Ben South leads walking tour of downtown Cullman outside the Cullman County Museum in 2018.

April is here, and in Alabama, that means it’s walking tour season.

Cullman is once again among the 25 cities and towns featured in the state tourism department’s annual April walking tour program, with four free guided strolls through the city’s downtown set to unfold each Saturday morning through the end of the month.

Embarking from a starting point on the steps of the Cullman County Museum (211 2nd Avenue NE), each Saturday the tours will start at 10 a.m., and they’ll each meander through a different path chosen by a rotating team of tour guides.

“Each week we have a different local historian leading the tours,” said museum director Drew Green. “This Saturday, the tour will be led by Dr. Bill Peinhardt, who’s very insightful and whose family has a long history in Cullman as one of the area’s early settling families. The following Saturday [April 16] will be led by longtime local historian Ben South. The following week’s tour [April 23] will be guided by Julie Burks, who works here at the museum, and the final tour of the month [April 30] will be led by me.”

There’s no cost to take part in the free tours, which can often include a second act after guests have taken in the first hour’s worth of sights. “We try to wrap up and end up back at the museum after an hour, to accommodate people who need to leave,” Green explained. “But a lot of times, those who are interested will stay on, and they’ll keep walking and talking with the tour guide.

According to tourism officials, Alabama is the only U.S. state to hold statewide, simultaneous walking tours. The walking tour program got its start 19 years ago; since then, the tourism department estimates that more than 38,000 people have taken part. Visit www.Alabama.Travel for more information about the statewide April Walking Tours, and keep up with the Cullman tour schedule by following the Cullman County Museum on Facebook @cullmancomuseum.