If you're looking for glamping near Bessemer, look no further. Camping has always been a favorite form of travel for many, but Bessemer, AL glamping is a new and unique way to do it. The Dyrt makes it easy to find glamping near Bessemer.
From its humble beginning as a 940-acre park atop Double Oak Mountain established by the Alabama State Lands Act of 1927, Oak Mountain State Park has grown to 9,940 acres making it Alabama’s largest state park. With the largest land-area, one of the widest varieties of outdoor activities of any state park, and its proximity to Birmingham, Oak Mountain is a perfect stop while traveling to and from the state’s largest city. Topping it all off is the park’s stunning physical landscape, which alone makes for an unforgettable experience.
Oak Mountain State Park has once again been awarded the coveted "Certificate of Excellence" from Tripadvisor!
Deerlick Creek Campground is located on Holt Lake on the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway northeast of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The facility is in a beautiful forest along the shoreline, providing campers and day-use visitors with access to water sports, boating, fishing, swimming, hiking and biking.
Campers can explore the lakeshore using the campground's hiking trails as well as a paved bicycle trail. The waterway is popular for fishing for bass, crappie, bream, catfish and more.
Holt Lake was created by the damming of the Black Warrior River. The campground is situated amidst a mixed pine and hardwood forest, which displays colorful foliage along the riverbanks each fall. Deer, squirrel, wild turkey, migratory birds and blue birds, all live in the Holt Lake area. The Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway consists of six lakes with a total length of 457 miles and 39,800 surface acres of water. Temperatures range from the 80s to 90s from April through September, and annual rainfall averages about 60 inches.
For facility specific information, please call (205) 388-1111.
Deerlick Creek is 17 miles from the University of Alabama where you can find sporting events, museums, and other attractions. Deerlick Creek is also located 13 miles from Ol' Colony Golf Course home to the University of Alabama golf teams as well as a disc golf course.
$25 / night
The Clear Creek Recreation Area has become one of Alabama's most popular recreation areas and has many repeat visitors. The Bankhead National Forests largest recreation area, Clear Creek is in Winston County about 13 miles north of Jasper, ALlabama and was constructed on the shore of Lewis Smith Lake giving direct recreational access to the lake via the day use boat launch, to boating, water skiing, personal watercraft use, as well as fishing for largemouth bass, striped bass, and crappie. With many modern conveniences, it offers facilities for individual and group camping, picnicking, swimming, boat launching, hiking, and biking. Check-out time for Clear Creek is no later than 12:00pm the day of departure. Check-in time is no earlier than 2:00pm. This 2 hour window allows our staff adequate time to clean and maintain each site. The campground itself has four paved loops with paved parking spurs, and offers 102 RV campsites, including 32 double sites; 11 of these are pull-through sites. Each campsite has water and electrical hookups, a fire ring, picnic table, and lantern posts. All campsites have 50-amp and 30-amp electrical service. There is a trailer dump station located within the recreation area. Each of the four loops has a bathhouse with flush toilets and showers. All sites are level and spacious; Single campsites accommodate up to six people and two vehicles; double sites up to twelve people and four vehicles. No garbage dumpsters are in the campground; users are required to pack out trash and deposit it in the dumpsters by the dump station. An entrance station with an electronic gate is available to control access to the campground. Two group camping areas, available by reservation only, accommodate up to 25 tent campers each and share a bathhouse with flushing toilets and showers. The day use portion of the recreation area focuses on the swimming beach, served by a bathhouse with flushing toilets and showers. Next to the beach is a 50-person group picnic pavilion, with a flush toilet. On the other side of the beach lies a picnic area with 53 family units, all connected by newly paved paths. On the point, adjacent to the lake, are two more 50-person picnic pavilions, served by a nearby flush toilet. A 1.5-mile paved bicycle trail connects the campground to the day use area. Also, there is the 2.5-mile recently paved Raven Cliffs hiking trail in the day use area. Use of the picnic pavilions is by reservation only; users also pay the day use fee as they park in the facility. A year-round boat launch is available with an SST vault toilet and boat/trailer parking. Welcome to the Clear Creek Recreation Area... Use the Recreation.gov Mobile App. Visitors on-the-go can use the Recreation.gov mobile app to reserve and pay for upcoming stays, reducing the need for on-site transactions and cash handling. Download the Recreation.gov app through the Apple App Store or on Google Play. Functionality of the iPhone app available here... Functionality of the Android app available here...
The campground has a basketball and volleyball court, and horseshoe pit. Interpretive programs are hosted during the summer. Day-use visitors and campers have access to a boat ramp and swim beach. The lake provides excellent fishing for Kentucky Spotted Bass and Hybrid Striped Bass. There are two trails in the area; the 2.5-mile Raven Interpretive Trail and a 1.5-mile bicycle trail.
The 180,000+ acre Bankhead National Forest is in northwestern Alabama, and its prominent feature is the Sipsey Wilderness . Known as "The Land of a Thousand Waterfalls," the Sipsey is at the juncture of three separate geologic areas: the Appalachian Plateau, the Cumberland Plateau and the Coastal Plain. The vegetation from these three unique environments blend into a remarkable diversity of species, with overlapping ranges creating many unusual plant associations. The Sipsey is a 12,726 acre area of swift streams, waterfalls, sandstone cliffs, undisturbed gorges, majestic hardwood forests, wildflowers, birds, animals and is home to Alabama's largest tree, a tulip poplar with a 21-foot circumference at its base. Lewis-Smith Lake (or Smith Lake) is located in the counties of Cullman, Walker and Winston. The 300-foot high dam, completed in 1961 by Alabama Power Company, impounds the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River to form the lake. Smith Lake has a surface area of 21,200 acres, 500 miles of shoreline, a watershed area of 944 square miles, a retention time of 435 days, and a maximum depth of 264 feet. What's Happening in Your Alabama National Forest Video
Four nearby attractions within Bankhead National Forest are: The Little Natural Bridge is the longest rock arch east of the Rockies. It was formed 200 million years ago when the sea washed the sandstone away leaving iron ore veins holding the bridge. In this area thrive 27 varieties of Ferns and a number of Canadian Hemlocks traced to the Ice Age. Satellite Map of Natural Bridge Park The 19th-century Pine Torch Church is one of the oldest churches in Alabama and one of only four surviving log churches. The church is located in the Bankhead Forest in Lawrence County at the intersection of Country Roads 70 and 73 Several online sources say it was built in the 1890s but a sign at the site claims in was built in the 1840s. According to legend, Pine Torch got its name from the pine knots that were set ablaze to light the building after dark. It is made of hand-hewn logs. The original floor, made of hand-hewn poplar planks, was stolen piece-by-piece and was replaced in 1940, according to a historic marker at the site. The original roof was made of hand-split wooden shingles. It was later replaced with tin. Behind the church is a cemetery whose grounds are covered with sand to make maintenance easier. A newer and larger wooden church was built at the back of the property. It is still in use. Satellite Map of the Pine Torch Church The Houston Civil War Jail - Houston, Alabama served as the first county seat for Winston County. The area known today as Winston County was originally established in 1850 as Hancock County, named after John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of Independence. In 1858 the county was renamed Winston after the first native-born governor of Alabama, John Anthony Winston. Old Houston, located a few miles away from present day Houston, was the first county seat. Citizens voted to move the county seat to present day Houston in the late 1850's and a log jail was constructed at that time. The jail burned during the Civil War and was rebuilt in 1868. The Houston jail was built of hand-hewn logs filled with nails to prevent prisoners from "sawing their way to freedom". The jail held prisoners and provided a site for court. In 1884 the county seat was moved from Houston to present day Double Springs. Houston Historical Society Discover the Incredible Variety of Habitats and Birds in the Bankhead National Forest. Birding on the Bankhead
$30 / night
Bama RV Station is set up to be your home away from home. Our RV park opened in 2009 with the goal of providing guests with a trouble-free and enjoyable RV camping experience.We've been a top choice for camping. We offer 76 campsites, all with top-quality amenities. We have a basement level commercial building in site of your rv to seek refuge in inclement weather. Our 19 acre complex was created with plenty of area to stretch your legs & 3 fenced in pet areas to let your pets run supervised under your control.
$30 - $35 / night
$5 / night
$99 - $150 / night
Sightseeing, hiking, camping, and bird watching are the main attractions at the state forest. Weogufka State Forest is open to the public for sightseeing, bird watching, primitive camping, and social events. Remember; be considerate to other recreational users and their needs.
Lakeside Glampsite
$40 - $75 / night
Traveler
I grew up near oak mountain and it’s always been a decent campground for the price. After we purchased our first camper this summer we decided to go give it a shot at Oak Mountain before we went further out. We were unaware that they had completely revamped the entire place. The bathhouses were awesome and clean as were the laundry rooms. They had plenty of supplies in the store if you forgot something. We will be returning during the fall. Sites are pretty spacious and well maintained.
GuideHaving visited 3 times now, twice before the renovations and now once after, I can confidently say I love this park! I have previously primitive camped here and now camper at a full hookup RV site. Tent sites range from "water in vicinity," "water at site," and "water and 20 amp power at site." Rv sites are water and electric or full hook up. I think all RV sites are now 50/30/20 but I'm not certain. There is a dump station near the exit of the campground. Sites are mostly level/slight grade but found that not all drain very well when it rains, including our site a17.
The park has so many different activities including -Hiking -Bmx trails -Swimmimg -Archery range And more I can't even remember.
Flip side watersports operates at 2 locations and paid activities include -wake boarding -Aqua Park And rentals of -Kayaks -stand up paddle boards -paddle boats And -Canoes.
There are things to do year round and the weather was great for mid July.
GuideThis state park has it all. A place to swim, numerous hiking trails, playgrounds, etc. The newly remodeled campground is spectacular. The pads are super level (at least in A16. Small tent spots sprinkled in. Saw security and police several times just passing through to check on folks. Love that. We will be back many more times for sure.
Scout
This is a motocross, zip line and paint ball camp. The people that checked us in were great. Charge was $5 per person. So $11.00 for us. The sites are grassy. We are the only ones here so we pulled up to the bath house. They will be out to turn on the hot water in a bit. Quiet. Relaxing after a day of seeing the sites. I have 2 bars on my Verizon.
Guide
 this is a great campsite. You might need four-wheel-drive to get up to the ruins, but maybe not. Mary the caretaker of the area could easily tell you and is a great communicator and very helpful. I highly recommend this area. 
Guide
We just needed a stop with hookups for the night. But this place exceeded expectations. We had a pull through spot so we didn't have to disconnect our tow dolly. Gravel site was fairly level despite being in a hilly area. There's quite a bit of space between most of the sites (particularly the back in sites). Our site was right up against another pull through on our patio side though. No big deal, if we were coming to stay for a while we would get a back in spot. We did not check out the bathrooms or laundry facilities, but there are several of them.
Guide
Its not impossible, just slow going. Roads to get here are narrow, hilly, and twisty, but in good condition. If you have a rig longer than 30ft and want room to breathe, get a pull-through site. The campground doesn’t do the best job at marking how to get to each site and some site number posts are knocked over, like Site #16, which makes it a little tricky to navigate. Water pressure is on the low side compared to other campgrounds. But the site views and peace & quiet are worth it.
Scout
Quiet campground with 3 dog parks level lots. Numerous sewer as well as non sewer lots. Economy camping option in the economy storage area. Numbers posted for assistance as well as campground office in with the self storage office.
Scout
This is a great campground that has ONLY long term camping so you really get to know your neighbors. The power is not included but the prices are very reasonable.
Our lot is spacious, gravel pad with a cement patio.
ScoutAt the regular campground, there’s only 30amp connections. Some have sewer and some not. There is no camp wifi. Swimming is quit a distance from campground.
The campground at the stables are pull through and 50 amp and full hookups.
TravelerI tent camped with two kiddos in spot #30 and we had a lovely view of the woods. Each spot has a gravel platform and some of my stakes wouldn’t grab but the tent held up. It was noisy at night with some folks partying but eventually it died down. Spots are a bit close (you can see the camper parked across the street from us) and you can easily hear comings and goings of other campers. It was May when we camped here and hot and very humid during the day. Cooler but still super humid at night. Each site has a nice fire ring, picnic table and a grill.
The guy at the front gate was super nice and helpful.
My kids enjoyed hiking and the bball court (where some other kids congregated). The nets were barely hanging on but still playable. The bathrooms were clean.
GuideRv sites were paved, pretty level and well spaced. Bathhouses were pretty rough, dirty in disrepair and dated.
LegendI have camped at the horse campground a few times. Nothing fancy there, they are side by side pull thrus similar to a KOA. And the horse trails are nice. This time I camped at the regular campground in a travel trailer. Site A14. Site was pull thru across from camphosts and bathroom. Site was small but nice - water/elec only and pull thru. Picnic table and fire ring, no grill. Camp hosts (woman) was friendly. Asked for assistance in moving a bench so my son could get his wheelchair along the sidewalk to the men’s bathroom: her husband (assume they are married) never came out despite being asked by his wife a few times and me waiting 20 min. On that note, the bathrooms are old and dingy and not ADA at all. But it would have been nice to get some assistance. Overall, this is a good campground if you have young kids and like a lot of activity around you and don’t need anything ADA. Oh and be aware of poison ivy. It was EVERYWHERE
TravelerBathrooms needed updating. Paid more than it was worth. Our site was nice and could walk down to the lake.
ScoutAlthough weather is extremely cool this time of the year the campground is great very clean and quiet awesome experience
ScoutThe customer service was terrible! There was a bit of confusion while checking in and they ended up over charging my card by 40 dollars. Which would have been fine we chose to extend our reservation. However, they don't want to refund my money. I have had to jump through hoops just to gain consideration on the matter. In the beginning I was completely shut down with one excuse after another as to why my transactions from the bank were not accurate. Then I had to print off a official statement from my bank which is not a option. For security reasons they only mail requested statements physically to the address on file aside from the monthly statement issued at the end of each month and its th 8th! So I had to pay another 39 dollars to extend. I used the same card to show the same type of charge previously because we ended up paying cash upon check in. That wasn't enough! Its 2 days after check out and I still don't have my money back. She said the accountant had to review the alleged charge. I was outraged. Not to mention the fact that it wasn't I who made the mistake why was I having to jump through hoops regardless.
Guide
I didn’t have a reservation prior to arriving, but the staff was extremely helpful with locating a spot to my specifications (close to bathroom, full shade). There’s a great paved trail for biking or walking. I use Verizon and had no problem getting cell service.
ScoutLove this park!
LegendLiterally right off the interstate at Tuscaloosa. Much lower noise level than I expected. Definitely a parking lot, without trees. We are in site 9, pretty level gravel site, electric and water hookup only. 2 dump stations are available, 2 dog parks. 30 dollars a night. Mostly long term parking. No firepits or picnic tables. Check in by phone, no office.
GuideOur site had great access to the lake but not on the busiest part of the lake. We tried out the paved bike trail which was very nice. We also like the other trails near the campground. All the facilities are very nice.
TravelerBeautiful camp ground, unfortunately infested with ticks. We prefer a smaller campground with everything in close vicinity.
ScoutThe park itself is beautiful, but the campground was trashy in my opinion. We were just traveling through but I wouldn’t want to stay for longer than a night. The campground by the interstate exit was a lot nicer when driving by.
The spot we had was extremely hard to park in and the hookups didn’t make sense how they were posted. Pavilion looked dumpy and not well kept.
GuideThis was our first trip to Clear Creek and we were blown away. We stayed on Fox Loop and it had great water views and shade! Staff was very nice and kept things clean and family friendly! Can't wait to stay again.
LegendPROS
Senior discount
Reserved 363 days prior to arriving
Very friendly check in staff H
Huge park…very nicely landscaped and neatly mowed
Quiet
Regularly saw ranger driving through campground
A30 level site and nearly full shade coverage
Moveable wooden and metal picnic table
Metal fire pit with cooking grate
Campfire wood for sale at park office
Don’t miss the TREE TOP NATURE TRAIL!
Good food at The Grille at Oak Mountain State Park inside the Pro Shop at The Oaks Golf Course
All major shopping and eateries just beyond the park boundaries in Pelham, Hoover and Birmingham
CONS
$5 reservation fee for making my own on-line reservation
Street lights throughout campground
Toilet/shower facility heavily used which badly needs updating
Campground trash dumpsters are beyond the campground gate…not walkable
Poor signage upon entering Park. We stopped at the first building on the right, as it was marked RANGER OFFICE with a large, rig-friendly parking area, but it was not a check-in for campers. Then we went through another gate on the main roadway and it wasn’t the campground check-in either. Campground directional signs after we got through that gate. Glad we didn’t arrive in the dark!
Limited and very tight rig parking at campground gate check-in
No notice by park on the south entrance roadwork and roundabout construction...horribly tight to maneuver... recommend North entrance/exit until construction is completed…that’s how we departed.
Never saw a camp host
No WiFi
2 bars Verizon
TravelerWe spent two nights in Deerlick Creek campground. It is operated by the Corp of Engineers. The sites were large with new wooden picnic tables and water and electric. We stayed in a standard electric site because we car camp and our tent attaches to the tailgate of the car. The primitive sites were only available for walk-ins. We couldn’t find a place to put our kayak in the lake because it is very steep. The trails are not maintained or marked on a map.
GuideSmaller park but absolutely perfect. Nice big spots, great access to trails and water.
GuideBeautiful large park. One night. Likes the site arrangements - interspersed with tent sites, parking pads at a different angle next to each other. Enjoyed the Peavine Falls Trail on the way out of the park in the morning. Have to buy a trail map. Damp wood from the camp store. TMobile good signal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Bessemer, AL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Bessemer, AL is Oak Mountain State Park Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 91 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Bessemer, AL?
TheDyrt.com has all 9 glamping camping locations near Bessemer, AL, with real photos and reviews from campers.
