Playgrounds

Blue Springs State Park, located in Clio, Alabama, is home to two sandy-bottomed swimming pools that are fed by a crystal-clear underground spring. The spring and the pools maintain a 68 degree temperature year-round. The park also includes a beach volleyball court, hiking on the 2.1 mile Magnolia Trail, cabin rentals, campground with full hook ups and primitive sites, fishing, canoe and kayak rentals, a playground, picnic tables, and pavilions.

Chewacla State Park, located just outside of the Auburn-Opelika area in Alabama, has 696 scenic acres
and includes a 26 acre lake, perfect for fishing, swimming and boating (canoes and kayaks). The park also has hiking, mountain biking (some trails built by the Central Alabama Mountain Pedalers or CAMP), picnic tables and shelters, full hook-up camping, primitive camping, and 6 stone cottages.

Just a note about camping: if you want to camp during football season, you might want to get those reservations set early. It’s a thing.

DeSoto State Park, on Lookout Mountain in northeastern Alabama, has just about everything you could be looking for in a state park. The “must see” is 104 foot DeSoto Falls, located 7 miles north of the park and yet still a part of the park. For adventuring there is kayaking, canoeing, fly fishing, swimming, hiking, mountain biking, rappelling, and rock climbing. You can go horseback riding to DeSoto Falls with Shady Grove Dude Ranch (not affiliated with DeSoto State Park) or zip-lining with Screaming Eagle Zip Lines and Aerial Adventures (not affiliated with but is partnered with DeSoto State Park). The 3,502 acre park also has mountain chalets, log and rustic cabins, motel rooms, a restaurant, meeting rooms, pavilions, picnic area with playground, an Olympic-size swimming pool (seasonal), interpretive programs with live animals, a campground with 94 full-hookup tent and RV sites, primitive camping sites, as well as two back country campsites with shelters.

How do you describe this Decatur, Alabama location? GoFAR USA Park really is an outdoor adventure park in the truest sense. The list of options to jump in to is quite impressive and includes a self-belaying climbing wall, human foosball, zip lines, a USMC-styled obstacle course, a paintball shooting range, fat tire mountain biking, rc cars, electric off-road scooters, electric trail boards, running and hiking trails, gaga ball, tether ball, a natural children’s play area, and a petting zoo. Admission includes everything but paintball, mountain bike rental, and electric scooter/trail board rentals.

Monte Sano State Park is a serene mountain top park located near Huntsville, Alabama. Within it’s 2000+ acres are 14 rustic rental cabins, 89 campsites, a primitive campground, a beautifully restored lodge (an event venue, no accommodations), an amphitheater, a disc golf course, picnic tables, hiking & biking trails, and several playgrounds.