Here's the plan. Leave Helena or the Southside before 8 a.m., hit four stops across a 130-mile loop, and be back before dinner feels late. The 2026 Chrysler Pacifica handles every part of this route well. It carries the gear without a roof rack argument, keeps the third row livable through a long afternoon, and takes the stretch of I-65 between stops with Adaptive Cruise Control so the driver doesn't arrive already worn out.
There's a real tradeoff worth naming up front. The Pacifica won't tow a boat trailer without the available Trailer Tow Group added at the dealership, and if your family's summer plans include pulling a watercraft down to the Gulf, a Chrysler Pacifica with that package tops out at 3,600 pounds. The package covers a Jon boat or a small ski tube trailer, and a pontoon is simply out of range. If heavy towing is your regular summer move, a Dodge Durango earns a longer look.
For the family whose gear lives in bags, bins, and a wheeled cooler, though, this is an easy call. The Pacifica wins on pure volume.
What's the Route?
The route is four stops, all verified open in July and all within a reasonable drive of the Birmingham metro, and though it reads like a long day on paper, the loop south on I-65 to Clanton, back north through Gadsden, and home through the Appalachian foothills spaces out so nobody's stuck in the seat too long.
| Stop | Drive from Previous Stop | What to Do | What to Pack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak Mountain State Park (Pelham) | 25 min south of Birmingham on I-65 | Trail walk or lake swim; demo trail for mountain bikes | Water shoes, sunscreen, day pack |
| Peach Park (Clanton) | 45 min south on I-65 | Lunch, fresh peaches, homemade ice cream | Cooler, wet wipes, cash for stand |
| Noccalula Falls Park (Gadsden) | 1 hr 15 min northeast on US-231 | 90-foot waterfall, gorge trail, botanical garden | Closed-toe shoes, change of clothes |
| McWane Science Center (Birmingham) | 1 hr south on I-59 | Aquarium, dinosaur hall, hands-on kids exhibits | Snack bag, quiet indoor shoes |
The whole loop is roughly 3.5 hours of driving time spread across a full day.
The Four Stops in Detail
Stop 1: Oak Mountain State Park
Oak Mountain earns the first slot because you can be parked and on a trail before the Alabama summer heat fully commits, and at 9,940 acres (the largest state park in Alabama, about 25 minutes from downtown Birmingham off I-65) there's room to spread out early. July mornings here still sit in the low-to-mid 80s (Fahrenheit) before 10 a.m. By noon, the lakeshore is the better move. The Pacifica's dual-zone automatic climate control holds the cabin at whatever temperature you set while the park does its thing in the July heat outside. When you're done, the Stow 'n Go seats mean wet gear, damp shoes, and a cooler go flat into the floor without reorganizing anything.
Stop 2: Peach Park, Clanton
Peach Park in Clanton sits right on I-65 at exit 212, about 45 minutes south of Oak Mountain, and it's a family-paced stop rather than a half-day commitment, worth pulling in for lunch, peaches sold straight from the farm, and ice cream that earns the drive. The sliding doors on the Pacifica matter here in a specific way. On a 93-degree July afternoon in a packed lot, you want the door open in five seconds, not a swing-door negotiation across parked cars. Chrysler lists the 2026 Pacifica's standard safety suite as including a ParkSense Rear Assist System and Rear Cross Path Detection, both of which earn their keep in a crowded roadside lot full of other families doing exactly what you're doing.
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Stop 3: Noccalula Falls Park, Gadsden
From Clanton you head northeast on US-231 into Gadsden, and Noccalula Falls Park is the day's scenic centerpiece, sitting in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains with the 90-foot Noccalula Falls, a gorge trail that runs behind the waterfall, a botanical garden, and an animal habitat. The drive from Clanton to Gadsden is the longest leg of the day (about 1 hour 15 minutes), and this is where the Pacifica's Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Go is genuinely worth having. Two-lane US-231 through Talladega County has stretches of variable traffic. Set the cruise, let the system manage following distance, and let the kids decompress between stops.
Will the falls be roaring in mid-July? Not at peak volume, no. Noccalula Falls typically runs strongest in late spring through early summer, and by mid-July the flow is still scenic. The gorge trail is worth the walk regardless.
Timing note: Alabama's July heat index regularly exceeds 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the afternoon. Schedule outdoor stops (Oak Mountain, Noccalula) before 11 a.m. or after 4 p.m. Midday is the right window for Peach Park's covered stands and McWane's fully air-conditioned interior.
Stop 4: McWane Science Center, Birmingham
McWane Science Center makes the right fourth stop precisely because it's air-conditioned and structured, giving the kids somewhere useful to burn whatever energy they've got left across four floors of interactive science exhibits, a working aquarium, a dinosaur collection, and an early childhood play area in downtown Birmingham. Load back into the Pacifica for the short run home. The EPA rates the 2026 Chrysler Pacifica at 22 mpg combined on the front-wheel-drive models, which puts the roughly 130-mile loop at well under half a tank. Good to know before you go.
Print-and-go checklist for this route:
- [ ] Sunscreen (reapply-grade, not just for the car ride)
- [ ] Water bottles per person plus two spares
- [ ] Change of clothes for each kid (gorge trail and splash zones)
- [ ] Closed-toe shoes for the Noccalula gorge trail
- [ ] A small day pack that fits in the Pacifica's underfloor storage bins
- [ ] Cash or card for Peach Park stands
- [ ] Phone charger (the Pacifica's 10.1-inch touchscreen has three USB ports standard)
- [ ] Snacks for the McWane arrival window
The 2026 Chrysler Pacifica folds both rear rows flat into the floor via Stow 'n Go, giving you up to 140.5 cubic feet of cargo space without removing a single seat from the vehicle.
Tweak It to Your Crew
Not every family runs this exact loop, so here are the logical adjustments.
Younger kids (under 6): Swap Noccalula for DeSoto Caverns in Childersburg. The caverns hold a steady underground temperature no matter what the July heat does outside, and the trail is paved and manageable for short legs. DeSoto Caverns is about 50 minutes east of Birmingham on US-280. You'll still lean on the Stow 'n Go for the gear haul, and McWane stays a perfect cap.
Bigger crew (6 or 7 passengers): The 2026 Chrysler Pacifica seats up to eight on the Select trim with the bench second row, or seven with captain's chairs. A crew of six with gear still has 32.3 cubic feet behind the third row when all seats are upright, and that handles a day pack per person. Go to seven or eight passengers and you're packing smarter, not adding a trailer.
Gulf Coast overnight: Add a second day and drive south from Clanton another two hours on I-65 to Gulf Shores. The Pacifica handles that run well, no drama. Just know that beach parking means loading wet, sandy gear back in, and that's where Stow 'n Go and the available built-in Vacuum (on upper trims) become a genuinely relationship-saving feature, the kind you actually use.
When you're ready to see what's in stock and talk through which trim fits your crew, we're at 1409 5th Ave N in Birmingham.
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By the Hallmark Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Team | July 2026
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