Bamahenge: Stonehenge in the Alabama Pines

There is a particular kind of Alabama drive where you start out thinking you are just going somewhere normal. The road gets quieter. The pines close in a little. You pass the kind of places that do not announce themselves too loudly. And then, without much ceremony, there it is: Stonehenge, sitting in a clearing in the woods near Elberta, Alabama.

Not England. Not a theme park. Just a full-scale henge in the pines, about 35 minutes from Group Retreat Fairhope.

Bamahenge was built in 2012 by Virginia artist Mark Cline and commissioned by marina owner George Barber, which explains the scale but not necessarily the feeling of stumbling onto it. The replica stands 21 feet tall and stretches 104 feet across, with upright slabs and lintels arranged to echo the original Stonehenge. It is even aligned to the summer solstice, because apparently if you are going to put Stonehenge in the Alabama woods, you may as well commit.

The stones look ancient from a few steps away—weathered, heavy and solemn. Then you knock on one and hear it answer back hollow. They are fiberglass, shipped down on four flatbed trailers and painted to resemble something that has been puzzling people for thousands of years.

The part I appreciate most is how little explanation there is. No admission booth. No gift shop. No formal tour. Not much in the way of signage. You walk in, look around and supply your own commentary.

Then the place takes another turn.

Elsewhere on the Barber Marina property, four full-size dinosaur sculptures are tucked into the woods, including a T. rex, Triceratops, Stegosaurus and Brontosaurus. Keep going and you may also find a giant spider, knights standing among the trees, an enormous sundial, Neptune presiding over a fountain and the Lady in the Lake reclining in the marina basin.

None of this is introduced with much fanfare. It simply appears, one improbable thing after another, as though someone had a very large imagination, access to fiberglass and no particular interest in explaining himself.

It is strange, generous and completely unbothered by whether you understand it.

For guests staying at Group Retreat Fairhope, Bamahenge makes an easy little side quest. Plan on 15 to 20 minutes if you are only visiting the henge, or allow considerably longer if you want to search for the dinosaurs and the rest of the sculptures around Barber Marina.
It pairs well with a Gulf Shores day, a drive down Highway 98, or any loose afternoon when the group needs something free, odd and memorable before heading back to the water.