Discover Dothan: Culture, Parks and Trails

When choosing a place to stay in Dothan, specific interests can help guide your decision: history and art can be found in museums and murals, while parks offer trails, boardwalks and ponds. This lets you shape your visit around the topics that interest you most.

Art, history and the National Peanut Festival

Murals of the Wiregrass is an ongoing mural project in downtown Dothan. You can discover the murals on guided or self-guided tours. If you prefer to explore art in a museum, the Wiregrass Museum of Art offers a different perspective: it is housed in the original municipal Light and Water Plant. The museum offers artist workshops and educational tours.

The G.W. Carver Interpretive Museum is dedicated to the historical contributions of African Americans. It is located in a former Dothan bus station that was converted into a museum in 2000. Staff lead tours for individuals and groups; the museum also organizes field trips with special activities for all age groups. The tours and activities make the museum a destination in its own right, while the building’s history also connects the visit to the history of the city.

The Dothan Opera House is also one of the city’s historic buildings: it was built in 1915. Together with the former bus station that houses the G.W. Carver Interpretive Museum and the former municipal utility building that houses the Wiregrass Museum of Art, it shows how historic buildings are now used as cultural venues in different ways. The National Peanut Festival adds a seasonal highlight. Held every fall, it honors local peanut farmers and celebrates the harvest season. The ten-day program includes rides, animal attractions, agricultural exhibits, concerts, livestock shows and a parade. If you’d like to plan your trip around the festival, check the specific event dates in advance.

Parks and trails to suit your interests

At Landmark Park, an elevated boardwalk and a living-history farmstead from the 1890s offer different experiences. Eastgate Park combines a two-mile walking trail with a boardwalk; fishing is permitted in two ponds. This means the park offers another clearly defined activity in addition to walking.

The trails in Dothan’s parks also vary in length and purpose. Kiwanis Park has a 0.5-mile paved, lighted walking trail. The walking trail at Eastgate Park is two miles long. Westgate Trail stretches for 3.3 miles and separates a one-way bike path from areas designated for two-way walking and jogging. The trail lengths give you a specific basis for comparison; Westgate Trail also has designated areas for different types of use.

For another way to explore nature trails, paved paths in the Dothan Area Botanical Gardens wind through beds of roses, camellias and azaleas. Beaver Creek Trail is the only municipal Forever Wild Land Trust Trail in Alabama. Together with the trails at Eastgate, Kiwanis and Westgate, these options offer a range of specific features: trail length, surface, lighting and intended use are all clearly described.

A taste of local produce

If you’d also like to discover local vendors during your stay, Poplar Head Farmers Market offers fresh produce and quality food from regional vendors. A visit here offers a different focus than museums, the festival or walking trails, complementing the cultural and outdoor attractions with a food-related experience.

Discover more destinations: Ashford, Webb.

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