Alabama State Parks Marks Progress in Major Renovations

By DAVID RAINER, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

With more than $150 million available for renovations, repairs and construction, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' (ADCNR) State Parks System is in the middle of major upgrades and enhancements to help State Parks' guests embrace and enjoy Alabama's natural beauty.

State Parks Director Greg Lein said those projects span the entire state, with upgrades planned at many of the 21 Alabama State Parks. Lein gave updates on the projects from south to north, starting with the Gulf State Park Pier damaged during Hurricane Sally. The repairs and construction are progressing on schedule.

"The Pier project is almost done and should be completed in September, and that's on track with what we expected the whole time," Lein said. "Also at Gulf State Park, the Beach Pavilion's bathrooms are being redone with a new HVAC system. That's very important down at the beach. That's the public's primary access to the beach, and it's heavily utilized from Memorial Day through Labor Day."

On the north side of Gulf State Park, the old golf course will become an additional campground with plenty of amenities, including a pool, clubhouse, putting green, splash pad and playground. The construction will be done in two phases with about 118 sites in phase I and an additional 145 sites in phase II. Both phases will provide 60-foot by 20-foot sites with 50-amp electrical service, water and sewer, and both back-in and pull-through sites. Other unique features will be included. The current campground at Gulf State Park has 496 improved sites that are often completely booked during peak seasons.

Moving to the head of Mobile Bay on the Battleship Parkway (Causeway), Meaher State Park is receiving a major expansion of accommodations with a new campground area with 45 sites, a new bathhouse, six cabins similar to the ones already available at the park, as well as a new camp store and office.

At Lakepoint State Park on Lake Eufaula, the half of the lodge closest to the water is under renovation, and that project is expected to be completed later this fall in time for the Christmas season.

Chewacla State Park near Auburn is getting a feature new to the State Parks System.

"At Chewacla, we've got a nice barndominium design that we are bidding out this month," Lein said. "This design will be utilized for parks like Chewacla and Lake Lurleen. It's a real nice pavilion with bathrooms and roll-up doors. You can have meetings and special events there. At Chewacla, we've got that big upper field at the back of the park, so the barndominium is designed to go in there. We'll also replace one of the bathhouses in the campground and other improvements."

At Wind Creek State Park on the banks of Lake Martin, new cottages and campground renovations are under construction.

"They're putting the roofs on the cottages right now," Lein said. "They will be really nice. The campground renovations and the cottages should be finished this winter. We're really excited about those. Most of the campground did not have 50-amp (electrical) service, so we really couldn't provide hospitality to the new, large, modern RVs, because we didn't have the modern power. That's going to be a big improvement for that park. There will be bigger sites, and wider sites, and a lot of them will be on the waterfront. I think this will be a big boon for that park."

Lake Lurleen, located just northwest of Tuscaloosa, will undergo an almost complete renovation.

"We will redo all the campground sites and probably put a barndominium there," Lein said. "We're also building cabins. That park has never had any cabins. They will be tiny house cabins, like at Meaher State Park. That will be a big improvement for the park. That bidding will happen in the next couple of months, and the renovations should be complete in the fall of 2025."

Cheaha State Park provides panoramic views of the Oxford-Munford area as it sits atop the highest point in Alabama. The state's oldest park, Cheaha is about to undergo significant renovations with a completely new lodge and lodging facilities. The lodge construction will use a design that blends materials found or sourced in the area and showcase how to sustainably build with locally available natural materials.

"We just bid for the new lodge," Lein said. "We will demolish the old hotel. We're building an entirely new lodge right beside the restaurant, so it will all be on the edge of the mountain. All the rooms will overlook the valley. In the old hotel, half the rooms looked over the parking lot. The new lodge will have fantastic views from every room.

"And the lodge will use mass timber construction, which is an interesting architectural effort. That will start pretty quickly. That should come online in fall of 2025."

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