11 Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park
33 Fort Toulouse–Fort Jackson National Historic Park
43 Blakeley Historic State Park
50 Old St. Stephens Historic Park
:: BEST FOR PRIVACY AND SOLITUDE
15 Clear Creek Recreation Area
32 Chilatchee Creek Campground
43 Blakeley Historic State Park
:: BEST FOR SWIMMING
21 Lake Guntersville State Park
48 Magnolia Branch Wildlife Reserve
:: BEST FOR SCENIC VISTAS AND PHOTOGRAPHY
13 Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve
14 Cathedral Caverns State Park
:: BEST FOR WATERFALLS
6 Lake Chinnabee Recreation Area
13 Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve
:: BEST FOR WILDFLOWERS
13 Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I cannot possibly thank all of the people who made this book possible in the short space allotted for such things. Countless people chimed in with suggestions for campgrounds and why they thought their choice should be included in this book. I took all to heart and used many. Thanks to all of you for your input.
There are a few people, however, to whom I need to extend special thanks, because without them the pages you now hold in your hand would not have been possible. Topping the list are Susan Haynes and Amber Kaye Henderson with Menasha Ridge Press. Susan believed in this project and got the ball rolling. Amber had the tough job of making sense of my scribblings and hieroglyphics. Thanks to both of you.
For input and guidance on campgrounds to visit, I have to thank Jim Felder and Fred Couch with the Alabama Scenic River Trail, Rob Grant with the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, Grey Brennan and his staff at the Alabama Tourism Department, and Lesley Hodge with the US Forest Service.
I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the many US Army Corps of Engineers volunteer campground hosts and US Forest Service park attendants for their generosity in sharing information. Always eager to impart knowledge of their campground and region, they added a new depth to many entries.
And finally, and most importantly, I have to thank my wife, Maggie. She was with me—literally—every step of the way. Even when I had no leg to stand on, she was there to help me with the research for this book. I could not have done this without you.
PREFACE
Picture this: Buchanan, New York, 1963. A young man, and by young I mean 5 years old, joins his family on the first day of what would become a family tradition—camping on a beautiful strip of beach along the banks of the Hudson River. Yes, the Hudson River. We were oblivious to the environmental struggles this majestic river was and would be facing. All we knew was that the river provided one long endless summer of fun with swimming, water skiing, hiking, and, of course, camping.
We spent many hot summer nights in that behemoth of a tent we lugged along with us, a giant Coleman canvas cabin structure with massive aluminum poles that took hours to erect, but once up hosted many late-night gin rummy games and endless conversations around lantern light.
And that’s where it started, and for the life of me, I can’t remember a time when I was not in camping mode, whether it was pitching a tent along a beautiful hiking trail, beside a scenic river, or in a public campground, the tent was always at the ready to rekindle those memories and make new ones.
Eventually I married my wife, Maggie, and we moved from New Jersey to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, along the state’s Gulf Coast. Quickly I learned that Alabama has some of the most beautiful public campgrounds anywhere. They’re much more than just a place to put up a tent for a night or two. They are scenic, inviting, friendly, and teeming with recreational opportunities, and in Alabama the adventures seem endless. I have car camped on crisp winter nights at DeSoto State Park when the campground was nearly deserted and snow silently fell around me; I have spent nights at Monte Sano State Park and left the warm glow of my campfire to take in planetarium shows and glimpses of the heavens through the telescopes at the Von Braun Astronomical Observatory before turning in for the night; and I have spent more than one night along the banks of Lake Chinnabee in the Talladega National Forest, using it as a base camp for amazing hikes to high mountain peaks, ridges, and cascading waterfalls.
Recreational opportunities and amazing landscapes abound at or near Alabama’s campgrounds. Fishermen have plenty of opportunities to try for some world-record fishing along the banks of thousands of miles of rivers and waterways and, of course, on the Gulf of