Best Equestrian Camping near Hoover, AL

Equestrian Camping Reviews near Hoover, AL

104 Reviews of 5 Hoover Campgrounds

• J

  Joyce T.

  Guide

  Aug. 5, 2021

  Oak Mountain State Park Campground

  Stayed at Equestrian Campground

  Very happy at this campground. But there aren't many campers here. I think they are at the main campground. But regular RV campers are allowed at the Equestrian center. We are close to the farm/petting zoo. Also the horses are next to the campground. Very quiet and reasonably priced.

• C

  Christina M.

  Scout

  Oct. 24, 2020

  Oak Mountain State Park Campground

  Fun for the whole family

  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.

• 

  Jeff A.

  Guide

  Mar. 8, 2021

  Oak Mountain State Park Campground

  Add this place to your list!

  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!

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• M

  Melissa K.

  Scout

  May. 17, 2020

  Oak Mountain State Park Campground

  First time with my family

  I've been wanting to visit Oak mountain and we booked last minute May 1st-3rd. They were booked completely except for an equestrian pull through site. I had already made plans with my family and another (both first timers with our own young families). I asked about pitching tents on the gravel and they said people do it. We had two tents on complete gravel and had enough tarp and mats that it really didn't bother us. The stables were right in front of our eyes, and we could hear the peacock next door, which was lovely actually. Their horses on their farm were roaming around and it was beautiful! Bathrooms were absolutely perfect and cleaned what seemed twice a day from the cleaning logs. They were maybe 300 feet from us and since the RVs all have hook ups we seemed to be the only ones using them, really. Everything else was basically closed down, but when we went to hike the water fall trail, it seemed so crowded that I wasn't surprised when we saw the ranger show up to send people out of the falls, so we didn't waste our time. I'd go back to enjoy the beach and trails, with a bike definitely!

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• R

  Rose Alice W.

  Guide

  Jul. 1, 2019

  Oak Mountain State Park Campground

  Perfectly adequate for ourneeds

  We needed a one night stopover Campground. Aesthetics are important, so we chose Oak Mountain State Park for its mountain beauty. We thought we’d reserve the campsite (B36) based on its being at the end of the area and near the shower/restroom. Major pros to the campground would be an apparent lot of things to do: what looked like a zip line water skiing place, lots of major inflatable stuff in the beach swimming area, equestrian trails and stalls for horses, hiking trails... and our site was near one of the playgrounds in the campground. The staff in the office and host folks were wonderful and friendly. But, our site was an asphalt pad ( perfectly level) with no grass around it. While the campground is surrounded by forest, There were some trees, and some shade, but not enough space around us to sit back ( on our asphalt) to enjoy them. The shower was perfectly hot and adequate water pressure, but there is one shower in each shower house/restroom, and it was right inside the restroom door with a bend in the wall and one plastic shower curtain. My daughter felt exposed, but there weren’t so many people using the showerhouse to be problematic. The two toilet stalls were also enough for the number of people that needed to use them. (There are other similarly sized showerhouse/restrooms not too far away.) This campground met our needs well, but we weren’t overwhelmed and didn’t rush to book a return overnight after our trip. There are many reasons to love this place ( and the tent camp spaces looked fantastic!!!) but for what we needed I’d have to say it was just perfectly adequate.

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• 

  Mary S.

  Legend

  Nov. 5, 2018

  Oak Mountain State Park Campground

  Close to Birmingham; close quarters

  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.

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• 

  Napunani

  Legend

  Jun. 22, 2022

  Oak Mountain State Park Campground

  Huge Park

  PROS 

  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

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• J

  Joyce T.

  Guide

  Jul. 28, 2021

  Oak Mountain State Park Campground

  Equestrian Campground

  We stayed at the equestrian campground at Oak Mountain. It was very nice and quiet. Once you go through the gate take your first left and keep driving. We only stayed 2 nights and didn't get to see everything they have at the park. We want to go back!

• 

  Ethan K.

  Legend

  Nov. 1, 2017

  Oak Mountain State Park Campground

  Great camping close to Birmingham

  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!