Your Home Away from Home

STORY & PHOTO BY BETSY ILER

Wind Creek State Park makes memories to last a lifetime

Making memories is what Wind Creek State Park does best. From volleyball at the beach to fishing tournaments at the marina, putt-putt, the zipline canopy tour and one of the largest state-owned campgrounds in the country, there is plenty to see and do here year round.

The park’s 1,444 acres on Lake Martin originally served as a private recreation area for employees of Russell Corporation, then manufacturer of Russell Brands athletic wear (see page 36). The park was founded and directed by Robert A. Russell, and the State of Alabama purchased the property after Russell’s death in 1969. The park was closed in 1979 for extensive renovations and reopened in 1982. The renovations cost more than $5 million ($14 million in today’s dollars) with new cabins, bathhouses, campsites, offices and more. Upgrades and renovations in sections of the campground are ongoing, and new recreation options continue to open at the park. “Wind Creek is a core park,” explained Greg Lein, director of Alabama’s state park system. “Most of its revenues come from camping and day use. That’s different from the resort parks in the system, which are designed around other amenities.”

The beach and picnic areas at Wind Creek are popular destinations on sunny summer days, and fishing tournaments launch at daylight from the park marina, booking as much as a year in advance, especially in the winter months. Hiking, putt-putt and zipline canopy tours also are popular adventures at the park.

WCSP offers more than 5 miles of trails for hikers and bikers. At 3.8 miles, the Alabama Reunion Trail takes hikers through hardwood forest bottoms and pine stands, passing an old home site, fern beds and pictur-

Wind Creek State Park offers a myriad of options for making memories, including camping, boating, fishing, grilling, zipline adventures and more

esque streams. The 1.8-mile Campfire Trail comes alive with dogwoods, wildflowers and oakleaf hydrangeas in the spring.

The park also maintains more than 20 miles of horse trails and offers guided trail rides for groups of up to four people.

Park visitors can climb the 55-foot silo where grain and cotton were stored before Martin Dam was built and the valley below the silo was flooded. Boaters use the silo as a navigational aid. Sixty years ago, the silo was the site of the Miss Wind Creek beauty pageant, a preliminary contest to the Miss Alabama title. From the top of the silo, viewers can see into the blue waters of Lake Martin below.

Nestled beside the north picnic area, concessionaire Creem at the Creek sells snacks, sodas and ice cream from a shack near the entrance to a fishing pier. Park patrons also can rent kayaks and canoes here.

Twice each year, Birmingham’s Vulcan Orienteering club hosts events at WCSP. Using a compass and a map, participants meet the challenge of finding their way through the woods to designated field stations. Registering their success at each station, they navigate through the course for the best time.

The park is dotted with large woodcarvings that were made by a volunteer. A bear cub carved from a log guards the park office, and an eagle soars at the entrance to the campground store. At the turnoff for the equine campground, a large horse head stands sentinel, pointing the way.

The main campground boasts 586 campsites in six designated sections. Full hookups are available at 268 RV and tent sites. Some 157 sites are waterfront, and 39 of these waterfront sites were recently renovated. Nicknamed the “Hollywood section,” these sites now include 16-foot wide and 60-foot long concrete pads with 50-amp electrical service. Another section of campsites is earmarked for renovation later this year.

Inside the campground gate, campers ride bikes on paved roads lined with pine and oak trees. They tie up boats, kayaks and an array of tubes and floats on the waterfront below their campgrounds. Children play on a multi-feature playground, choosing from at least four slides, a host of climbing and jumping options and numerous forts to defend. Grandparents teach the children to fish from the banks and point out a wide variety of birds on this section of the Piedmont Plateau birding trail. They tell stories around campfires in the evening while the aroma of dinner on the grill wafts across the sea of RVs and tents.

Throughout the summer, a schedule of campground activities adds interest and value to campers’ stays here. Children create seasonal crafts, learn about the park and draw pictures to illustrate the animals and other features they studied. On occasional evenings, families gather with lawn chairs and blankets to watch movies in the park.

Special events and decorating contests are held on holiday weekends. Coordinated by volunteers, these activities draw thousands of local children and adults for Halloween pumpkin carving and costume contests, Easter egg hunts, games and more.

The park employs 17 fulltime positions, adding another nine part time employees during the summer months.

WCSP is among the most profitable of Alabama’s 21 state parks, earning more than $922,000 in 2020 alone, ranking third in the state behind Gulf and Oak Mountain state parks.

Camping reservations can be made at alapark.com/ parks/wind-creek-state-park/camping.

Memories can be made throughout the park.