Oak Mountain State Park gets campsite facelift, new access road off US 280
The campground at Oak Mountain State Park is getting a makeover thanks to the support of the citizens of Alabama.
Last year, the state park system was awarded a bond issue, and part of it is going towards a complete renovation of the campgrounds.
“The campground closed for renovation at the end of August to begin the construction phase and hopes to open in summer 2024,” said Scottie Jackson, central district superintendent for Alabama State Parks.
The size of the campground and campsites will remain roughly the same, according to Jackson.
“There is still going to be a lot of nice good space in between campsites to have plenty of room to spread out,” she said. “The idea behind the renovation wasn't to pack in more sites, and the area just has a lot of upgrades to the sites. The entire campground is getting a total facelift.”
All three of the bathhouses are being completely redone, along with the addition of a new pavilion, a new camp store with groceries and souvenir items available for purchase, a small dog park and a new playground area with state-of-the-art equipment.
The electrical capacity will also be increased to 50 amp, but it will still include the 30 amp and standard wall plug on each post.
Jackson said the cabins are not part of the renovation and guests can continue to book any of their 10 lakeside cabins. The equestrian campground remains open too.
For those looking for a campsite to use while the renovations are underway, Jackson recommends visiting any of Alabama’s 21 state parks.
“One of the closer and larger campgrounds is Cheaha State Park, less than two hours away,” Jackson said. “Wind Creek State Park on Lake Martin is an hour away and DeSoto State Park in Guntersville is about two hours away,
so there are several around the central Alabama area.”
Crews are working daily, and Jackson said everything has been on or ahead of schedule and she’s really pleased with the work that has been completed so far.
“The big takeaway is that there are a lot of wonderful things coming to Oak Mountain State Park in the future and I'm really excited,” she said. “Our guests are so wonderful and loyal to OMSP, and everyone's very excited and anxiously awaiting this new renovation and grand reopening. Our goal is to provide the most wonderful, first-class experience for our guests.”
Belcher Road access
A new access road into Oak Mountain State Park is being constructed off U.S. 280 at Belcher Road near North Shelby Baptist Church.
Shelby County Manager Chad Scroggins said it will take several months to fully develop, but word has gotten out that it’s happening, and people are already trying to use the access.
“We want to warn people to give us some space and time before it’s actually open,” Scroggins said.
The parking lot won't take long, but the gate itself is being installed by the Department of Conservation and could be months. We are also putting [in] a restroom and pavilion. If you're at King's Chair, you’re only about 50 to 100 yards from the road where that parking lot will access.”
There will be a footpath/road bike trail that connects the North Lakes Connector Trail, which is between the North Trailhead and the back lakes, in the Forever Wild addition, Scroggins said.