More than 625,000 people visited the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville last year, ranking it number one among state attractions that charge admission, followed by the Birmingham Zoo at second with 574,581 and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at third with 568,427 state tourism officials say.

Six of the state’s Top Ten attractions charging admission showed an increase in attendance over previous years, spokesman Brian Jones said. Attendance figures were collected by the Alabama Tourism Department from local tourism organizations.

The USS Alabama Battleship Park in Mobile placed fourth with 381,192 visitors and the McWane Science Center was fifth with 332,492.

Point Mallard Park was sixth with 298,879. The Montgomery Zoo ranked seventh with 236,100 and the Huntsville Botanical Garden was eighth with 236,000. EarlyWorks Museums in Huntsville was ninth with 189,500. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute was tenth with 161,000.

The Alabama Tourism Department also released the Top Ten attendance figures for other categories. Beaches of the Alabama Gulf Coast were the number one natural destination in the state, attracting 5.7 million visitors last year. The Birmingham Botanical Gardens attracted 350,000 visitors to make it the most attended free attraction. More than 1million people celebrated Mobile’s Mardi Gras making it the most attended event. Bryant-Denny Stadium was the number one sports destination with 785,418 fans attending University of Alabama home football games.

For more information contact the Alabama Tourism Department or visit www.tourism.alabama.gov.

Top Ten – Admission Charged Attractions 2014

U.S. Space & Rocket Center
Huntsville
256-837-3400
2014 attendance:       626,311
2013 attendance:       584,972

Birmingham Zoo
Birmingham
205-879-0409
2014 attendance:       574,581
2013 attendance:       574,176

Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail
Birmingham
205-942-0444
2014 attendance:       568,427
2013 attendance:       530,678

USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park
Mobile
251-433-2703
2014 attendance:       381,192
2013 attendance:       371,229

McWane Science Center
Birmingham
205-714-8300
2014 attendance:       332,492
2013 attendance:       350,661

Point Mallard Park
Decatur
256-341-4902
2014 attendance:       298,879
2013 attendance:       246,093

Montgomery Zoo
Montgomery
334-240-4900
2014 attendance:       236,100
2013 attendance:       244,178

Huntsville Botanical Garden
Huntsville
256-830-4447
2014 attendance:       236,000
2013 attendance:       225,000

EarlyWorks Museums
Huntsville
205-324-1911
2014 attendance:      189,500
2013 attendance:      189,500

Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Birmingham
205-328-9696
2014 attendance:       161,000
2013 attendance:       177,055

Top Ten – Free Attractions 2014

Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Birmingham
205-414-3950
2014 attendance:       350,000
2013 attendance:       350,000

Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts
Montgomery
334-240-4333
2014 attendance:       159,263
2013 attendance:       157,609

Birmingham Museum of Art
Birmingham
205-254-2565
2014 attendance:       139,111
2013 attendance:       122,345

Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark
Birmingham
205-324-1911
2014 attendance:      88,000
2013 attendance:      83,900

Aldridge Gardens
Hoover
205-682-8019
2014 attendance:         83,150
2013 attendance:         83,000

Coon Dog Cemetery
Cherokee
256-412-5970
2014 attendance:        75,000
2013 attendance:        72,000

Alabama State Capitol
Montgomery
334-242-3935
2014 attendance:         52,586
2013 attendance:         62,657

Alabama Department of Archives & History
Montgomery
334-353-3312
2014 attendance:            44,035
2013 attendance:            23,328

Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum
Calera
205-668-3435
2014 attendance:         44,000
2013 attendance:         43,000

Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center
Danville
205-905-2494
2014 attendance:       43,512
2013 attendance:       41,526

Top Ten – Events 2014

Mobile Mardi Gras
Mobile
251-208-2018
2014 attendance:      1,034,609
2013 attendance:         798,312

National Shrimp Festival
Gulf Shores
251-968-6904
2014 attendance:       250,000
2013 attendance:       235,000

Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival
Fairhope
251-621-8222
2014 attendance:       250,000
2013 attendance:       300,000

National Peanut Festival
Dothan
334-793-4323
2014 attendance:       192,000
2013 attendance:       182,500

Bayfest
Mobile
251-208-7835
2014 attendance:      150,000
2013 attendance:      185,000

W.C. Handy Music Festival
Florence
256-766-7642
2014 attendance:       150,000
2013 attendance:       150,000

Annual Jubilee Festival
Daphne
251-621-8222
2014 attendance:       100,000
2013 attendance:       100,000

National Veteran’s Day Parade
Birmingham
205-942-5300
2014 attendance:       100,000
2013 attendance:         65,000

World of Wheels
Trussville
205-655-4950
2014 attendance:         68,000
2013 attendance:         67,000

Panoply
Huntsville
256-519-2787
2014 attendance:        47,110
2013 attendance:        29,700

Top Ten – Parks and Natural Destinations 2014

Alabama Gulf Coast Beaches
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach/Fort Morgan/Dauphin Island
251-968-7511
2014 attendance:    5,700,000
2013 attendance:    5,500,000

Gulf State Park
Gulf Shores
251-948-7275
2014 attendance:    1,974,301
2013 attendance:    1,969,723

Railroad Park
Birmingham
205-521-9933
2014 attendance:       600,000
2013 attendance:       466,885

Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park
McCalla
205-477-5711
2014 attendance:       535,565
2013 attendance:       541,025

Oak Mountain State Park
Pelham
205-620-2520
2014 attendance:       363,752
2013 attendance:       433,500

Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge
Eufaula
334-687-4065
2014 attendance:     308,266
2013 attendance:     341,829

Joe Wheeler State Park
Rogersville
256-247-5466
2014 attendance:       268,380
2013 attendance:       267,788

Lake Guntersville State Park
Guntersville
256-505-6632
2014 attendance:       262,805
2013 attendance:       197,912

Lakepoint Resort State Park
Eufaula
334-687-8011
2014 attendance:         225,877
2013 attendance:         118,299

Little River Canyon National
Fort Payne
256-845-9605
2014 attendance:       215,000
2013 attendance:       185,478

Top Ten Sports Destinations 2014

Bryant-Denny Stadium – University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa
205-348-7166
2014 attendance:       785,418
2013 attendance:       710,538

Jordan-Hare Stadium – Auburn University
Auburn
334-844-4750
2014 attendance:     612,157
2013 attendance:     685,252

Birmingham Barons Baseball
Birmingham
205-988-3200
2014 attendance:       437,612
2013 attendance:       396,820

Birmingham Race Course
Birmingham
205-838-7500
2014 attendance:     392,157
2013 attendance:     342,818

Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega
877-Go2-DEGA
2014 attendance:       370,000
2013 attendance:       350,000

Barber Vintage Motorsports
Birmingham
205-702-8709
2014 attendance:       271,543
2013 attendance:       268,196

Montgomery Biscuits Baseball
Montgomery
334-323-2255
2014 attendance:         244,534
2013 attendance:         258,532

Huntsville Havoc Hockey
Huntsville
256-518-6160
2014 attendance:      109,819
2013 attendance:      118,986

Mobile Baybears Baseball
Mobile
251-476-2287
2014 attendance:       106,297
2013 attendance:       149,675

Huntsville Stars Baseball
Huntsville
256-882-2562
2014 attendance:         94,929
2013 attendance:       123,000

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