Oak Mountain State Park
This is a wonderful state park near Birmingham. The 9,940-acre
park has over 50 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails; and something
for all outdoor enthusiasts to appreciate and enjoy. Campground for tents and
RVs, cabins, picnic areas, two fishing lakes, one recreational lake with canoe
rentals, a sandy beach swimming area, a boat launch and a 18 hole golf course
with pro shop & driving range, mountain bike trails, demonstration farm,
treetop nature trail and rental horseback riding facilities. We enjoyed most of
these activities; particularly the mountain biking, hiking and kayaking on the
lakes. We spent one whole day at the big lake, setup with our picnic, kayak and
bikes. The boys enjoyed the day, as they just simply hung out at our lakeside
spot. Kody did go on a kayak paddle with me around the lake. We also took the
boys hiking on several trails and they really enjoyed it when we let them off
leash. Kirby is beginning to slow down and is not able to hike as much as he
used to. As he ages, the heat is too much for him when hiking. He will probably
spend more alone time in the trailer when we want to go on extended hikes. He
won’t mind too much, as he sleeps much of the day anyway.
Kurt was able to ride almost all the 25+ miles of mountain
biking trails. He claims this is the best mountain bike trails he’s ever been
on, as they are really in mountains! The IMBA (International Mountain Biking
Association) has added Oak Mountain as one of their top 50 epic rides! I was
able to ride a couple of the easy mountain bike trails and made it without any
crashes or injuries. The hiking trails were very nice and mostly shaded. One hike
we went on without the dogs was a steep climb up to the ridge, with an
elevation from 620 feet to 1100 feet. We were headed to a eagle lookout where,
but just as we got up on the ridge, we saw the black skies and then heard
lighting. Wow, we had to quickly head down the trail and was able to cross over
to a different trail that was not as steep and shorter. The skies opened up as
we rushed down the trail. When we connected to the second trail we saw a
trailhead marker that had a little roof over it. We huddled under that
protection for about 20 minutes, as the storm passed and then we were able to
make it the rest of the way to the trailhead. It was kind of scary as the
lightning was cracking all around. That will teach us to frequently check the
weather radar on my Droid, as long as we have a cell signal, which is not
always available in the mountains or down in the valleys. Anyway, we made it
safely back to the trailer, wondering if Kirby had freaked out, as he is very
afraid of thunder. All was okay; it looked like he may have gone into our
bedroom, as he does that when he’s scared.
We also did a few hikes around the lake near the campground.
The dogs did go with us on these hikes and they had fun and was able to get in
the water to cool off and get a drink. Overall, this was a very nice park with
many amenities. We will put this on our “go back” list, mainly for the biking
and maybe next time we’ll have our golf clubs (if I can convince Kurt). We need
to practice first.
We will be packing up to leave in the morning (Sunday). Heading
to Memphis to spend one night on the Mississippi River at a nice RV campground.
We want to just sit and watch the tugs and barges go up and down the river. After that, we head to the Ozarks, Buffalo National River in northern Arkansas.
