The tornado that swept through North Alabama in mid-December 2019 impacted the park’s day use picnic area and campground. The park had to close the areas and cancel all reservations before making impact assessments to the damage. Although a devastating whack to the park and its visitors, the closure enabled park officials to start from scratch. With a blank canvas of sorts, they were able to navigate all the appropriate routes to rebuild stronger.
New Campgrounds, Bathhouses
The campground has reopened with new campsites for Sections B & C including new bathhouses. The camping areas in Sections B & C has campsites that are 20 feet wide, with 50-amp hookups and new pedestals. Cleanup of the area and new landscaping offers fine views of First Creek, one of the main downstream tributaries of Wheeler Lake.
Section A campsites and bathhouses will will be updated in the near future. Due to the damage caused by the tornado, the new B and C camping areas have no shade trees. It will take years for any trees to grow to substantive size to provide shade. Lake Guntersville State Park faced a similar issue several years ago with its campground after a tornado topped many of its tall, shady pines. Also at Joe Wheeler’s campground, the RV pads do not have pull-thru access. They all are a “back in” design. You can see that in the photo of the new area.
Still, hey, instead of putting in a skate park or saying, “Well, preservation! Just leave it as nature made it!” like some would want, Alabama’s park officials did a fine job. Reservations began being accepted Feb. 21 for the renovated campgrounds. Those can be made on the Alapark.com online reservation system or by calling the park office.
Joe Wheeler State Park has a great selection of trails for running, hiking and biking. Other amenities include a public boat ramp, marina with slips, boat rental, 18-hole golf course, solid wildlife photography possibilities and more.
(Photo: Alabama State Parks/Joe Wheeler State Park)
