Traveling to Alabama, have a few carry questions.

I have a few questions about open carry and public lands in the Northern Alabama area and would love to get some feedback from any who are familiar with the questions and don't mind taking the time for it.

My family and I are traveling to Hunstville for the first several days of April to visit my brother. He's a disabled vet and is bound to a wheelchair. I am an avid morel mushroom hunter and my brother has never went out looking for and gathering the mushrooms nor has he ever eaten them. He's excited at the idea as its something I've talked about for the past couple of years with him. Now, I finally get a chance to visit him in the last part of the morel season for Northern Alabama.

I first want to know if anyone is familiar with any public lands, preferably river bottom lands, where there are trails through wooded areas such that a wheelchair can travel along, even if they aren't long trails or paved. I've done some research about the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge along the Tennessee River and talked to a park official and it sounds like they have some trails that might work such that I can at least get my brother out in the woods with us. He also said that alligators up to 12 feet long have been reported in the area which surprised me as I didn't realize they were that far north in Alabama. Is anyone familiar with any other public outdoor lands in the area that might be worth a look?

I also would prefer to bring my handgun with me and open carry it while I am there if its allowed. I don't have any carry permits as we don't need to have a permit or a registered firearm here in Missouri to open carry and was wondering if Alabama was the same way and if its state wide or goverened through local ordinances. Can I as an out of stater, carry openly in Alabama without a permit and if so, what are the rules as far as traveling with it inside my car within the state? I also saw on the Wheeler Refugre pamphlet that firearms aren't allowed. I assumed its for their lands as well as their buildings. Are they allowed to ban firearms on their lands? Here in Missouri they used to have those signs at a nearby National Wildlife Refuge but I do believe they are no longer in effect and enforceable.

After some more searching, it appears that I might need a permit to travel with a handgun in my car within Alabama. If that's the case, I'll probably be without any firearms on my trip there.

Notwithstanding Serial Misinformation Spread by Sheriff Office Websites, in Regards to Pistol Permits, and further Misinformation by Local Law Enforcement..., it is Perfectly LEGAL to Carry and Possess Firearms on Public Property in Alabama, even Argueably..., Courthouses and Jails.

There is NO Alabama Law that Prohibits it, and Firearm Laws in Alabama are Preempted under Alabama Code 1975 11-45-1.1 and Alabama Code 1975 11-80-11.

Under Alabama Code 1975 13A-11-73, You are REQUIRED to Obtain a Permit to Carry: 1. A Concealed Pistol, OR 2. A Pistol in, on, or within a Motor Vehicle.

Open Carry of a Loaded Firearm in Alabama is LEGAL, if You can Lawfully Possess the same Firearm under both United States Federal Law and Alabama State Law. Open Carry in Alabama does NOT Require any Permit.

Open Carry is Prohibited at Public Demonstrations in Alabama, under Alabama Code 1975 13A-11-59.

The problem is that if you're carrying an unloaded pistol in a car and:

You didn't just purchase the handgun, or
You aren't going straight from your business to your home, or
You aren't going straight from your home to your business, or
You aren't carrying the gun to the gunsmith or store...

You need a pistol license.

If you're carrying a loaded pistol in a vehicle in the state of Alabama, you need a pistol license.

You do not need a pistol license for open carry on-foot or on a bicycle.

Your brother could get his license before you come down, then he would be able to carry your gun in his car. Alabama honors nonresident permits of any state we have reciprocity with, so you could also look into getting one of those.