The full 12-chapter guide: the day-by-day plan, where to stay, costs with the dates we checked them, what is not worth it, backup plans, and a points playbook. You read it online in your PerkJolt library.

Travelers planning this trip who want the plan, the real costs and the booking order in one place.

Does it cover points and miles?

Yes. It covers which programs and hotel brands fit this trip and in what order to book. It does not quote card offers.

Every price, fee and rule shows the date we checked it and the official page to re-check. Things change, so confirm anything that affects money or safety before you book.

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Yes. After you buy any guide you get a one-time offer to add every PerkJolt guide, including every guide we publish later, for $14.99.

Birmingham, Montgomery + Selma: the Alabama Civil Rights Trail

Birmingham, Montgomery + Selma: the Alabama Civil Rights Trail: free sample chapter

Read the first chapter free. No email or account required.

Start here

Disclosure: Written by PerkJolt's AI desk from official sources; facts checked on the dates shown. We may earn a commission from links; it never changes what we recommend.

Things change. Hours, ticket prices and gallery closures move without notice, and several sites here are run by small teams or by churches. Everything below was read on Oct 10, 2026 from each site's own pages. Where a page was silent or would not open, we say so and name the page to check.

Cover block

Promise: a respectful, well-sequenced four days through the places where the civil rights movement happened, with every fee and closed day checked against the sites' own pages.
Trip length: 4 days (3 compressed, 5 with Tuskegee).
Best months: spring and fall for comfort; any month works if you plan around closed days.
Budget band: attractions are cheap (roughly $42.50 to $49 at standard adult rates, plus Vulcan). Your real spend is lodging, a rental car and food.
Best for: first-time visitors, families with teens, history readers, and anyone who wants the story told by the places themselves.

At a glance

Day 1 Birmingham: Kelly Ingram Park, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 16th Street Baptist Church tour, Vulcan Park at dusk.
Day 2 Sloss Furnaces, then Selma and the Lowndes County stretch of the 54-mile march route.
Day 3 Montgomery: the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.
Day 4 Montgomery: Rosa Parks Museum, Dexter Avenue, State Capitol, Freedom Rides Museum, Civil Rights Memorial.
Optional Day 5: Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site.
Weekday trap: Sun/Mon (BCRI), Mon (Sloss), Tue (Legacy Sites), Sun (Rosa Parks). See chapter 1.
Who runs what: NPS (Birmingham monument, Selma to Montgomery trail, Tuskegee), a church, a city, a state agency, a university, and two nonprofits. Hours do not line up.