Camp McDowell offers many opportunities for resting and playing.
Lots of porches to sit on, tennis courts, hiking trails, a swimming
pool, and canoes are available to our group. Additionally, we will
offer a few organized field trips in and around the Bankhead National
Forest. Members of the Huntsville Grotto (home of the National
Speleological Society) plan to survey Bankhead caves during the days
and welcome the assistance of Blitz volunteers. A special treat for
participants arriving on Sunday, August 10 will be our trip to see
300,000 gray bats emerge from Sauta Cave National Wildlife Refuge
(www.fws.gov/sautacave/).
North Alabama offers a variety of opportunities for outings on your
own. The Bankhead National Forest includes the 25,000-acre Sipsey
Wilderness Area with over 46 miles of hiking trails and fishing and
early spring canoeing opportunities on the Sipsey Fork Wild & Scenic
River. Bankhead offers numerous historic sites, scenic waterfalls, a
shooting range, and boating, fishing and swimming at recreation areas
on Lewis Smith Lake. In Decatur, Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge is
a must see. In Huntsville, youÕll find the National Speleological
Society headquarters, botanical gardens, and the US Space & Rocket
Center. In nearby Tuscumbia and Florence, you can visit the Alabama
Music Hall of Fame and the birthplaces of Helen Keller and W.C. Handy.
If you are traveling through Birmingham, the Birmingham Civil Rights
Institute and Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark are not to be
missed. North Alabama is rich with caves, both commercial and agency
owned. Russell Cave National Monument, Cathedral Caverns State Park,
DeSoto Caverns, Rickwood Caverns and Three Caves are within a few
hours of Blitz headquarters.
Visit www.alabamamountainlakes.org for
more tourism information.