Alabama State Parks E-Newsletter - October Issue

Calling all Leaf Peepers - It might not feel like it, but the Fall season is here. Our North Alabama parks are part of the Appalachian foothills and provide some of the best Fall color you can find. The Fall Color Trail is a great place to start your planning.    

Are you interested in joining the Alabama State Parks Foundation? The Foundation will raise money for all 21 parks to enhance programming, facilities and parks experiences.
To celebrate the birth of the Alabama State Parks Foundation, for the first year you can join others in becoming a “First Friend and Founding Member” of the Foundation. Join today! 

Attention hunters - If you are a Wildlife Management Area (WMA) hunter you might be interested in our Hunter's Special. Show your WMA permit and stay in any one of our resort park lodge locations for $49.95 per night. Also, the Camper Cabins at Blue Springs and Frank Jackson State Parks make great overnight hunting retreats.  
 

Over the past 80 years, trails have been a fundamental part of the park system’s mission. Because of this, we created the Dirt Pass Trail Crew Program in 2016. This program is a way to voluntarily donate $35 per year to help support our efforts to improve our trail system. Your money goes directly to the maintenance, enhancement and planning of the Alabama State Parks trails system. All Dirt Pass membership donations are made online and each donating Dirt Pass member will receive a cool, Trail Crew t-shirt to show your pride in our program.

2019 marks the #AlabamaStateParks 80th Anniversary of serving the public. We will continue to improve our facilities so that you can enjoy your parks more than ever. As you enjoy your parks, help us celebrate Alabama's 200th birthday. This bicentennial milestone promotes natural beauty, diverse people and rich history of the State of Alabama.

Visit the park events section of alapark.com to see our events schedule. Check out these park events:

• Frank Jackson State Park - Scarecrows In the Park
• Monte Sano State Park - Japanese Fall Garden
• Joe Wheeler State Park - Falling Into The Forest
• Lake Guntersville State Park - Falconry
• Oak Mountain State Park - Harvest Festival
• DeSoto State Park - Moonlight Paddle
• DeSoto State Park - Outdoor Classroom
• Lake Guntersville State Park - Conservation Day
• Wind Creek State Park - Fall Festival 

Have you seen the renovation projects going on all throughout the #alabamastateparks system? Some are easy to see and others are behind the scenes, but all of them are being done to provide you with a better park experience. Check out this great article about the improvements at Cheaha State Park. 

Don't forget to purchase a new Alabama State Parks car tag in 2019. Last names that begin with the letters U, V, W, X, Y and Z renew during the month of October. For all you boat owners, we also have a boat tag and the same rules apply. This is a new form of much needed revenue for us.

We understand the costs involved with planning excursions so we create park specials to save you money. From dining and overnight accommodations our park specials provide options for your savings. Check out this Winter Camping special at Lakepoint State Park.