Desoto Falls Picnic Area-DeSoto State Park — Attraction in Fort Payne

This is a pretty place, but we expected to be able to swim. You can swim, but there is no beach or shallow place to jump in. It's more like a rock on the side of the lake'ish area beneath the falls, and you jump in from the rock like from a dock in a lake. I'm not sure how I feel about docking a star for not having more user-friendly facilities because it's just a very pretty place and I don't think the beauty of the place would benefit from a lot more people.

The trail to the falls area (the river trail) is rocky, downhill, and technical. Don't take it if you aren't okay with that, and be sure you have good shoes. We took our swimming stuff but once we got there we saw there was no easy place to get in so we didn't swim. We admired the falls and hiked back out, and then hiked the overlook trail. We would have then hiked the bluff trail but our teenager was less interested.

Worth the short hike if you are within an hour or so drive and plan to see Mentone or Wildflower Cafe. Otherwise maybe not worth a long drive unless you are just a fan of pretty waterfalls... and it IS a...

What a wonderful surprise this state park was! When we first arrived in the parking lot I was a bit disappointed when I saw the dam with water flowing over it, thinking that was what they were calling the falls. However, just below were two more tiers of a beautiful waterfall. We were there just after a few days of good rain so there was plenty of water flowing. The dam itself was was beautiful,but was constructed in 1925 by and independent engineer, A.A. Miller. The first hydroelectric dam in North Alabama and supplied electricity to Dekalb County, Alabama. Kayaks were available for rent for the area above the dam, as well as a snack bar. A few families were wading/swimming in the water just below the dam and above the first tier. There was a walkway with stairs to a viewing area for a better perspective of the falls. An added bonus was the front of the stairs down were decorated with beautiful mosaics that included a Joy Muir quote. Beautiful,...

This is on our must-do list every time we are in the area. When we visited last (July 2020), the water levels were low due to lack of rain. The lake formed by the dam on the Little River was several feet low. Nevertheless, the main falls were flowing and they were spectacular. They were more spectacular this spring with the heavy rains. Several other falls in the area are dry or nearly so during dry times (like summer), but this one seldom disappoints. The picnic area is nice. This is worth the effort. One word of caution. The roads to the area are two-lane mountain roads. You do NOT want to speed on these roads if you value your, and your car's, health. And one "heads up." Even though this is part of the DeSoto State Park, there is still a fee ($4.00 per car when we were there) for admission. The fee is paid via a self-pay box - cash or credit card. It is, in my opinion, most definitely worth that small sum for...