Best Cabin Camping near Muscle Shoals, AL

PROS 

We were able to reserve 368 days prior to arrival 

Very friendly and helpful check-in clerk 

Fantastic view of the lake from site 45 

Mostly quiet except for campground party animals until 3am! 

Concrete parking pad 

BBQ grill 

Fire ring constructed of concrete pavers 

Coin-operated washers/dryers in shower/toilet facility 

Small playground, pool and mini-golf course 

Good jumping off point for Shiloh Battlefield 

CONS 

Campsite 45 was full of litter…cigarettes butts, bones, bottle caps, pieces of chalk, straws, melted soda bottles…just nasty 

Fire ring made of concrete pavers full of ash and trash upon arrival…again nasty Pedestal BBQ grill full of trash and ash upon arrival…more nastiness 

Campers ignored basic rules/courtesy/respect such as keeping dogs on leash and walking through occupied campsites at anytime. One camper walking through our site complained to us our chairs on our site were in THEIR way. 

No senior discount 

Narrow site 

Site 45 not level 

Site 45 mostly fun sun 

Basically we didn't experience any of the campground rules being enforced so obviously there is no management oversight at this State Park 

Never saw a park ranger drive through the campground (Saturday-Monday) 

Never saw a camp host or a campsite for a camp host

Campground quiet hours not enforced 

Posted "No Swimming” from campsites along lake, but that didn’t stop a sole and no one enforced it 

Concrete picnic table at end of parking pad, so at the bumper of the camper 

Sites very close to each other with no vegetation between sites, so no privacy what so ever 

Street lights throughout campground, so not dark sky friendly 

Small playground, pool and mini-golf course not walkable from campground 

Trash dumpsters outside of campground…not walkable 

Twisty, steep and narrow roadway into campsite...not for novice rig drivers

Due to short campsites, tow vehicles had to be creative with parking, sometimes blocking most of the campground road, again no enforcement efforts

No WiFi 

1 bar Verizon

My son Conner and I stayed at Pickwick Landing State Park on Monday night, July 15. We arrived after dark, but thanks to a park staff member I called earlier, we had an amazing campsite(#18) waiting for us when we arrived. Campsite#18 is located near the bathrooms and shower areas. The restroom and shower building had 8 individual shower rooms with fold down benches. Each of them were big enough to allow someone in a wheelchair to use them. Both the bathrooms and the shower rooms were clean and well stocked. The park staff cleaned them thoroughly the next morning as we prepared to leave. Each campsite has a picnic table, asphalt drive, a fire ring, grill, and lantern post. These sites also have power and water, but they do not have trash cans at the campsite. Trash must be taken from the campsite to the dump station by the campers. If you’re camping here make sure to bring your own trash bags. The sites seemed well spaced and all of them probably have full shade most of the day due to the mixture of pine and hardwood trees that fill the camp. A gas station/bait shop/oyster bar is about a mile away from the camp grounds. Grocery stores and other restaurants are within 5 miles. Though this was a quick camping trip for us(we went to see the Shiloh Battlefield and Shiloh Indian Mounds), the trip was made a little easier by having an efficient, comfortable, and peaceful campsite to call home for a few hours. Be on the lookout for our nighttime visitor Lester the curious racoon. He checked out our campsite after we went to bed looking for an easy meal. Luckily, we had put all of our food securely in the car before calling it a night. This is another 5 star Tennessee State Park campground. Sidenote: We enjoyed a good lunch at a place called the Rib Cage just a few miles from camp. Conner recommends the ribs but not the hot sauce.

The sites are rather narrow with varying sizes and locations for outdoor living space. Pay close attention to the states website regarding vehicle size maximums. As I walk through the park, it appears that all spots are full hookup and paved. We are on site 43 and anything longer than 30 ft will be pushing it. As it is, our 25ft trailer fits nicely, but the truck is parallel parked across the end of my site in order to be off the road. The picnic table is behind the camper instead of on camp side, which isn’t my favorite setup but we are making due. Some sites have metal fire rings, while others (like ours) have rock circle pits. Some campsites on the hill side have no picnic table OR fire pits. They also have almost no room to walk around the RV without tumbling down the hill. Sites 62 and 64 aren’t terrible, but everything else from 59 and up is pretty bad. 25-34 and 51-54 are short and back up to a a hill. Would be great for Class B or smaller travel trailers. Sites 10-24 are in a separate area from the rest. 35-50 are down on a low flat area near the water and are the best if you like a view of the lake.

Bath house in our loop is clean, not completely out of date, and heated for cold weather camping. There is a small area with 2 set of pay washers/dryers and a few vending machines.

All in all, well worth the State’s $32/night charge.

We camped here for a weekend. There are actually 2 different campgrounds. We stayed at the one with with electric hook ups. The campsite also had a fire pit, lantern pole, and picnic bench. The sites are spacious and not too close together. The bathhouse was very clean. The showers are separate but in the same building. They are a little outdated but had a good water pressure. There is also a little check in booth where you can purchase firewood, ice, and other little things. From the campground you can start hike a 2.8 mile loop on the water. We also stopped at the lodge for dinner one night. It was very nice and the food was good. If you wanna do anything in the water, we saw a sign for a kayak and boat rental. If you bring your own, the park has a nice marina. If you don't feel like cooking, there are nice places around to check out. The dam is very impressive and we saw a lot of people fishing. The park has something for everybody to do and we enjoyed out weekend here.

Loved it as a kid and still love it today! This is a great spot located in Northern Alabama just east of Florence on the Tennessee River. This is a good spot for exploring some of the cool spots in the area including the musical landmark of Muscle Shoals.

There are improved and primitive sites available, depending on what your looking for. Primitive sites are simple and improved sites come in all shapes and sizes (i.e. some have sewer, some are 50 amp, 30 amp, etc.). While the improved sites cater to RVs, they are nice for tents as well. The campground is full of great trees if you're hoping to sling a hammock for your stay.

There's a store and a nice boat launch readily accessible. Be sure to get a site right on the water if you can. Here's a map to help! http://www.alapark.com/sites/alapark.com/files/JoeWheelerStateParkCampgroundMap.pdf

Nice quiet park out on the lake. We were in loop C at the end of the improved sites. The site was level, but the power, water, and sewer were all closer to the center or front of the site than the rear. That wasn’t a dealbreaker, but the sewer was a good bit higher than the paved pad. This made dumping the black tank a little iffy at best. That aside, the park is full of deer, squirrels, birds, all kinds of stuff for the kids to look at. The playground is a bit dated, and the bathhouse could use renovation, but was functioning and relatively clean. The sites are too close together which was nice. It looked as though all of the improved sites had a fire ring and picnic table. There was a dumpster at the end of our loop where the road to the primitive campsites started, so it was only about a minute walk away. The camp store at the front had all the essentials and some souvenirs, as well as the laundry facility. Everyone we met there, including the staff and volunteers, were all great. The kids loved it, and we will definitely be back to the park again.