Written by: Stephen Dethrage
There’s a moment as you enter West Alabama’s Lake Lurleen State Park, where the trees close in overhead, you get your first glimpse of the sun reflecting off the water, and the rest of the world starts to feel far away.
“When I drive out to Lake Lurleen, during the last mile of the drive, I roll my windows down, and there’s just a feeling of peace that washes over as you’re driving into the park,” Visit Tuscaloosa President Kelsey Rush said.
After 15 months of closure and roughly $18 million in renovations, that feeling is back – Lake Lurleen State Park reopened in Tuscaloosa County in April of 2026. The park that West Alabamians have treasured for generations has never looked better.
The Lake Lurleen story began in 1952, when engineers dammed Big Creek in northern Tuscaloosa County to create what they named, with admirable practicality, the Tuscaloosa County Public Lake. The 250-acre waterbody and surrounding 1,625 acres of hardwood forest eventually became a state park, named in honor of Governor Lurleen Wallace — a Tuscaloosa native — about four years after her passing in 1968.
“For many years, this has been where we recreated in Tuscaloosa County, especially on this side of the Black Warrior River,” said Tuscaloosa County Probate Judge Rob Robertson at the reopened park’s April ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Everybody knows Lake Lurleen, or knew it as the Public Lake, and got to swim there and enjoy it.”
The renovations from the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources touched virtually every corner of the park. Almost 70 RV campsites have been fully upgraded with modern water, sewer, and electrical hookups. A brand-new playground sits near the family-favorite sand-covered swimming beach. Seven new pavilions offer space for gatherings and group events, and nine new bathhouses feature family-style suites.
A new camp store is also stocked with essentials, and a new gatehouse greets visitors at the entrance. All roads within the park have been repaved for smoother RV camping and boat launching, and Wi-Fi access has been added throughout the park.
Their 23-plus miles of hiking and mountain biking trails — one of the finest trail systems in West Alabama — remained largely accessible even during the closure, and are all open now.
The renovation was funded through a statewide bond initiative that Alabama voters approved in 2022, allocating more than $85 million for improvements across the state park system. Lake Lurleen was one of the largest recipients and one of the last major projects to reach completion.
“This was a very big project,” said Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. “What we did here at Lake Lurleen State Park was really a total renovation of the park. I hope everyone is very happy with how it worked out.”
For Rush and Visit Tuscaloosa, the reopening represents something the region has been working toward for years.
“In my line of work, I have the pleasure of sharing what makes Tuscaloosa County a dynamic place to live, work, play, and visit every single day. One thing we talk about all the time is that our community is rich with natural resources,” Rush said. “We are fortunate to have this recreational asset belong to the place that we all call home. Not every city has multiple bodies of water within minutes of its downtown, and not every community has a state park with 23 miles of trails, a beautiful sandy beach, and a lake stocked with fish, all just minutes from their front door. Lake Lurleen has always been special, and we can all celebrate the beginning of a truly new chapter.”
Plan Your Visit to Lake Lurleen State Park
Lake Lurleen State Park is located at 13226 Lake Lurleen Road in Coker, about 12 miles northwest of downtown Tuscaloosa. They’re open seven days a week from 7 a.m. until sunset, closing only on Christmas Day. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children ages 4 to 11, and $2 for seniors.
Campsites and cabins can be reserved through the Alabama State Parks website, and demand has been high since the park reopened. Longtime Park Manager Dee White said every site was booked the first weekend back. If you’re planning a summer trip, book early.
You can rent kayaks, canoes or paddleboats to explore the lake yourself, and glamping options are expected to become available in early summer 2026.
The park’s calendar is also already filling up with signature events, including the returning Camp Fear Halloween celebration and their third Santa in the Park.
“We’ve been closed down for about 15 months, so it’s a good feeling to see the guests coming back in,” White said. “All the kids have been smiling, running around and playing. It’s a happy feeling – it’s joy.”
To experience the joy yourself, plan a trip to Lake Lurleen State Park today! Learn more about Tuscaloosa’s outdoor scene at visittuscaloosa.com.
A special thanks to our corporate partners at Buffalo Rock for sponsoring this content!
