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All the United States Alabama Huntsville

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Huntsville

7 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Huntsville, Alabama

Updated June 29, 2023

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Unusual Attractions in Huntsville

Dead Children’s Playground

Huntsville, Alabama

Dead Children's Playground

What else would you call a playground hidden in Alabama's oldest and largest cemetery?
The Grave of Miss Baker

Huntsville, Alabama

The Grave of Miss Baker

Bananas are often left for the first monkey America ever recovered alive after being launched into space.
Pathfinder and MPTA-ET from the right near sunset.

Huntsville, Alabama

Pathfinder and the MPTA-ET

It may look like no more than a full-scale model, but every part of this full Space Shuttle stack had a working role in aviation history.
MPTA-098 with Pathfinder and its previous companion MPTA-ET.

Huntsville, Alabama

MPTA-098

A propulsion engine testbed that paved the way for the Space Shuttle launch sits without recognition at this rocket center.
Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment

Huntsville, Alabama

Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment

Once a bustling cotton factory, this early 20th-century building is now home to a thriving artspace.
Sign and chimney.

Huntsville, Alabama

Hotel Monte Sano

This 19th-century hotel and spa hosted famous guests like like the Vanderbilt family, William Waldorf Astor, Helen Keller, and Jay Gould.
Permanently Closed
Close up of the T-Rex head from the left.

Huntsville, Alabama

K’REX

This 12-foot-tall T-rex is the largest K’Nex skeleton sculpture in the world.
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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

4 Monuments to Alabama’s Beloved Animals

Maybe you love your cat a lot—maybe even enough to commission a little painting of your furry companion. But the people of Alabama can do you one better. Here, you’ll find a whole cemetery devoted to hounds, a heartfelt memorial to a fish, even a statue of a pest that drove farmers batty before it also spurred them toward ingenuity. Alabama knows how to fete Fido, as well as his scuttling, swimming, and spacefaring compatriots.

View Itinerary
The boll weevil monument is a grand celebration of a tiny critter.

Explore Huntsville, Alabama

Space Exploration 4
Animals 2
Aircraft 2

Huntsville Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. Robert Rose
    3
  2. emilydmonson
    1
  3. Traveling Maven
    1
  4. earth2tonya
    1
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Add an unusual place to Huntsville.

Places Edited

  1. Collector of Experiences
    6
  2. Scott Terrell
    4
  3. Robert Rose
    3
  4. lysha
    2
  5. Matthew H Ward
    2

Places Visited

  1. ski queen
    7
  2. Traveling Maven
    7
  3. emmymackattack
    7
  4. SirCloopy
    6
  5. Nate13
    6
Join the Ranks!
Visit a place in Huntsville.

Recent Huntsville Activity

  • avaaulenbacher

    wants to go to Dead Children's Playground

  • metzman1966

    has been to MPTA-098

  • metzman1966

    has been to Pathfinder and the MPTA-ET

  • metzman1966

    has been to The Grave of Miss Baker

  • tuber0488

    has been to Dead Children's Playground

Stories About Huntsville

Matthew Niemiller spotted the first Shelta Cave crayfish in more than 30 years when snorkeling in May 2019.

To Rediscover a Rare Cave Crayfish in Alabama, Grab a Snorkel

Thought for decades to be extinct, the tiny animal has stayed hidden in a former subterranean speakeasy.
by Sarah Durn
June 17, 2022

Podcast: The Grave of Miss Baker

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
March 25, 2021
The spring pygmy sunfish, blue and ready to breed.

A Tiny Alabama Fish, Twice Declared Extinct, Lives On Near a Car Factory

The spring pygmy sunfish and a Mazda Toyota plant are going to be neighbors.
by Sabrina Imbler
January 6, 2020

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