In 2022, Alabama voters approved by a whopping 77% to 23% margin a bond initiative to provide $80 million in funds for improvements to Alabama’s 21 official state parks. Additional funding sources increased the total designated for park infrastructure to approximately $120 million.
Many of those projects are starting to come into view, with almost all of them expected to be completed by next year, according to Alabama State Parks Director Matthew Capps. They range from the construction of a $25 million hotel at Cheaha State Park to many minor projects involving the creation or improvement of campsites, playgrounds and event spaces.
“We have had a tremendous amount of work going on for the past two years, and we’re about halfway through everything,” Capps says. “There are projects in almost every single state park, and all of them will have a tremendous amount of impact.”
The Cheaha hotel is one of three major projects to emerge from the bond initiative. The others are at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores and Lake Lurleen State Park just north of Tuscaloosa.
Here’s a quick look at what is taking place at each of them.
Cheaha State Park
It makes sense that Alabama’s oldest state park, established in 1933, would be in line for the biggest improvement. After more than a half-century in service, the Cheaha lodge was demolished earlier this year to make way for a new 32-room hotel.
Perched on top of a bluff less than a mile from the highest elevation in the state, the four-story, 26,000-square-foot hotel will be built next to the park’s existing restaurant, part of which will be turned into a hotel lobby entrance. All the rooms will have bluff-side views looking north over the Talladega National Forest (many of the rooms in the old lodge faced a parking lot), with even more scenery available from a new rooftop lounge.
Capps says a portion of the northern section of the park will be closed during construction until a temporary road can be built. He says officials will post regular updates on the Alabama State Parks’ Facebook page.
“(The construction) will impact us some this year, though hopefully not too much,” Capps says. “But once the hotel is completed early in 2026, that’s going to be a great place for people to stay, play and explore the park.”
Gulf State Park
Much of the recent attention about Gulf State Park has been on the reopening last August of the 1,540-foot-long, 20-foot-wide fishing pier, which required extensive repairs and renovations after Hurricane Sally damaged it in 2020. But Capps says there still is a considerable amount of other work taking place at the park.
The most noticeable change is that the park’s former golf course is being transformed into an area that can accommodate 100 campsites. Capps says the new Intracoastal Waterway Bridge that is scheduled to open next year will connect near the State Park entrance, with an additional small road providing easy access to the campground.
“We’re trying to develop new standards for a luxury-style campground,” Capps says. “The campsites will be larger, with 100 feet of distance between each one. We’ll have a communal space where guests can have potluck meals and other social-type events. It will also tie into our pool, splash pad, pickleball and putt-putt areas.
“We’re hoping that will help us grow the park and expand our offerings. That park usually sees an average occupancy rate in the high 80% year-round, and during the summer it’s over 90%. We need to have more campsites, and this is a way to provide that. Because our biggest issue is it can be hard for people to get a spot. This should make it easier.”
Lake Lurleen State Park
Named in honor of Lurleen Wallace, who served as Alabama governor in 1967-68, Capps jokes that Lake Lurleen State Park hasn’t received any sort of significant renovations “since Lurleen was in office.”
While that is not entirely true, since the park didn’t even open until 1972, it does lack many modern amenities. Capps says that will change following the current $15 million renovation project, which also is scheduled to be completed by early next year.
“We had a community meeting about it, and people really didn’t want anything to be changed there, just improved. So that’s what we’re doing,” Capps says. “We’re making the campsites bigger with full utilities and Wi-Fi. We’re creating a new playground and restroom facilities, and a new entrance gate. We’re really excited about this project. That park hasn’t seen any love from an infrastructure standpoint in a long time.”
Because the park has only a single entrance, it will be closed for the entirety of the construction. However, Capps says a temporary parking lot off Lake Lurleen Road will allow hikers to access the area’s trails.
While those are the three biggest changes taking place at the Alabama State Parks this year, Capps says there are “a ton of smaller projects” that have recently been completed or are in progress. These include a renovated campground at Oak Mountain State Park south of Birmingham that opened last year, with new water and sewer lines, upgraded electrical connections and Wi-Fi access, an expanded playground and a dog park.
“That’s been a wonderful addition,” Capps says. “It’s being widely used. Since we opened it back up, occupancy has been through the roof. We’ve been very pleased with that renovation.”
Other projects in the state include the construction of five three-bedroom, three-bath lakefront cottages at Wind Creek State Park along Lake Martin near Alexander City, and a new playground and social-event space at Chewacla State Park in Auburn.
Work also is being done at several parks to renovate drinking water and wastewater facilities. “These are projects that are underground, so no one really sees them,” Capps says. “But as soon as they go bad, it becomes an issue for everybody.
“We’re really excited about all these projects. There’s so much going on at our parks right now. If you’re a former guest, come back in and see what the improvements are. If you’re a new guest, give us a shot. I think you’ll be very surprised. We offer a way for people to get away from the hustle-and-bustle and just connect with nature and recenter yourself.”
Cary Estes is a Birmingham-based freelance contributor to Business Alabama.
This article appears in the March 2025 issue of Business Alabama.
