Best Tent Camping near Birmingham, AL

I had read about the mill and covered bridge, and we had planned to visit after leaving Cheaha State Park but we didn’t know there was also a campground. I looked for someone to talk with but did not see anyone out and about at 10 am on a Sunday (even though the park was open and many of the sites were occupied). The park itself is open Wednesday – Sunday, 9 am – 5 pm (although the website says 10 am). The admission price for the park listed on the website was $3 but had increased to $5 per person (payment is on the honor system if not staffed). I called later to find out if the camping rates had also increased and yes, they had. There is a choice of primitive tent camping ($15), tent sites with lights ($15), or camper pads ($30); the camper pads are FHU. The sites all appeared to be level and many of them (primarily the tent sites) are on or close to the river. 

The restrooms were dimly lit and not the best but doable. 

Canoe rentals are available (assuming only on days when the park is open) for half days: $5/hour, $15/half day, or $25 for a full day. The entrance sign also advertises disc golf.

Note that there are railroad tracks running through the park, but no trains went by when we visited so not sure how active they are (given our track record with trains and campgrounds, likely one would go thundering through at 3 am!) 

Even though we visited when the park was supposedly open, I could not find anyone to talk to so this review is based on my observations and a follow-up phone call.

Update for most recent visit: This is by far the best place to camp near Birmingham and has many different options. I was just there this past weekend and it was so beautiful to see all the fall colors starting to show. My wife and I hiked up to the King’s Chair lookout on this visit and it was such an amazing sight. I would definitely recommend this time of year to visit the park. Make sure to check out my videos that show off some of the great features of the trails. The campground here has several different types of sites including walk in (tent only), RV, and even horse camping. Just make sure to check in advance if they have space since it can fill up in the busy season.

Oak Mountain State Park is Alabama’s largest state park. Located just outside of Birmingham, it’s easy to escape to nature without being too far off the beaten path. This park is HUGE! There’s so many things to do here, we plan to return when we have more time to explore!

We saw several hiking trails, a horseback riding area, a golf course, a lake with a beach and swimming area, plus kayak and boats, we also saw some kind of skiing tow rope area! It was really cool, I’d never seen one of those! I read the park is known for mountain biking also, and I noticed a few road bikes in the bike lane driving in.

We originally booked a tent site without electric, but it was blazing hot, so we decided to move to a site with electric so we could have fans in our rooftop tent and ended up in site A06. The site was shaded and there was no one in that area so we had great privacy. Our site backed up to the woods, so it was nice.

The tent (no electric) sites are the best in my opinion. Most are back in the woods and shaded. I don’t believe you can reserve a specific tent site, as they assign you one when you arrive, but there were so many great tent sites, i don’t think it would be a problem unless it was a super busy weekend. Most of the tent sites are walk in also, so if you have a rooftop tent, or car camping, these won’t work.

A loop seemed to have larger, wooded, sites with more privacy. B loop was wide open. The tent sites were great in both loops though.

The restrooms were ancient. They could use some updates, but they were clean and functional, and there were multiple facilities throughout the campground.

There’s a camp store at the check in area, they have the essentials, and they do have ice. The ladies working in there were really nice and helpful too.

Oak Mountain is a great spot to camp, just go when there’s not a heat wave in Alabama, and you have time to explore the park!

*It's been a while since my last visit, but since I camp there every year, several times each summer, I figured I'd go ahead and do a quick review anyway.

Every summer for the past few years I've traveled to Oak mountain, typically going several times each summer (July and August) to run the Southeastern trail series. Although there are numerous back country camp sites, I've always stayed at the campground due to its convenient location, and always stay at the same campsite (B6) each visit. The campground is divided into two sections (A & B) and each campsite has parking right at the site itself.

Although the first few tent sites on the B-side are located right off the road, they're set back far enough that they feel pretty secluded with plenty of trees to give a slight sense of privacy. These first few sites have no electrical hookup or water, but are located a short walking distance from the front bathhouse (bathroom and shower). The bathhouse directly across from my site is rarely busy, and the single shower is clean with plenty of hot water.

Each site has a cinderblock retaining wall, a picnic table, and a steel fire ring with a flip-top cooking grate. If you're tent camping, the pad is dirt with a layer of pea-gravel, so a sleeping pad is a must. Firewood is easy to find in the surrounding woods if there hasn't been a lot of people thru the area. Otherwise, wood is available at the store at the entrance to the campground. The campground is easily accessible from the parks back gate entrance, which is only a short driving distance to pretty much anything you could need (restaurants, gas, groceries, etc).  There's even a small beach area at the back of the campground exclusive to campground guests. The staff is always friendly and reserving a campsite online is easy.

One of the great things about Oak Mountain State Park is that there's plenty to do aside from the camping; hiking, mountain biking, horse stables, a BMX track, an archery range, canoeing, paddle boats/ paddle boarding, several lakeside beaches with playgrounds, a wakeboarding course, a wildlife rehabilitation center, and a treetop nature boardwalk which features several enclosures where you can view birds of prey up close. Also, if you're into trail running or mountain biking, there are several race series held at the park each year.

All in all, I love this park and already have my reservations made again for this summer!

I had booked a tent site at Oak Mountain - site unseen. The tent sites were across from the RV sites (the RV sites in this area were very close together- there were other RV sites with more distance between). My site had power and water. There were two section on my site. One higher (I assume for tent setup) and one lower, surrounded by a wall of cinder blocks . The power and water hookup was just above the cinder blocks so I assume that area was for table/kitchen set up, or canopy/screenroom. I chose to setup my tent below the wall due to the ground being more level and flat (and a bit more privacy). The site was completely shaded so great for camping in warmer months, and the tent sites were spaced a good distance from each other.
My only drawback was that this was a carry-on site. You couldn’t park directly on the site. It wasn’t too terribly far of a walk, but it was up and down a steep hill. So me being unaware, did not bring appropriate way to carry my heavy gear 1000 feet or more , up and down a hill. Not a problem if you have a strong man with you, but for this 60 year old bird-it was a challenge. All in all the tent sites are fairly spacious (don’t think you could put an 18 person tent tho) have good space between each site, have power and water and are shaded.
Drawbacks would be the distance from parking to setup area.

Camped in a tent in a power & water hook up site. Our site wasn't the greatest. It didn't have any trees and one very bright street light, however, it was close to the bath house and pavilion. We were with a SOTF group, so I could hang my hammock on a friend's trees. We hiked around the large lake. It's a beautiful park! The staff was very friendly, helpful and had a great sense of humor! There are lots of trails, several lakes, horse stables, golf course, and a wildlife rescue center that does tours. Oh and a beach and paddle boats to rent. Would camp there in a heartbeat!

I arrived without a reservation trying to get one of the first come first serve spots. There is a gate without intercom, so you can’t just drive up. I called the phone number listed and the woman on the phone gave me the gate code and told me which sites were available. Worked out pretty well. Stayed in 22. One bathhouse is open. Another one I tried was locked due to Covid. Clean. Yellohammer sites have full hookup. Then there are tent sites. I was contemplating getting a tent site with my van, but they were pretty unlevel and small. There is a public boat ramp and one specifically for the campground. Water level was still very high in the lake after recent rains and storms.

I've been here a lot over the years and always find something new. There are cabins, RV and tent camping available. There is a bmx area, an aviary, kayaks, canoes, paddle boats. You can fish, ride horses, golf, swim and hike. They have an amphitheater and have lots of concerts, too.

Beautiful 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.

This campground was a great place to get away! There are a lot of tent sites that are back in the woods for quiet and solitude. The swimming area and dock were a short walk from our campsite. The kids loved it. There are many beautiful trails for hiking. We did the hike to peavine falls! Beautiful!

We stayed here overnight and it was a nice campground. Sites are a bit randomly dispersed. Sites for tents all the way up to motor homes. The tent sites here were really neat. They were back in the woods but marked very well. Lots of trails and activities. We did not receive any local channels with our antenna, but we didn’t try to adjust it since we were only there for one night. Several full hookup sites. Nice and shaded in most places. Very clean and quiet.

I went here for tent camping and had a nice time but it was mostly families with RVs. There is a nice lake where a lot of people were boating as well. I did the firefly loop and I was the only tent camper everyone else was in an RV. Restrooms at the campground were closed due to covid. Also they emailed me the gate code and info to get into the campground but I didn’t see it until after I left. I luckily ran into the campground host and she was able to direct me.

We spent the weekend in site A59 with two tents and three people. It is a nice, level site with plenty of room for everything we needed. Most tent sites in the campground have cinder block retaining walls build in that make the sites level and are very convenient for setting up your kitchen area.  The picnic table was old, but large and quite serviceable. There was a sturdy fire ring with grill at every site. NOTE: ALL tent sites in this campground are considered walk-in only, meaning that you can't drive right into the site with your car. Some are closer to the road than others, and it is hard to tell this from map. A59 was maybe 75 yards uphill from the parking spot on the road. Not a problem for us to carry our gear up, but it might be for some. We really liked this site because it backed up to the woods and was nice and shaded. Other tent sites were visible, but not close enough to feel crowded at all.

Check in was easy. You do not have to pay the park entrance fee if you are camping over night. Maps are available at the store. Staff was very nice and friendly. Firewood is available for $8 a bundle, but it was green and would not burn. I will take the propane fire pit next time.

The bath house was fine. Not luxurious, but not bad at all. As always, take your own toilet tissue - better safe than sorry. The bath house was warm and cozy, the toilets worked, and there was hot water (very hot) and soap. The hand dryer in the men's side was broken. As far as COVID precautions, there is a sign asking that only one person go in the bath house at a time, but that is not really practical, so a mask is a good idea.

The activities in the park are fantastic. We hiked for 5 hours and never had to cover the same ground. Views are glorious. There are dozens of other things to do, also. The kayakers seemed to be having a great time, as did the mountain bikers. People are friendly here. Lots of dogs, all responsibly leashed.

I was very excited to visit Birmingham for my first trip. I didn’t know what to expect out of the city although I have heard several things about it’s long standing history.

One of the most attractive things about this location was that it was close to the Botanical Gardens which I had seen raved about and a lot of top magazines. Southern Living had featured them as one of their southern living gardens and I was very interested in seeing exactly just what that had in store.

Since I am a tent camper finding a location close to a city is sometimes somewhat difficult. However Birmingham location and proximity to this park are very close and that made for the best of both worlds.

While I was at the campground I enjoyed a wonderful tent site that was primitive. They have both primitive and improve sides at the campground and you can pick and choose from either. I enjoy the primitive sites simply because it does save a little bit of money while on one of my budget blog trips this stretches my dollars further and helps me go a little bit farther to the next location. I noticed that the RV sites were plenty long and could accommodate almost any size rig and still have space. There were both pull through and back and sides for both tent campers and RV campers.

The shower house although it was not the most improved our house I have been to was nice and the water pressure was strong. I enjoyed several hiking trails while out at the park during the day and then made my way into Birmingham for the evening.

The community of Birmingham it’s a wonderful place and I truly enjoyed this stop I only hope that I can explore it more on my next trip there. So many things to do while here it was hard to not have a bit more time here.

Since this is the recreation area associated with the Deerlick creek campground I will include my review from the campground here along with photos of the area and things to do!

The tent sites are very nice and groomed and have a wonderful view of the lake. They have individual water pumps at each site and room for several cars to pull up and park. They were also very friendly and easy going about moving sites and check in/out times. I would highly recommend this site for anyone in the Tuscaloosa area. Also easy access to the nearby lakes for boating and swimming.

After having a great experience at this campground we decided to go back for a second visit with a larger group. This trip was even better than the first and we really love this campground. The people who work at the entrance are always super friendly and the tent only sites are all very large and private. We set up our site with 3 tents and brought 8 people along. We had no issues checking in and getting our site set up and we got some swimming in down at the beach area. The campground also has a great bathroom facility that they clean daily. If you are in the Birmingham or Tuscaloosa area I highly recommend checking out this campground.