking, wrapped in both tradition and legend—and few do them better than James Beard Award-winning Chef Scott Peacock. His celebrated biscuits have graced the covers of Gourmet and Food & Wine, been featured in Better Homes & Gardens and The New York Times and showcased on The Martha Stewart Show and TODAY. In its 40th anniversary issue, Food & Wine even named his biscuits among the 40 best recipes ever published.

In Marion, Alabama—the heart of the state’s historic Black Belt—Peacock opens the kitchens of the historic Reverie mansion for intimate, small-group workshops on the art of traditional Southern biscuit-making. In each half-day session, he shares his philosophy and techniques, guiding participants to create their own perfect batch. Using heirloom ingredients sourced from the Alabama farms and lands Peacock has worked to restore, guests gain a rare chance to learn the secrets of classic buttermilk biscuits while tasting flavors that echo the lost culinary heritage of the South.