April 2016 issue of the Alabama State Parks E-Newsletter

Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 04/14/2016 11:31 AM CDT

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April 2016 Alabama State Parks E-Newsletter

Now is a great time to venture out and enjoy all of the "watchable wildlife" that the Spring season has to offer. The Alabama State Parks provide wonderful options to plan a trip around. Whether you enjoy the variety of the Alabama Birding Trails system, are interested in a field trip to the 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center or just love watching animals being cared for at the Alabama Wildlife Center, the state parks have plenty of locations to watch wildlife.

Camping season is here and the weather is spectacular, so pack your bags. The #AlabamaStateParks have spacious campgrounds that will make your next excursion memorable. With modern RV sites and well located primitive spots, the campgrounds provide convenient accommodations regardless of your camping style.

We are excited to announce that on April 1st Rickwood State Park re-opened for the season. Under new management and with newly awarded grant money for improvements, we hope to make your park experience even better. While you are there be sure to take a tour of the cave and do some gem mining.

Help us celebrate Earth Day 2016 by visiting a state park and maybe bring along someone that has never been. Sharing experiences in the outdoors helps everyone recognize the importance of our natural environment.
Join us for these Earth Day events:

Join us Saturday, April 16th at DeSoto State Park as we celebrate National Junior Ranger Day; a day designed to help kids and families explore and learn all about their national and state parks. By exploring and learning, kids gain an appreciation and a sense of responsibility for their parks. Explore, Learn and Protect !

Visit DeSoto State Park for the 24th Annual Wildflower Saturday on May 6th and 7th. Join the park staff and guest speakers for a wonderful weekend of learning about the many species of blooming plants found on Lookout Mountain. Choose to stay the whole weekend, or just come for the day to enjoy the hikes and programs.

Scheduling park events that improves your park experience is important to us. From the Dixie Vintage Car Show at Oak Mountain State Park to the Awakened Life Yoga Retreat at Gulf State Park, we provide events that most anyone can enjoy. Visit the events section of alapark.com to stay informed.

Every year we get hundreds of entries for the Outdoor Alabama Photo Contest and this year was no exception. Thank you to all of the photographers that take the time to participate in this contest. The Alabama State Parks really know how to say "cheese". Congrats to all of the 2016 winners.

The legislative Bill to permanently protect the Alabama State Parks funds has been met with great support over the last few weeks. If the bill passes the next House vote, the citizens of Alabama will vote on this Constitutional Amendment on the ballot in November. Thanks for your support. To stay informed on this visit the Parks Partners FB page.

Providing new forms of outdoor recreation to our visitors has been a part of our focus over the last few years. We want everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy the Alabama State Parks. As part of this philosophy, and seeing the success of the Hummingbird zip lines at Gulf State Park, we have decided to bring more adventure to our park system.

We are proud to announce that Lake Guntersville State Park will open phase one of a new zip line course in mid-May. This date will be announced as we get closer to completion.
This first phase will be the beginning of an entire zip line course for the park and we look forward to other parks offering similar courses in the future.
Stay tuned for more exciting news from the Alabama State Parks.

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