Best Cabin Camping near Marbury, AL

Lake Martin is beautiful and there are many places to camp along it. This is the only state park along the lake and the campground closest to town (with grocery, restaurants, etc.). There are nice hiking and horseback riding trails through the woods, swimming beaches, a marina, a little cafe with boat rentals. Lots to do for all ages, from sitting watching the water to riding bikes through the roads. There are many loops to choose from but less than 25% of them are along the water. There are some furnished cabins also. Simple place to camp but quite nice.

Yay: Love the lake and boating around it.

Nay: Sites are a little crowded but there are some trees to improve privacy. Campground feels a little crowded.

Surprise: Check out Pineywood Island, kids will love to run around and entire little island.

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.

The campground is very acceptable. Some RV sites with FHU and some without sewer. Tent sites also. We have camped here many times on many different sites in the B section. Sites mostly level and drain ok when it rains. Campground registration is easy and painless and staff is great. There is a dump station on the way out of the campground. They sell firewood and fill propane. Some sites near/on lake. This campground stays crowded most of the year. FHU sites go first. Campground is 5.5 miles from main entrance. 

The rest of the park is amazing. Probably 50 miles of hiking trails. Over 30 miles of biking trails and most are maintained regularly. Also horse/hiking trails and stables. Cabins on semi private lake. 

18 hole golf course and is enjoyable and easily walkable. 

Marina with kayak,canoe,sup and pedal boat rentals. This has been closed due to covid19 though. You can still rent these at the cable skiing area near back entrance. Picnic tables everywhere. 

Archery area with targets and elevated shooting platform.

Pump track and BMX track.

Costs 5$ per person to enter park but included if you are camping. 

Will visit again.

Simple and enjoyable. Caretaker and author Sunny Eberhart (Nimblewill Nomad ) is wonderful to talk to. Access to southern terminus of the Pinhoti Trail. CCC tower and cabins from 1930’s.

Beautiful park and very well kept. If you can’t find something to do here you aren’t looking. Mountain Biking, road biking and very well payed out lanes. Tents, cabins, pull thoughts for classA’s. Just a beautiful park!!

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.

So I've only camped here in a Tent & RV. There are nice Bathhouses that include Toilets, Urinals, Sinks, Stand-Up Showers & Lights! There is also WiFi and a small beach. And Cabins that are not in the campground area you can camp Primitive campsites, one's with power & water hookups and others w/power, water & sewage and a fire🔥pits in every campsite.and you can bring your own boat as long as you Only Use an electric motor like a trolling motor. There is fishing and pets are allowed. Also certain nights there will be games including bingo for all campers to participate in & win stuff. Every Sunday morning there is an indoor/outdoor Church gathering.

This is one of the largest state run campgrounds with over 500 sites. We stayed at site 100 it was an excellent site right on the water next to us was like a private beach. This is the only public access to Lake Martin. Large lake for swimming, boating, fishing. Sites are very open to each other but a lot of shade. Bathhouses are large and very well taken care of but I did not have any hot water at the time. Bathhouse was also a bit of a hike from site but had parking area so we drove over there and included a nice laundry facility. Several hiking trails fishing and other outdoor activities at this park. Cabins are available and premium campsites that have 50 amp service, water, sewer, cable and waterfront access. This park is close to stores and restaurants within a 20 minute drive. This campground definitely has a lot of amenities.

Love this place. Everything from all hook ups with wifi to primative camping. Fishing, swimming beach, campstore, laundry facilities, nice boat ramps and canoe rentals. Extra clean and well maintained.

Great place to get away and relax. Only stayed one night passing through and everyone was super friendly and the park was kept up well.

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!

This place shows great appreciation for their military members currently serving with free entry to the regular park. This place is the perfect weekend getaway for any and all to just relax and enjoy the beautiful lake and abundant forests

The campground was wonderful! So many amenities. Air conditioned bathrooms. Shower pressure and temperatures spot on and clean. Lake beach was wonderful everyone was friendly. Hiking, paddle boats, canoeing, boat rentals, fishing pier, archery, putt putt, and a snow cone truck that came around in the evenings. What a treat. Will do again.

I love this park. Super friendly staff Storm shelter Zip line Boat rentals Restaurant Beach’s on the lake Boat ramp Places were alittle tight but was worth it. Little bit noisy at night but not unbearable. Also understandable bc there are over 500 spots. I spent 2 months there and loved everyday. We hated to leave

This is a must visit park. Plan to stay at least 3 days. The campground is very nice. The bathrooms and showers need some maintenance, but overall it's nice. There are many activities for everyone of all ages and abilities. They have a Gulf course, an interactive farm, wildlife area with animals, water activities with rentals, trails for bicycling and hiking and amazing sites to see.

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!

Oak Mountain State Park has a great campground. Our site was A5 and was a full hook-up, pull-through site. A5 was not the greatest site in the campground, but it was still good. The sites are spaced well apart and all are shaded. The state park has a golf course, stables, 2 beaches, kayak/canoe rentals, bike lane through the park, and lots of trails. 

We liked our experience so much that we stayed there on the way home!

Great camp grounds with plenty of things to do to keep everyone entertained. I gave it 4 stars only because you have to stay here for a week to get premium sites with 50 amp service. But this area is very clean and has very spacious camp sites. We were in section E. This area was very quite and had full hook-ups at our site. The WiFi in this section was not good at all. We used our cellphones with unlimited data to stream shows at night. Verizon cell phone service can be flaky in certain areas. We will be sure to visit this park again for a weekend get away.

We went camping for 2 nights stayed on lot A14 it’s my personal favorite (it’s a pull through level lot) it was $68. It was close to the bath house and the little beach area and fishing pier. The bath house was heated so nice and toasty in there. There was only one shower stall so don’t know if that would be issue when it’s busier. It had ok shower with super hot water be careful. The bathrooms were clean. We did some geocaching that was nice there was some good ones! Trees for hammocks not a lot of shade on the site but some behind the site. We went ahead and booked for some other future dates to make sure we got that site. Fire bundles were $8 it was quiet and peaceful when we went. Just the getaway we needed. ❤️

Having 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.

Awesome campground. If you look at the map you’ll see that some sites are full hook-up and some are not. We stayed in C section with full hook-ups. They have playgrounds throughout the campground, trails from 1 mile long to 15 miles long that can be utilized by horse, bike, or on foot. Boat rentals include two different places. The marina for motorized jon boats and pontoon boats. You can rent these for 4-48 hours. If you’re renting one of their boats then you need a vessel license. If you don’t have a vessel licenses then you can take the test at the marina. At the Creem Shop (they sell ice cream, burgers, etc) you can rent pedal boats and canoes. They have a zip line and tree line adventure course, mini-golf, a beach area for swimming, and plenty of fishing spots. They also offer church services on Sunday morning. Check in is at 4 pm and check out is at 2 pm. Spots are close together but I’ve seen worse. Campground is clean and wasn’t noisy. We will definitely be coming back for a longer stay in the future.

We booked last minute hoping to squeeze in a camping trip, our 2yo first camping trip. We haven’t been camping in years but instantly impressed by this park. Very well maintained. Some of the nicest bath houses I’ve ever been in. Clean, ac and working.

We stayed at c99 which was a perfect spot for tents and kids. We were on a wedge between a water cove the bathrooms and the playground. Perfect location. The kids would play at the water, feeding fish or ducks and the adults would do the chores they needed too. The donut truck also shows up at the playground every morning. The big beach is a little walk (2-3blocks) but it’s worth it! There is a snack shack with pizza sandwiches burgers and ice cream, a zip line and the silo tower to explore.

The playground is practically brand new and huge. All the kids loved this. There is put put, kona ice and boat rentals.

The park seemed like it was at 90% capacity but you wouldn’t know it. It felt like a handful of people were at the beach and the playground, etc.

Definitely will be back soon.

Update for recent visit: Check out my other reviews of Oak Mountain to get an idea of some of the amazing hiking and places to see views. This site is one of four backcountry sites that the park offers. I have been to this one twice now since it is the closest to a parking area so is the most forgiving if you get a late start. The major thing to be aware of is that they do not allow fires at any of these sites so keep that in mind and you will need to either bring in your own water or purify it from one of the small seasonal streams that runs near the site. Overall this is a nice large site and you will definitely have your privacy since they closely regulate who stays at these backcountry locations and only a single group is allowed at each at a time. It is a wonderful place to get away for a night and see the stars.

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.