Toomer's Corner, Jordan-Hare Stadium, and the restaurants of a college town that takes its traditions seriously
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Auburn University and the adjacent town of Opelika provide the off-course atmosphere for stays at the Auburn Marriott Opelika Resort and rounds at the Grand National courses. It is not a structured attraction so much as an environment, and that is the appeal.
The Auburn campus anchors the visit. Toomer's Corner, at College Street and Magnolia Avenue, is the symbolic centre, where the tradition of rolling the oak trees with toilet paper after victories has been practiced for decades. The replacement oaks, planted after the 2010 poisoning, carry the tradition forward. Samford Hall's clock tower is the campus landmark most visitors photograph. Jordan-Hare Stadium, seating over 87,000, dominates the southern edge of campus and is worth a walk around even when empty.
Opelika's downtown has developed into an antiques and shopping district that fills an hour or two. Restaurants in both towns benefit from the captive student and faculty audience, with Southern cooking, craft barbecue, and a growing list of locally owned kitchens making post-round dinners easy.
Free to wander; meals and shopping at your own cost. The campus and Opelika downtown are both walkable, and the drive between them runs under ten minutes. Fall football weekends transform the area: hotel rates climb, restaurants fill early, and the energy shifts to game day. Either embrace it or schedule around it. Weekday visits during the academic year are the most relaxed.