Best Glamping near Natural Bridge, AL

**Corinth Recreation Area– USFS **

Corinth Recreation area is located near the town of Double Springs, Alabama. The area is operated and maintained by the United State Forest Service (USFS) and can be reserved through www.recreation.gov. There are 52 total sites here and most reserved on line, there are a few sites only available as walk ins. This area is very clean and really quiet at night, the campgrounds are near the lakes edge but not lakeside. The sites are very well maintained, paved and gravel with full services including sewer. There are two RV campgrounds, Firefly and Yellowhammer. We stayed at Yellowhammer as this had more shaded sites than Firefly. There’s also a few tent only sites between the two loops. The bathrooms were clean and the staff was pleasant during our visit, we stayed five days and found so much to see near by the campground. There is very nice boat ramp on the park for easy access to Smith Lake, the beach area is also a great asset. Clean with a well-marked swimming area with bathrooms near the beach area. 

The Houston Jail (http://soloso.com/houston/) was a few miles away, this is the only surviving jail constructed from logs in 1818. It’s a historical landmark and worth the short drive to go and see. 

Natural Bridge Park (https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/alabama/natural-bridge-al/) is located in Natural Bridge, Alabama is also nearby. This rock formation is the longest sandstone natural rock bridge east of the Rocky Mountains. It’s a good hike through well marked trails and there is a small gift shop that also sells refreshments.

Dismals Canyon (https://www.dismalscanyon.com/) is thirty miles from the campground near the town of Phil Campbell, Alabama. This natural formation will make you question if you are really in Alabama. The hike is a good way to spend the day in a shaded but humid natural wonder. You can also attend a night hike to see the dismalites that only reside in a few places in the world. 

The Bankhead National Forest surrounds the entire area. The forest is huge and trying to visit the area waterfalls and trails without a plan is not recommended. Take the time to study the area maps and map the accessible roads before heading out. We actually stopped by the NSFS Office to ask for information, there was also a large map of the area there you can take a picture of that will help you with your planning. 

We had a wonderful time here at Corinth, we especially liked the campground and the deer that would come out to graze every evening. This coupled with the fireflies really made this stay memorable, we’ll be back.

Due to poor GPS routing that wanted us to take roads not suitable for RVs or Camper towing, that meant we had to stop and map ourselves to a safer route; we arrived just at posted closing time. The staff was very helpful despite our untimely arrival. Our campsite was clean and well maintained. Bank fishing from our spot would be perfect as we had actual beach front to set up chairs. On the other side of the park there is a nice roped off swimming area. No lifeguard but water is shallow and provides good splashing area for youngsters. Plenty of bike riders and those just out for a stroll. It was a very peaceful and relaxing get away that included a wonderful lightning bug show at sunset. We took a trip over to see Little Natural Bridge as it is close by. That too was well worth a viewing. We will be back..next time with the fishing rods.

We stayed in early August for 2 nights in the Sleeping Waters campground.

We got there pretty late (after dark) for setting up camp, and I do not recommend doing that. It's about a quarter of a mile walk to the campsite, but the site is absolutely gorgeous! Very secluded and very roomy! The waterfall at the campsite is not large, but it still makes noise.

After we got everything set up and got all the lights out, we noticed the glowing dismalites along the Canyon wall behind our tent!! It was super cool. We also had a creek flowing with crawdads, minnows, and bull frogs. Plenty of wildlife!!

The canyon was pretty cool! The waterfalls were awesome and I loved all the spur trails. Disclaimer: be prepared to get your feet wet!!

The Canyon and campsite were pet friendly. Dogs were even welcome in the country store!! Just not in the seating area for the Soda Fountain.

I have few, minor complaints.. 1) I booked this campsite earlier in the year (early spring, I believe). I specifically wanted a night tour. They did not tell me that they wouldn't have night tours at that time of year. I wish I would've known, as I would've planned the trip for spring or fall. 2) the gate to get into the Canyon after hours for the bath house was difficult to operate. I'd pinch the code in and it wouldn't open. It would take several tries. The gate for the campsite area worked great! 3) The gate leading to the campsites was not marked. At night, it was challenging to determine where to park. 4) In the Canyon itself, not all of the landmarks were marked!! We had a map, but we had never been there before, so we weren't able to find everything easily.

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.

We pulled in with no plans and drove through the whole campground. There are 60 RV spots, pull thru and not, some parking lot style and some a along a creek. There are no trees or bushes between spots, but the whole campground is situated with forest and creek on one side and the Tuscumbia River on the other. We weren't positive what the deal was so we checked in with the host and paid $14 for one night.

Primitive tent spots are right on the river. There are fire pits, trees, and picnic tables sporadically placed. We pitched our tent facing the bluffs along the river and our hammock between two trees. It wasn't crowded and it was pretty quiet (no generators, no music, very family friendly and chill). The grass was cut, and though there were small ant piles everywhere, they really weren't in the way or aggressive. The bath-house is...not awesome. It's exactly what you'd expect for an older, gov-run park, with some spiders and leaky toilets, but toilets and showers are there.

It is a three minute drive into downtown Florence. Most of that is through the park, which is home to a good-sized marina, disc golf course, and (defunct?) driving range. It's super convenient, cheap, and kept up well enough. The view of the water and bluffs is A++, and it's fun to watch the speed boats and river cruises.

We've visited Tishomingo State Park twice in the last few months.  The first was in February when we stayed at the cabins.  They have big porches, a kitchen, bathroom, and two beds which was perfect for two couples to visit.  They are quite old, but it adds to the charm of the cabins.  We had a fire in the fire pit at night, played disc golf, hiked, and walked down to the river to sit a bit.  Such a nice weekend!

Easter weekend we took our camper to Tishomingo State Park.  It was a lovely time despite the rain on Friday night!  We spent one afternoon playing disc golf and hiking.  The hiking trails are lovely!  Our dog enjoyed it too.  On Easter weekend, there is a huge Easter egg hunt for children which drew a lot of people.