Whether you prefer camping in your air-conditioned RV or hiking deep in the woods to find an isolated spot to put up your tent, Alabama has the right place for you. With over 100 campgrounds ranging from private and state parks to national forests, you're sure to find the perfect spot to sleep under the stars.

Alabama has 22 state parks with most offering improved and primitive campsites. These include the largest state-owned campsite in America, Wind Creek State Park, featuring 1,445 acres along the shores of scenic Lake Martin.

You can camp near the banks of the state's major rivers, such as the Alabama, Black Warrior and Tombigbee at campsites operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or even experience camping along the Bartram Canoe Trail on overnight floating platforms in the Mobile-Tensaw, the second largest delta in America.

For more information on camping in Alabama, visit www.alapark.com/camping/.

Overnight Camping on the Bartram Canoe Trail

Fifty miles have been added to the Bartram Canoe Trail, bringing to 200 the total number of miles comprising the popular venue. Extending the canoe trail is the latest in a series of moves to increase recreational opportunities in the ecologically rich Delta while at the same time preserving and protecting it.

The Delta is an environmental showplace 30 miles long and 12 miles wide just north of Mobile Bay. It drains 70 percent of the state's water, resulting in a 200,000-acre wetland – Alabama's largest. There are 105,000 contiguous acres in the Delta that are either federal or state property and which are open to the public.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' State Lands Division has spearheaded efforts in recent years to acquire much of that property, in many instances on behalf of the Forever Wild Land Trust. The Bartram Canoe Trail now has six day routes and three overnight routes, according to Greg Lein, State Lands Division assistant director. This includes two land-based and four floating platforms for overnight camping along the Bartram Trail. Reservations for the overnight platforms can be made online at www.outdooralabama.com under the "Outdoor Adventures" prompt. "We've added more platforms for overnight camping, and that made it possible to extend the canoe trail by 50 miles," Lein said. "Very little has changed in the Delta since William Bartram first traveled there in the late 1700s. The Delta is a precious natural resource for this state, and we feel that adding to the canoe trail is another plus for those who want to get back to nature and experience its wonders in a virtually pristine state."

The Delta serves as a huge sponge that filters water before it enters Mobile Bay, thus helping ensure cleaner water for the region's sport and commercial fishing. Water draining into the Delta deposits rich soils that have created marshes, cypress-tupelo swampland and bottomland hardwoods − all of which are rich with plant and animal life. The Delta is an outdoor lover's dream, offering everything from birding and wildlife observation to hunting, fishing, camping, boating, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, historic sites and night swamp excursions to view alligators. Since 1999, $11 million in federal and private funds has been secured for the acquisition of land, creation of new recreational opportunities and execution of environmentally beneficial projects in the Delta. The ADCNR's State Lands Division played the primary role in securing those funds through its administration of the state's Forever Wild Land Trust in conjunction with several state, federal and private entities. In 2004, ADCNR-led efforts resulted in a $6 million purchase of wetlands in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and uplands that buffer the Delta from developed areas near Saraland. Four million of the $6 million in that purchase was covered by federal grants that ADCNR obtained.

"The Mobile-Tensaw Delta is a great example of ADCNR's efforts to make the public more aware of the superb natural resources this state has to offer," said James Griggs, director of the State Lands Division. "The Delta has something for everybody. You don't have to be a great yachtsman or fisherman, or be in great shape to canoe all day on the Bartram Canoe Trail. All you have to do to enjoy the Mobile-Tensaw Delta is to sit in a boat and savor the moment. And there are plenty of excursions into the Delta where you can do just that."

The Year Of Outdoor Alabama
©2006 Alabama Bureau of Tourism & Travel - Official Web Site
©2006 Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources - Official Web Site