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Splish Splash in North Alabama

By Melea Hames on Jun. 07, 2017

What better way to beat the heat than taking a dip in a cool pool or rushing down a slippery waterslide? Point Mallard Park in Decatur, Spring Valley Beach in Blountsville, Red Bay Waterpark, Guin Waterpark in Guin, and Southern Adventures in Huntsville are perfect for squelching the hottest day. But make sure to lather up with sunscreen. Also, Delano Park in Decatur and Spring Park in Tuscumbia have splash pads in which to let the kids (or adults) splash around. The Huntsville Botanical Garden has Pollywog Bog for the little kids to take a dip. Furthermore, DeSoto State Park and Rickwood Caverns State Park have public pools that are open all summer long. Joe Wheeler State Park also has a day use area on the river for swimming and lying out on the beach.

1. Point Mallard Water Park – www.pointmallardpark.com
2. Red Bay Water Park – www.redbaysports.com
3. Guin Water Park – www.guinal.org
4. Spring Valley Beach in Blountsville – www.springvalleybeach.com
5. Splash Pad at Spring Park, Huntsville Botanical Garden, and Delano Park – www.springparkal.com; www.delanopark.org; www.hsvbg.org
6. Swim at DeSoto State Park’s public pool – www.alapark.com
7. Swim at Rickwood Caverns State Park’s public pool – www.alapark.com
8. Take a dip at the day use area at Joe Wheeler State Park – www.alapark.com
9. Southern Adventures in Huntsville – www.southern-adventures.com

Muse Award

Author

Melea Hames

A 1995 Auburn University graduate, Melea has been a social media manager in the tourism industry since 2010 at Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. At AMLA, Melea is responsible for creating content on Visit North Alabama’s social media platforms, writing blog posts on the website, coordinating the North Alabama Ambassador Program, and speaking at various events and meetings about social media. Melea is also the host of Unexpected Adventures in North Alabama, AMLA’s new podcast, produced by Relic Agency. The podcast won a 2022 Muse Award - Silver in the Audio/Podcast category. Melea was honored in October 2023 with the Tourism Promoter of the Year Award from the Alabama Restaurant & Hospitality Association for her work on the podcast.

Prior to working for AMLA, Melea received her Masters at UNA in Secondary Education and taught middle school English and coached middle school cheerleaders for three years. She also taught English at Calhoun Community College for 8 1/2 half years. Before that she worked in public relations for an advertising agency in Atlanta, a minor league baseball team in Columbus, Georgia, and for Auburn University in the development office. In 2020, Melea created her very own social media marketing agency called M and M Social. She loves to write, travel, walk in the park (she walked over 600 miles in 2020), go to Auburn games, and read books about WWII.