Best Glamping near Hayden, AL

We just spent some time at several of Alabama’s state parks. This is by far the best state park that we went to. I can’t wait to go back!

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

This is a nice state park in a small town in north Alabama. The lake is really pretty and the campground has a nice view of it. The facilities were really nice and there is a store and restaurant all within the park. It’s a bit of a drive to get to town so try to get the essentials before setting up camp. The campground is nice– a definite recommend!

Oak 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.

Oak 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!

They have great facilities (super clean and conveniently placed). The locals are very helpful and welcoming. They were hit by a tornado a few years back and it took out a lot of trees and cleared a lot of beautiful landscape but since then they have worked hard to bring the beauty back and it's working on a huge scale! It's a wonderful place to hike the mountains and fish, bring the camper and relax, or just pack a tent and a cooler to enjoy the veiw. The lake is gorgeous and big! The best fishing I've had in Alabama is at Guntersville St. Park!

What 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!

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!

This 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.

Campground 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:

1. Material: These items are all made of incredible quality materials. The capris are tough but also stretchy and light. The pants material made them super comfortable and the stretchy fabric made it easy to move around and they were able to keep up with my flexible movements. Additionally, the shirt base layer material was incredible in the hot weather. Even though I was wearing a backpack and sweating like crazy it pulled the moisture away from my body and the ridges helped to keep me cool. I can’t fully describe just how comfortable both of these items were.
2. Compartments/Pockets: The pants have several different pockets with a variety of closures and throughout our hikes I used all of them. The side pockets are deep enough to hold keys or a phone but sit close to your body and don’t get in the way. They are also lined with really soft material the I was able to use to clean my phone screen. The pockets on the lower part of the pants were deep and wide giving you storage for larger items you might need to carry. 
3. Style: I am a smaller guy and often struggle to find outdoorsy tough clothes that fit me well and also look good. Beyond really hit the spot and made some durable but also good looking items. I loved how the pants were cut short and allowed my legs to breathe while still being long enough that I didn’t scratch up my knees while moving around our campsite. 

Can't wait to try these clothes out more in a variety of other camping situations.

Large spacious sites, quite, and clean.

You can fix nd a site to satisfy almost anyone. Lots of sites on the water. If you prefer seclusion, try the upper grounds. You will see deer in the morning and are likely to have a visitor, raccoons, during the night.

Friendly staff, well maintained, and very peaceful.

This is a highly used camping area on Smith lake. In peck times can be hard to get a spot. The area is well maintained has all kinds of hookups. Swim are access to the lake and day use area also. Great place to go.

The campground was clean and stayed quiet. About 40 feet between sites. Trees but no underbrush, so no real privacy between sites. The campground is geared towards RV's. It's not bad. There is water and electric at all the sites. Dont plan on playing in the lake unless you get the outer side of the loop. It's good that the waterfront sites are not reservable in that you have a chance at something. I've never been one to plan out my camping weekends 42 years in advance like everyone else seems to. Its on the far south side of bankhead national forest. We went to hike some trails in the Sispey wilderness and it was about an hour drive to get up there. Our neighbors, which I think are camp hosts are friendly enough, but they left there dozen strands of led lights on all night. It looked like the Vegas strip not the woods. I prefer the woods. But if you like the big RV culture you will probably love this place. I'll keep looking for a quiet place in the woods.