OMSP director credits new park amenities for rise in visitors

During the past five years, Oak Mountain State Park has seen a significant increase in visitors, with a nearly 200,000 jump from 2013 to 2017. 

Park Director Kelly Ezell credits the addition of amenities for the change.

“We have partnered with the county to make some improvements: the new beach at Beaver Lake, new fishing piers and a new swimming pier,” Ezell said, noting projects that were completed in time for the summer of 2017. “I think those things have had a positive impact [on visitation].”

A catalyst for additional features near the park’s back entrance in 2017 was shifting park usage to new areas. Last year, they saw many more people in a traditionally “underutilized” part of the park, Ezell said.

“We definitely saw more people who were utilizing that beach in the back area,” Ezell said, regarding 2017. “When it was crowded here [at the front beach], they’d go back there.”

Ezell said the park has also benefited from the 2016 passage of Amendment 2, which allowed state parks to keep the money they make through entrance fees and other means.

“It’s made it where we keep the money we make, and we’re able to invest it back in the park, and we’ve done some really good things with that money,” she said.

Those funds have gone toward building improvements and changes to park infrastructure that Ezell said “would have been impossible” before. 

It also allows the park to partner with Shelby County more frequently, which has led to the construction of new bathhouses, road improvements and other changes. 

With each project, Ezell said, they hope to expand their reach into the community.

“This park in particular has a lot of local users,” Ezell said. “We still have folks who come from out of state. We have a lot of folks who come [to the area] and stay at the park or stay outside the park and use the park, but we have a very large user group that’s local.”

In May 2018, Phase 1 of a bike lane widening project in the park was set to wrap up, making the roadway safe for bikers and cars at the same time, Ezell said. The Birmingham area has a large biking community, which made the bike lanes a priority. 

“It’s just such a big sport here. People enjoy it so much,” she said. 

The park has also added amenities that help reach other groups. They have improved the cable wakeboarding area, reopened the stable and guided horseback trail rides, added an archery course and have the Alabama Wildlife Center and the Oak Mountain Interpretive Center for those who want to have a hands-on wildlife learning experience.

“I think that Oak Mountain State Park offers an avenue for everybody to be able to get out in nature and to get out and be able to enjoy a beautiful day,” Ezell said. “It offers the community a better quality of life.”

They hope to keep making improvements that benefit the community as well, Ezell said. 

As part of a statewide survey, OMSP is asking park patrons specific questions about their experiences: Are you bringing your dog? What activities do you take part in? Is there anything you would like to see improved or changed? 

Those answers will be distributed in an official report, and the park will use those results to steer future projects.

“We want to reach as many people as we can, but our goal really is to just make the improvements to the park that need to be made,” she said. “... Our goals are really to improve the park to the best that it can be.”