Noccalula Falls Park & Campgrounds

This is a beautiful 250 acre park with the main attraction being a 90 foot waterfall is all owned by the city of Gadsden. During droughts there may only be a trickle, but after a hard rain, there’s an unbelievably strong cataract!
There is plenty of free parking, and the falls is only about a hundred feet from the parking lot. There are lots of walking/​biking trails, camp grounds, gift shop, botanical garden, and several beautiful photo opportunity locations. The park also features a petting zoo, mini-​golf course, the Gilliland-​Reese Covered Bridge (built 1899) and a replica 1863 C. P. Huntington train ride.
The bronze statue beside the falls is a young Cherokee woman (Noccalula). According to legend, she lept to her death after her father’s attempted marriage arrangement to a man she did not love.
Overall, it’s a great place to visit, and the best part, IT’S FREE!

This is a famous falls near Gadsden Alabama. It is the biggest and most beautiful park in this town. The falls is currently dry. I can imagine it is a big fall come to snow melt or raining season.
Noccalula Falls Park & Campgrounds was name after an Indian tribe princess. This fall is a sad story. The princess love other guy on the tribe but the chief promise her to another tribe. She cannot bear it and jump to the waterfall. This fall then is name by the chief to remember her.
The fall currently no water. There is a path can go to behind the fall. When there is a lot of water, the water of the fall is like sheet of curtain. That trail behind this sheet of water will be awesome. The fall is 90 feet height. Imagine you can stand behind this water curtain.

I don’t know about the «primitive pioneer» crap. I didn’t understand why that was there. Why not have Native American stuff set up? Who cares about spinning wheels and old log cabins? Princess Noccalula was an Indian! …
Seeing the lady lion in that tiny fenced in area is miserable. I hate it for her. I hate zoos. God.
Hearing all the rednecks talk about how they wanted to murder the sweet deer in the petting zoo made me want to murder them. «Looky thar, Tiffany! A deer! Imma get me in sum thar target practice har har har har! Imma hang heem on mah mantle!» Die turds.
Feeding the llama is cute. There are sheep and goats too. All the birds trapped in tiny cages in the barn makes your heart hurt. Don’t go look at that. :(
But the 1 good thing about the parks is the Gorge trail (I think that’s the name) which leads you down behind the fall. There was no water in whatever that is that runs alongside the trail (a creek?) so the amount of rocks you could climb around on is amazing! There’s rocks everywhere! And who doesn’t love climbing around on big boulders? Always fun!!!
You can go all the way under the falls and then cross over some rocks in the creek (if the water is low) and get back on the Gorge Trail.
Apparently you can also climb down the rocks from up top where the Noccalula statue is. Several people did that. We didn’t go to that area so I’m not sure what was up there.
There’s Indian crap in the gift shop like feathers and tomahawks. You shouldn’t buy that. You know those rednecks eat it up, though. :(

This place was much better than expected. When i arrived we parked and headed toward the ticketing building, paid and jumped on a train. First stop was a petting zoo which my wife loved. Animals everywhere and baby goats that were so cool.
Next we hiked down to the bottom of the falls. I really wanted to swim but the water was extremely cold and I also had to help out my 80 year old father-​in-​law who hiked down with us. He did a great job and i glad we all made it back to the top safely.
After the hike we went up to the top of the falls and it is very cool. My second time in Gadsden and didn’t even know this place was there the first time.
Glad we got to see it.

We ate at Jack’s (great chicken tenders!) and then walked over here. I wasn’t even aware that there another section of the park that you pay for. I don’t think that I would have, not when we could get such a great view of the falls and hang out on the bridge over the river for free.
A quick meal at Jack’s and a stop to walk around the falls was a great way to break up the drive on our road trip.

Great spot. Has a little of everything for the family, especially if you love the outdoors. The trails aren’t extensive, but they are great for a good run, bike, hike. My daughter loves the petting zoo, and a family season pass is a steal if you plan on returning more than once during the season.
The only criticism is the rather «ho hum» nature of the campgrounds. With so much beautiful scenery, it seems a waste that all camping is confined to an area with no views, but it’s a minor criticism since everything in the park is within walking distance.
The park might also benefit from a deli or sandwich shop. There is a Jack’s, but that’s not really my idea of picnic or outdoor food. A Subway is nearby, but only walkable if you want to cross a very busy stretch of road.

Loved this piece of Alabama!
It is very easy to reach, very accessible, very well kept, and with this fantastic view of the fall!
You can either walk down the fall and enjoy it in its all beauty.
Great park, I’ll go back there soon

Visited this park on Saturday past and had a really good time. The falls are awesome both from the top but even more so when viewed through the gorge trail on the bottom. The park is a nice place to get some piece and quiet and reconnect with nature. The petting zoo was so — so, but all in all it was interesting. The train ride around the park was rather «cheesy» but very enjoyable. We plan to return to hike the gorge on both sides of the creek. It was about a two (2) hour haul from Huntsville but well worth the change of pace.
We also drove around the campsites as we RV quite a bit. The sites were literally packed next to each with minimal if any spacing… it resembled an RV storage lot, not so good. The facility did sport a super nice pool with deck, bunk house and it is within close proximity to support services and restaurants. Might utilize for a one night stop over, but the closeness between rigs really concerns me…
In closing this was a very enjoyable day trip that can be accomplished in a day. You can obtain hours of operations at
and further info at. Cost was minimal for entry, we paid $ 4.00 bucks a piece and they offer multiple discounts. Enjoy.

Had a great time at Noccolula Falls! My family rented the two cabins (only 2cabins) for a graduation weekend that also happened to be Memorial Day weekend. I was pleasantly surprised at the accommodations!
Cabins: VERY spacious! Had a open air front porch with beautiful rockers and a swing and a screened back porch with rockers. Also on the back porch, there is an uncovered/​unscreened portion with a grill! Both cabins are 2 bedrooms with 1 bathroom. Cable tvs, a full kitchen and a stacked washer/​dryer top off the amenities. There’s really good parking too. I think we had 6? cars back there. It’s a private road too so you don’t have to worry about random people riding around the cabins. One cabin does have a ramp so it’s wheelchair accessible.
Campground: Since it was such a busy weekend, we were able to see the campground at full capacity. I’ve never seen so many rvs and tents! People seemed to really be having a great time. There are also restrooms, a laundry room and a private swimming pool designated for campers only.
The Falls: BEAUTIFUL! The falls are right off the parking area so you don’t need hiking gear to see them. Kinda cool because everyone can enjoy them.
Our family had a wonderful time. We’re actually planning to meet here once a year. Great place!

Went to the Black Creek Trail to see the Noccalula Falls Park with Noelle Lori-​Elizabeth Teel, Sammi Hunt, Morgan, Dale Tony Vanoy… and we had a great time
We have actually been here once before this trip in June 2013 and would definitely go back again.
The park is free to enjoy. The parking lot is large. Once we got out of the car, we got out of car and walked over the wooden bridge. The park is lovely, with kids playing and people strolling around and a few picnics going on. The high fence around the gorge opening and waterfall. It is amazing.
Here is a little history of the falls and the indian maiden statue.
History:
Noccalula Falls Park is a 250-​acre (101-​ha) public park located in Gadsden, Alabama (USA).
The falls are located on land once owned by R.A. Mitchell, who gave the site to the city of Gadsden, so that the area could be improved, and the public could enjoy the falls. R.A. Mitchell Elementary School, named in his honor, is located across the street from the falls. The main feature of the park is a notable 90-​foot (27-​m) waterfall with a gorge trail[1] winding through its basin and past caves, an aboriginal fort, an abandoned dam, pioneer homestead, and Civil War carvings. The park also features a petting zoo, mini-​golf course, the Gilliland-​Reese Covered Bridge (built 1899) and a replica 1863 C. P. Huntington train ride. It was listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on May 12, 1976.[2]
The falls drop itself has been run successfully in whitewater kayaks at least once in late November 2011 by three expert kayakers. The water level was unusually high permitting a deep enough pool to form at the base of the falls. Ordinary water levels would not form enough of a pool to consider an attempt to run the drop.
The Noccalula Falls Botanical Gardens is an extensive botanical garden displaying over 25,000 azaleas
Noccalula Falls, which drops into the Black Creek ravine, is marked with a bronze statue[1] of Cherokee maiden Noccalula who, according to local legends, plunged to her death after being ordered by her father to marry a man she didn’t love. The bronze statue of Noccalula was, at the time of its creation, the first statue of a person jumping off a cliff. This legend is much similar to Princess Winona. The bronze used in the statue was made from pennies collected from local school children in the mid-​1960s.
Although no peer-​reviewed historic journals have evaluated the veracity of the legend, at least one independent researcher[3] has published evidence suggesting that the story is apocryphal.

The waterfall was very pretty and I was thankful to all the rain we’ve had lately for producing such a large supply of falling water.
Do I think it’s worth $ 12 for two people just to see the falls? NO. I wish we had known that you really only get little access to see the falls from the actual park. Unless you’re able to hike down the trial to the lower portion of the falls, you’ll only get a short segment of sidewalk that provides a view of the falls from above. The rest is closed off by gate because it’s open to the public for free. We REALLY wished we had known that you can park very close to the falls and see it for free. You’ll actually be able to get closer to the mouth of the waterfall if you do this (the part that was not accessible from the park).
The park itself would probably be more fun for kids and photographers. There’s a train and a petting zoo and plenty of beautiful scenery. We didn’t take part in the train and zoo.
We did walk through the ‘Pioneer Village’, though it doesn’t really offer any educational value. It would have been cooler if there were signs explaining the history of the buildings and maybe if you could go inside more than just a couple of them. The buildings are obviously refurbished models, unless they had pressed board back then, if you think they did then sure they’re pretty authentic.
The walking paths are wide and pretty well kept. There weren’t a lot of divots or washed away portions. Though there are a number of small hills and the surface of the paths are small gravel. So if you have difficulty walking I would suggest a cane or a walking partner. There are benches throughout the trails to rest, some covered. Be careful though we sat down on one of the covered benches and found ourselves face to face with a large hornets nest!
It would be difficult to maneuver over the gravel and railroad tracks and up some of the hills in a manual wheelchair. A power chair seemed to handle it ok but some portions like the cobblestone pathway and covered bridge make for a bumpy ride. There are certainly areas where accessibility could be improved but for a park with walking trails it was better than what I expected.

This park comes with a bit of nostalgia for me. My family is from Gadsden, so we spent many Sundays roaming this park.
For children, it’s fantastic. The train, mini golf, and the huge playground will keep any kid busy for hours. As an adult, I enjoy the peacefulness of the falls and general quiet that comes with some areas of the park.
Sadly, they got rid of the «spinny house» that I spent many hours upside down in as a child.