When Stars fell on Alabama, they fell on Elmore County! It's true! Over 80 million years ago a meteor struck Elmore County, leaving a huge impact. And today Elmore County is impacted by its other "stars," which bring folks from around the country to enjoy our sites, attractions and endless recreational opportunities.

The water features alone in Elmore County would take you several days to explore. That's because Elmore County is richly blessed to have two of Alabama's largest rivers and two of Alabama's cleanest lakes, Lake Martin and Lake Jordan. Both the Tallapoosa River and the Coosa River wind through Elmore County and Elmore County has the distinction of being the place where both rivers merge to form the mighty Alabama River. The confluence of these rivers was recognized for its significance thousands of years ago by Native Americans, who formed a village here. Subsequently this later became a major trading post in southern America from Desoto’s era through French Colonial days. Both Fort Toulouse and later Fort Jackson were built at the same site. You can still visit these sites today and even watch a re-enactment!

Both rivers are also a fisherman's paradise! A testament to this is the number of tournaments held on the rivers each year for bass, crappie and catfish. In fact, the Coosa River was selected in 2005 to host the first “King Cat" cat fishing tournament, which brought in some monster cats! Both rivers also enjoy numerous entry points to launch boats from.

The rivers also afford some of the best canoeing & kayaking in the country, through Coosa River Adventures and the Coosa Outdoor Center. In fact, each fall, the Coosa River is host to the White Water Challenge. This event brings thousands of water enthusiasts from around the country - even Olympic kayakers to improve their skills and competition.

Lake Jordan, which was named by the Birmingham News in 1999 as Alabama's top bass lake, is located in Elmore County. Fed by the Coosa River, this lake is nationally renowned for its tough-fighting spotted bass and has hosted several B.A.S.S. tournaments. It has also become a haven for folks who want to live on the lake and enjoy a "lakestyle" lifestyle. Real Estate values continue to do very well on Lake Jordan, aided by the Home Owners Boat Owners (HOBO) of Lake Jordan who works hard to keep it clean and picked up each year.

Much of Lake Martin also rests in Elmore County and has become one of the top recreation destinations in the South. Lake Martin is a large, beautiful, pristine lake, which is a boater’s, skier’s and fisherman's paradise. Lake Martin has managed to strike a balance, as boaters dominate the lake in the summer and fishermen dominate it from early fall to late spring. It too has enjoyed tremendous real estate values, exceeded only by Alabama's Gulf-front properties.

Both lakes and rivers are one of the reasons why many business owners and entrepreneurs decide to locate their offices in Elmore County. As you can imagine, water supply has never been an issue here, even during our recent drought. The recent explosion of tourists during the past ten years to Elmore County has fostered the growth and development of more and more venues and amenities to accommodate their interests. The Alabama Wildlife Federation located its’ headquarters here at the Lanark Plantation in 2002 and has just completed the first phase of its multi-million dollar interpretive center.

Coosa River Adventures established a thriving business here in 1995 to offer several different types of canoeing, kayaking and other water-related recreation. The demand has steadily increased as more and more people discover the fun and wonder of the Coosa River.

Elmore County also plays host to the nationally renowned "White Water Festival" held each fall & spring at Moccasin Gap on the Coosa River just north of Wetumpka. This event attracts national and international Olympic kayaking athletes as well as "rookie" whitewater enthusiasts. Over 10,000 attended this event in 2007.

In early 2008, the Wetumpka Crater Commission and the Tourism Task Force, State of Alabama and the Wetumpka Chamber of Commerce launched an effort to put together a professional master plan for a Wetumpka Impact Crater interpretive center development. The development of this venue and program promise to be one of the biggest and most exciting destinations and educational experiences in the history of Alabama, through partnerships with universities across the country and internationally.

We invite you to find out why Elmore County has steadfastly remained Alabama's third-fastest growing county since 1990 - because there's so much to do and see!