The Alabama Tourism Department unveiled a 16-panel Alabama Scenic River Trail brochure at a press conference at the Riverwalk in Montgomery on Thursday. The brochure is a marketing tool that showcases the newest recreational destination for kayakers, canoeists and boaters. The brochure has information on outfitters that provide equipment and excursions, historical landmarks along the river, maps that pinpoint sections of interest and locations of campsites along the 631-mile water trail — the longest in any single state in the country.
“The brochure is an important marketing tool for the river trail,” said Alabama Tourism Director Lee Sentell. “According to 2006 research by the Outdoor Industry Foundation, in just the four states of Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and Mississippi, an estimated 700,000 people canoe or kayak; we hope to attract these outdoor enthusiasts to the Alabama Scenic River Trail and the brochure is a great place to start with getting them here,” added Sentell.
Tourism officials provided media with copies of the publication and
provided details about the upcoming June 6th grand opening activities.
The trail begins in the northeast part of the state from the Georgia
state line, sweeps through Montgomery and flows through nine lakes
before passing through Mobile Bay, and ending at historic Fort Morgan.
“For the past two years, the Alabama Tourism Department has been
working with volunteers, other state agencies, outfitters, Alabama
Power and the U.S. Corps of Engineers in the effort to help the Alabama
Scenic River Trail Association create and launch the trail,” said State
Tourism Marketing Director Grey Brennan. “The 2006 State Tourism
Campaign, Year of Outdoor Alabama was the spark that helped create the
scenic river trail. The campaign led to Alabama Scenic River Trail
Association volunteers partnering with the state tourism department to
create this great recreational opportunity,” added Brennan.
The brochure was designed by State Tourism’s Art Director Tommy Cauthen
and is available free of charge from the Alabama tourism website at
www.alabama.travel or by calling 1-800-ALABAMA. The opening ceremony of
the Alabama Scenic River Trail will be held June 6th at 11 a.m. at the
Montgomery Riverwalk.
Scenic River Trail gains national attention
“A big part of the appeal of the trail, however, is the opportunity to see nearly a whole state, rural and urban, Appalachian and saltwater coast, on a single designated waterway.” — from the feature travel article in The New York Times, May 16, 2008. http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/travel/escapes/16american.html?ref=escapes
There will also be an item on the Scenic River Trail in the Friday, May 23 edition of USA TODAY.