More than 786,820 people visited the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville last year, ranking it first among state attractions that charge admission, state tourism officials said.  The Birmingham Zoo ranked second with 593,322 and the Huntsville Botanical Garden was third with 367,953.

Six of the state’s Top 11 attractions charging admission showed an increase in attendance over previous years, state tourism director Lee Sentell said.

The McWane Science Center in Birmingham placed fourth with 354,642 and the Barber Vintage Motorsports Park was fifth with 352,000. USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile was sixth with 335,717 and Point Mallard Park in Decatur was seventh with 274,170.

The Montgomery Zoo was eighth with 246,162 and the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo in Gulf Shores was ninth with 176,074.  EarlyWorks Family of Museums in Huntsville was 10th with 174,250.  Vulcan Park and Museum in Birmingham was 11th with 168,005.  

The Alabama Tourism Department also released attendance figures for other categories.  The beaches of the Alabama Gulf Coast were the most visited natural destination in the state, attracting 6.6 million tourists last year. The Birmingham Botanical Gardens attracted 400,000 visitors to make it the most attended free attraction. More than 1 million people celebrated Mobile’s Mardi Gras making it the most attended event.  University of Alabama home football games played at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa had the highest attendance for sports destinations with 712,053, followed by 605,120 at Auburn University.

Attendance figures were collected by the Alabama Tourism Department from local tourism organizations.    

Top 11 – Admission Charged Attractions 2017

#1 U.S. Space & Rocket Center
Huntsville
256-837-3400
2017 attendance:         786,820
2016 attendance:         657,692

#2 Birmingham Zoo
Birmingham
205-879-0409
2017 attendance:         593,322
2016 attendance:         644,667

#3 Huntsville Botanical Garden
Huntsville
256-830-4447
2017 attendance:         367,953
2016 attendance:         276,952

#4 McWane Science Center
Birmingham
205-714-8300
2017 attendance:         354,642
2016 attendance:         388,551

#5 Barber Vintage Motorsports Park
Birmingham
205-702-8709
2017 attendance:          352,000
2016 attendance:          260,670

#6 USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park
Mobile
251-433-2703
2017 attendance:         335,717
2016 attendance:         294,930

#7 Point Mallard Park
Decatur
256-341-4902
2017 attendance:         274,170
2016 attendance:         274,703

#8 Montgomery Zoo
Montgomery
334-240-4900
2017 attendance:         246,162
2016 attendance:         238,192

#9 Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo
Gulf Shores
251-968-5732
2017 attendance:          176,074
2016 attendance:          177,786

#10 EarlyWorks Family of Museums
Huntsville
256-564-8100
2017 attendance:           174,250
2016 attendance:           174,000

#11 Vulcan Park & Museum
Birmingham
205-933-1409
2017 attendance:             168,005
2016 attendance:             168,352

Top 10 – Free Attractions 2017

#1 Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Birmingham
205-414-3950
2017 attendance:         400,000
2016 attendance:         350,000

#2 Alabama State Capitol
Montgomery
334-242-3188
2017 attendance:         152,847
2016 attendance:         124,032

#3 Birmingham Museum of Art
Birmingham
205-254-2565
2017 attendance:          123,000
2016 attendance:          140,000

#4 Army Aviation Museum
Fort Rucker
334-598-2508
2017 attendance:             100,000
2016 attendance:             100,000

#5 Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament
Hanceville
205-795-5722
2017 attendance:               100,000
2016 attendance:               100,000

#6 Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Montgomery
334-240-4333
2017 attendance:           98,341
2016 attendance:         142,919

#7 Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark
Birmingham
205-254-2025
2017 attendance:           100,000
2016 attendance:             95,000

#8 Aldridge Gardens
Hoover
205-682-8019
2017 attendance:           86,000
2016 attendance:           85,500

#9 Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Cemetery
Tuscumbia
256-412-5970
2017 attendance:         70,000
2016 attendance:         70,000

#10 Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center
Tuscaloosa
205-391-9200
2017 attendance:           50,000
2016 attendance:                 n/a

Top 10 – Events 2017

#1 Mobile Mardi Gras
Mobile
251-208-2000
2017 attendance:        1,050,000
2016 attendance:        1,172,000        

#2 W.C. Handy Music Festival
Florence
256-766-7642
2017 attendance:         300,000
2016 attendance:         200,000

#3 National Shrimp Festival
Gulf Shores
251-968-6904
2017 attendance:         250,000
2016 attendance:         250,000

#4 National Peanut Festival
Dothan
334-793-4323
2017 attendance:          206,000
2016 attendance:          182,000

#5 SEC Baseball Tournament
Hoover
205-967-4745
2017 attendance:         127,479
2016 attendance:         150,064

#6 Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival
Fairhope
251-229-1874
2017 attendance:          100,000
2016 attendance:            75,000          

#7 Gulf Coast Balloon Festival
Foley
251-943-5550
2017 attendance:            100,000
2016 attendance:            130,000

#8 Honda Indy Grand Prix
Birmingham
205-967-4745
2017 attendance:               82,745
2016 attendance:               83,765

#9 Christmas at the Falls
Gadsden
256-549-4500
2017 attendance:           80,000
2016 attendance:           70,000

#10 Magic City Classic
Birmingham
205-947-4745
2017 attendance:           61,221
2016 attendance:           70,813

Top 10 – Parks and Natural Destinations 2017

#1 Alabama Gulf Coast Beaches
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach/Fort Morgan/Dauphin Island
251-968-7511
2017 attendance:      6,632,875
2016 attendance:      6,300,000

#2 Gulf State Park
Gulf Shores
251-948-7275
2017 attendance:      2,229,901
2016 attendance:      2,326,573        

#3 Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge
Decatur
256-350-6639
2017 attendance:           670,000
2016 attendance:           670,500

#4 Oak Mountain State Park
Pelham
205-620-2520
2017 attendance:         636,189
2016 attendance:         668,126

#5 Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park
McCalla
205-477-5711
2017 attendance:          500,000
2016 attendance:          500,000

#6 Railroad Park
Birmingham
205-521-9933
2017 attendance:          425,388
2016 attendance:          478,511

#7 Little River Canyon National Preserve
Fort Payne
256-845-9605
2017 attendance:           367,057
2016 attendance:           462,700

#8 Lake Guntersville State Park
Guntersville
256-505-6632
2017 attendance:            287,117
2016 attendance:            325,913

#9 Wind Creek State Park
Alexander City
256-329-0845
2017 attendance:             281,193
2016 attendance:             243,793

#10 Joe Wheeler State Park
Rogersville
256-247-5466
2017 attendance:              248,459
2016 attendance:              244,736

Top 10 – Sports Destinations 2017

#1 Bryant-Denny Stadium – University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa
205-348-7166
2017 attendance:         712,053
2016 attendance:         712,747

#2 Jordan-Hare Stadium – Auburn University
Auburn
334-844-4750
2017 attendance:         605,120
2016 attendance:         695,498

#3 Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega
877-Go2-DEGA
2017 attendance:         430,250
2016 attendance:         415,000

#4 Birmingham Barons Baseball
Birmingham
205-988-3200
2017 attendance:         391,725
2016 attendance:         418,361

#5 Montgomery Biscuits Baseball
Montgomery
334-323-2255
2017 attendance:         228,376
2016 attendance:         230,742          

#6 Legion Field Stadium
Birmingham
205-322-1233
2017 attendance:         206,732
2016 attendance:                    0

#7 Veterans Memorial Stadium- Troy University
Troy
334-670-3832
2017 attendance:         146,736
2016 attendance:         135,204

#8 Huntsville Havoc Hockey
Huntsville
256-518-6160
2017 attendance:         130,166
2016 attendance:         117,298

#9 Ladd–Peebles Stadium – University of South Alabama
Mobile
251-460-6101
2017 attendance:          104,070
2016 attendance:          113,749

#10 Mobile Baybears Baseball
Mobile
251-476-2287
2017 attendance:         92,898
2016 attendance:         96,185