We visited Oak Mountain State Park in the early spring and camped at the campground only weeks before it closed for a yearlong renovation. All of the trees and vegetation had just begun to explode with the new, vibrant electric green hues of spring. Everything was so lush and lovely, it felt like we were in an enchanted forest.
That said, waking up in a magical forest, surrounded by the natural beauty of Oak Mountain State Park was no small feat.
I was determined to make the most out of a three day weekend, so I talked my husband, Fletcher, into the idea of us making the four hour drive from Fairhope, Alabama directly after work on a Thursday. My logic was that we would make it to the campground around 8:00 PM and be completely settled by 9:30 PM at the latest. Then we'd have three days of stress-free fun in the forest to enjoy.
I was only a little off on my arrival and setup time estimate, give or take a few hours.
After a long, stressful day at work, we were on the road, hauling our pop-up camper, and driving north on I-65 in mild traffic. With a few restroom breaks for our dog, Ellie, and a quick bite to eat, we were actually not so far off track from my proposed arrival time. It was when I navigated us in the opposite direction of the park entrance, and we drove almost 40 minutes the wrong way, that tensions grew, and stress became our copilot. Much longer story short, we didn't get to our campsite until about 10:45 PM. By the time we popped up our camper and got everything situated, it was closer to midnight before our weary bodies were finally able to surrender to sleep.
The moral of the story here is simple: never let me take charge of navigation. If you’ve perused my blog, you’ll likely recall this ordeal being a recurring theme. I don't know why, but Fletcher always goes back to trusting my navigation skills, or lack thereof. God bless him, we’ve been married for two decades now.
Nevertheless, the next morning greeted us with a symphony of birdsong and the tantalizing scent of bacon and coffee wafting through the crisp springtime air. After breakfast, we ambled down to the shower house and got ourselves ready for a day of hiking and exploration.
The King’s Chair Overlook trailhead was a stone’s throw from the campground. I highly recommend getting one of the color-coded maps of hiking trails from the camp store. There are seriously about a half dozen trails to choose from once you arrive at the trailhead. Luckily, Fletcher took the reins on navigating us to the right trail.
There was no way that we could forget that we were indeed climbing a mountain. The trail was a steady incline all the way up, but there were plenty of little side adventures to keep us distracted from the burning sensation in our flatlander thighs.
We felt like we had the entire trail all to ourselves because we didn’t see another soul the entire hike to the top. We even began to entertain the illusion that we would have King’s Chair all to ourselves as well, so we took our time having a snack and meandered around the summit.
I regret not immediately taking out my camera and snapping photos because about ten minutes later, a sizable hiking group rolled in with their four-legged companions. Then, a solo hiker arrived and struck up a conversation with Fletcher in that quintessentially Southern way where they chat until they’ve uncovered some long-lost cousin or mutual acquaintance.
As I recall, I believe they discovered both.
As they chatted, more hikers trickled in. Despite being the trailblazers who arrived first, we found ourselves waiting for our turn to capture that coveted sitting-on-the-overlook photo. Fortunately, Fletcher’s new hiking buddy was kind enough to snap a photo of us on King’s Chair, which eased my earlier resentment at the prospect of sharing the vista with so many other unexpected guests.
The hike down the mountain was easy and relaxing and took almost half the time that it did going up. We truly appreciated the beautiful, well-maintained trail.
Afterwards, we made a beeline to Good People Brewing in pursuit of beer and burgers.
The day began warm and sunny, but by afternoon had given way to a chilly drizzle. We chose Good People Brewing because they welcomed our adventurous four-legged sidekick, Ellie, into the building. It was so nice to fill our bellies with delicious food and beer, then go back to our camper for a well-deserved nap.
As of today, September 4th, 2023, the Alabama State Parks website states that the Oak Mountain State Park campground is closed for a full renovation until further notice. We are looking forward to the reopening. We had a lovely stay as it was. I can only imagine that it will be even lovelier when renovations are complete.
Oak Mountain State Park itself is still open, however, so definitely go hit some hiking trails and let us know what you think about King's Chair Overlook!
200 Terrace Dr, Pelham, AL 35124
North Trailhead to King's Chair Overlook:
The above link will take you to the parking lot. The trailhead is directly across the street. Start on red, hit the red/blue connector, then blue all the way up.
On AllTrails, search:
Kings Chair Overlook via Red Road
114 14th St S, Birmingham, AL 35233
Carpe Diem, my friend! May your navigations be ever accurate and your vistas uncrowded.
Melissa Anne
Comments