Oak Mountain State Park

Oak Mountain State Park is a 9,940-acre State Park, the largest in Alabama. It is located 15 miles south of downtown Birmingham, encompassing the forested Double Oak Mountain, one of the last foothills of the Appalachian range. The park provides hiking, camping, golf, waterfalls, swimming, a BMX track, a demonstration farm, horseback riding, mountain biking, and fishing among other attractions, and is managed by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Oak Mountain State Park houses the Alabama Wildlife Center, which is responsible for the rehabilitation of over 2,000 injured and orphaned wild animals each year, and the Oak Mountain Interpretive Center, which provides classroom and laboratory space for biology and ecology classes along with nature exhibits for visitors. It is the site of the annual XTERRA Southeast Championship in the Spring and the Peavine Falls Run, held each July 4.

The main entrance to the park is located on State Park Road off Cahaba Valley Road (Alabama Highway 119) near Exit 246 from I-65. A second entrance is located about five miles east on Highway 119, 3 miles from U. S. Highway 280.

History

Oak Mountain State Park was created under the Alabama State Land Act of 1927, and originally consisted of only 940 acres. An additional 8,000 acres surrounding the park was acquired by the National Park Service in the early 1930s. Beginning in 1937 the Civilian Conservation Corps developed Peavine Road and Red Road, picnic pavilions, camping cabins. From 1935 to 1941 the Works Progress Administration constructed Lake Tranquility Dam. Those properties were donated to the State Park in 1943.

In 1967 the state passed a $43 million bond issue to upgrade and develop state parks. Work which began at Oak Mountain in 1971 includes the golf course, administration buildings, demonstration farm and RV campgrounds, mainly on low elevations and alongside the shore of Double Oak Lake.

Activities

Oak Mountain State Park's prime natural attractions are Peavine Falls, a 60-foot cataract, Maggie's Glen, a streamside hollow, and an expanse of forested hillside slopes accessed by a 50-mile network of walking and horse trails.

Additional trails for mountain biking have been extended by Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers (BUMP) into a world-class challenge course. Other cycling facilities include a BMX course and paved roads popular with racing bike owners.

Four artificial lakes provide areas for fishing, recreational boating, and swimming. Double Oak Lake has a sand beach and a marina for canoes and paddle boats available for rent. The RV camping center is located at the west end of Beaver Lake, which is separated from the higher Lunker Lake by a causeway dam. The park's fishing center is located at the north end of the causeway, near the east entrance from Cahaba Valley Road.

Tranquility Lake, which has a fishing pier and marina, is reserved for guests of the parks improved cabins. The two-bedroom cabins are equipped with central heat and air, bath and kitchenettes.

The park is also the setting for the Oak Mountain Golf Course, an award-winning public course, and has a demonstration farm and several picnic areas.

External links

• Oak Mountain State Park at Alapark.com
• Oak Mountain State Park, Discovering Alabama on iTunes U