DeSoto State Park is a public recreation area located on Lookout Mountain northeast of Fort Payne, Alabama. The state park covers of forest, rivers, waterfalls, and mountain terrain. It borders the Little River, which flows into the nearby Little River Canyon National Preserve. The 104ft DeSoto Falls, the state's highest waterfall, is found in a separate part of the park north of the main park.HistoryThe park, which bears the name of 16th-century explorer Hernando de Soto, was developed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The park then known as State Park No. 5 was established in 1935. When it was dedicated as Desoto State Park on May 24, 1939, it was the largest state park in Alabama. The park's museum celebrating the CCC's work in Alabama state parks opened in 2013. The park was listed among top state parks for landscape photography in 2017.Activities and amenitiesThe park features of hiking trails that include more than of mountain bike trails, a CCC-built lodge and cabins, restaurant, campsites, chalets, motel, swimming pool, and nature center.
