Do you enjoy camping but don't want to rough it? Glamping is a great option. Glamping offers the perfect opportunity to explore Calera and stay off the beaten path. You're sure to find glamping for your Calera camping adventure.
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.
$20 - $30 / 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.
$99 - $150 / night
Bohamia is a 268 acre private forest retreat surrounded by 400,000 acres of the Talladega National Forest. You'll feel like a world away even though you are about an hour's drive from Birmingham and Atlanta.
Booking options include temperature controlled Glamping cabins with queen size beds and private decks, RV sites, and camp sites around the property. Gorgeous bathhouse (seriously) with private restrooms and endless hot showers.
Bohamia is best explored on foot or bicycle (or kayak in the case of our five acre spring fed pond and nearby Talladega Lake). We have miles of marked trails and many unmarked trails for adventurous types. We also have marked trail access to off property gems like Talladega Creek and the Blue Hole waterfall and swimming area.
All sites allow at least one vehicle to park nearby unless otherwise noted. In many cases you can have two vehicles by your site, or can park in group areas nearby when not loading or unloading.
$25 - $99 / 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
Legend
This campground is set up mostly for people who either want a long term space for their RV or to stay in a yurt for a couple of nights. The whole place is set up to have easy access to the water and it does this really well. There are multiple docks and plenty of spaces to tie up your boat. Additionally, the lake is really enormous so you can be out on the water all day. Don't expect a lot of privacy or space when staying here but it is perfect if you want a long term place to stay and access the water without having to pay the high prices for a house in the nearby area.
Traveler
Oak Mountain has plenty of activities for everyone including a demonstration farm, horseback riding, mountain biking, hiking, swimming and fishing. The campground is conveniently located to the lake with it's own beach area. There is also a pier to fish or swim from. Our campsite had a major ant problem and the bathhouse was subpar. Still Oak Mountain is my favorite Alabama state park thus far
Traveler
This is probably our all time favorite campground! Managed by Corp of Engineers, always beautiful and well kept. Great, friendly staff. Greta place to camp in the fall for Alabama football games, only about 15-16 miles from campus, yet very secluded. Really a great place to camp, whether with RV or tent camping!
ScoutOak mountain state park has been a favorite of mine since I was a child. There's so much to do; and its always growing. It's the largest state park in Alabama. Theres lakes, waterfalls, nature trails, basket ball court, volley ball, a petting zoo, horses back riding, water sports, dirt bikes trails, BMX course, archery, cabins, primitive camping and rv's , a beach, a wildlife rescue center and so much more. If you're in the area do yourself a favor and check it out.
LegendOak Mountain is a great camping spot for people that want to have a quick escape from the city of Birmingham. It is located only about 20-40 min outside downtown. Oak Mountain has several of options of things to do away from just camping and hiking (which of course are also great to do here). The roads offer a great opportunity for a nice long bike ride. There is a huge lake which is perfect for swimming and family picnics, especially on a hot and humid Alabama summer day. We had a fantastic time camping at Oak Mountain and will definitely be back!
GuideWhat an amazing campground! Alabama knocked this one out of the park. From the first time you enter the park, which isn’t too far from BHam or the interstate, you’re transported to a different place where things move much more slowly just the way we like it. The campground is a 5 mile ride from the main entrance. A beautiful winding road takes you all the way, deep into the property. If you’re lucky, you will see plenty of wildlife (we saw 7 deer and one rabbit). The campsites are very spacious, we stayed in site A30 which was great! But if you want a view, try A26 which overlooks the lake. There is a general store on property that even has propane. If you’re active, they offer bike and hiking trails, horse riding, kayak and paddle boat rentals, and a couple of beaches. Don’t wait, book your stay here ASAP!
LegendOak 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!
LegendThis state campground in the Birmingham AL metro area is a quick getaway for city and suburban dwellers. We were looking for continued warm fall weather on a slow trip north; this met the warmth and fall criteria in late October. The proximity to the city made it a good choice for exploring Birmingham.
Campground as Hotel
We left in the morning and came back in the evening. Using the campground strictly for accommodations worked out well; it wasn't a place where we would have wanted to hang around the campground all day. The large RVs crammed on sites that weren't very large gave us a closed in feeling. We pulled down the shade in our teardrop to avoid the light pollution from the campers who leave ground lights and other decorative lights on all night. (Do they leave their outdoor holiday lights on all night at home?)
Tent Only Sites
The tent only sites are the best feature of this park. You can pitch your tent among the trees away from the RVs packed together in the rest of the park.
There's no power or water at these sites.
These sites are listed as tent only, but the park office attendant told us there were a few where we could fit our vehicle and teardrop. We declined because we thought we'd be too close to the road although we later saw several that would have been fine
Site 42B is the BEST SITE IN THE PARK! You walk down to the site from the parking area, and then there's a great view of the water. I took a photo looking back at the site from the beach area.
Other Sites
All sites not designated tent only have electricity and water. There are some sites with sewer hookup as well as 50 amp power. See site map photo.
Loop A's sites are more spread out than sites in Loop B.
Loop B: B33 was ok. I recommend sticking to the outside of this loop because there are two roads down the center where you'll have sites on both sides, across the road and behind you. Inside the loop seemed crowded because there were large RVs.
Restrooms
Several restrooms are spread throughout the park. They each have a couple toilets and a shower along with hot and cold water in the sinks. Restrooms are clean and a checklist indicates they're inspected 2 or 3 times per day. Everything works fine, but they could use an update inside. If the usage at the end of October is any indication of overall usage, this park is heavily used. It's close to Birmingham which has over a million people, one-fourth of Alabama's population. The state of Alabama should step up and do some renovation.
Site Taxes are HIGH
Be prepared for a significant jump to the cost when taxes are applied. Our campsite fee was a reasonable $22.65/night which included a 15% senior discount. Regular price is $26.65. Taxes and a $4.50 one-time fee were added for a grand total of $85.62 for 3 nights. If you're counting, that's 20+% in taxes.
Things To Do In The Park: boating, fishing, swimming, hiking. You can purchase a detailed hiking map for $1. If you aren't from the area and want to take in some Birmingham history, there are options.
Red Mountain Park has hiking trails along with old iron ore mines. There's an adventure park with zip lining, climbing, etc.
The base of Vulcan, Alabama's entry in the 1904 World's Fair, is the best place to see Birmingham. The museum next to the statue was well done; it provides a history of this steel city.
The park across from the 16th Street Baptist Church (site of the bombing on 9/15/1963 that killed 4 young girls) is a window into the sad part of Birmingham's history. There's also a civil rights museum nearby.
The craft breweries (Good People and Avondale) were good. And great barbecue at Saw. Pizza was good at Post Office Pies but they need to put more basil on a pizza advertised as a white basil pizza, not 5 little scraps.
RangerDeerlick Creek is a wonderful campground located northeast if Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I believe this is one of the best ACOE parks we've stayed in. An engineering challenge to put such well planned sites in such a diverse terrain... and making it beautiful and functional. We stayed in Site 33 which was a back in with a tiered layout from the parking pad to the balcony. The sites had 50/30/15 amp electrical, good water and pressure, table, fire ring, separate BBQ grill, tables and lamp post.
The bath house was very clean with showers and hot water but only one for the entire campground. However, I never saw a crowd there during our 5 days though so its probably all that's needed.
The camp hosts are awesome! Very friendly and super hard working the entire day. Every site is blown for leaf removal, grill and fire ring debris removed, water and electric verified operational after each use. Site pads are concrete and pretty level or at least site 33 where we stayed was. Our reservation tag was already posted when we arrived at our site so check-in was quick and without issues.
There are sites designated as tents only that are great! Very private with space and vegetation between them. There is also water and electric at each site.
A great paved bike path with deer abundant in the evenings. Boat ramp and beach swimming area.
We loved the park and the only reason for four stars vs five is due to sites 36 though 40. These are some of the most beautiful sites here but also the most difficult to get out of if your trailer is long. This is a dead end loop with a small turn around at site 39 and 40. Most rigs 26' or longer can not make this turn around. While we were there three campers required backing their rigs out of a challenging narrow single lane road with trees along the road way sides. A sign warning campers beforehand would be helpful.
Overall a great campground, we will return to this park again.
LegendCampground Review:
Although I have camped at this park many times this was my first night at one of the backcountry sites and it was a HUGE improvement. I already love this park because of the many trails and wide range of terrain along with the lake where you can swim or boat. Usually the campgrounds however are crowded and close together so you don’t get the privacy that I usually want out of tent camping. This was a totally different experience. The site we stayed at was only a short walk, maybe 15 min from the road but it felt like a totally different world. We had a huge area to set up our tents (we actually ended up sleeping in Tentsiles) and there was a small stream that we could pump water from. We couldn’t hear a single car and it felt very secluded from the rest of the park. Another major advantage to this site is that it is located along one of the trails in the park so you could set up camp and go on a hike straight from there. You aren’t allowed to have campfires at these sites but this wasn’t an issue this time of year since it was already so hot out and additionally it seems that people sometimes don’t follow this rule since there was a firepit that appeared to have been used recently.
While in the park this visit we also took a hike to Pevine falls which I would highly suggest. There is a 5.5 mile roundtrip hike that starts near the beach area and ends at the falls. On a hot summer day you can take a dip to cool off before you hike back out. You can also rent boats from the marina and get out on the water. We actually got Oru Kayaks recently as a wedding gift and took them out on the water to test them out.
Overall, if you are planning on tent camping at Oak Mountain State Park I highly recommend checking out these sites over the traditional camping area sites. They provide more interesting scenery and are more secluded. It costs $6 a person to stay at the sites but you don’t have to pay the park entrance fee if you are camping. You can’t reserve the sites so you just have to go check in at the camping area the day of and get a site but there are usually several available, even in peak season.
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****Product Review:****
As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. At this campground, I tested the Beyond Clothing Aether Crew base layer shirt and Brokk Capris. Since the weather is so hot in Alabama these days and we were doing some pretty steep hiking I was excited to put these clothing items to the test. Some of the things I really loved about the Beyond Clothing items are:
Can't wait to try these clothes out more in a variety of other camping situations.
Scout
I love this place
GuideWe 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.
GuideI hiked the red trail loop. The trail is used for hiking and mountain biking. Easy trail to follow with good signs. Overall the trail was moderate and was a fair distance a little over 10 mile hike. Not difficult and pet friendly.
Travelervery nice park, nice bathrooms and tent pad. called about a noisy group and rangers were helpful.
GuideAwesome campspots. Some hookups and some primitive spots. Lots of hiking and bike trails nearby in oak Mtn state park.
ScoutRelaxing
ScoutThe campground is great! Plenty of trees for hammocks and the sites are good distances, some are into the woods and go back further (those are the best). Close to the lake are the best and primitive camps are nice as well.
GuideI'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.
TravelerThere are tons of things to do at Oak Mountain - there are hiking trails, mountain biking trails, water sports like kayaking and swimming, plus the camping is great! Very easy to navigate and perfect for a weekend or weeklong trip!
TravelerWe stayed at Oak Mountain for a mountain bike competition. We didn't have sewer or shade, but we really enjoyed the hiking, biking, and playground. We'd love to go back to enjoy the beach and boats/kayaks. Friends had a wooded site where we hung out, cooked, and served community meals. We met some lovely people who were there for horseback riding and they gave our little a free horseback ride! Made his day!
GuideCampsite is super close to hiking trails and there are no other sites near you so it’s super quiet. Only issue we had was that we went when there was a burn restriction which means no way to scare off predators. Once the sun went down our campsite was surrounded by coyotes that didn’t care about how much noise we made to scare them off, causing us to squeeze 3 people into a one person tent (the other two were hammock camping). Great story to tell though! Definitely would recommend camping here just know what you might be signing up for.
GuideMy friends and I stayed here and it was so lovely. There were quite a lot of other people there but it was still a fun place to primitive camp! It is a beautiful and clean site.
TravelerI enjoy this place! So much to do and so much to enjoy! The aviary rehabilitation center is amazing!!
Guidestop at office and ask for map of park. Ask about all the well marked trails and things to do
TravelerFor RV sites there is no shade. Your stacked up close and there is absolutely no privacy. There were 50+ kids running around in the few days we were there. The showers kept us away as they looked like they need some tlc, but the rest of the bath house was ok. For the price I expected more. Will not return.
ScoutWith the sites being inside Oak Mtn State park you get to enjoy the other attractions in the park which include Hiking, Biking, Petting Zoo, Horseback Riding, Lake, Swimming Beach, Wakeboard Course and BMX Track. They have a good number of site with a few having electrical hook up. They also have RV spots. They have a playground for the kids to play on. Several bathhouses spaced out over the camp ground. They also have a small convenient store located in the check in office.
TravelerWe love going to Oak Mountain SP when we are close to Birmingham! Beautiful and peaceful!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Calera, AL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Calera, AL is Oak Mountain State Park Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 93 reviews.
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