DeSoto State Park

Along one of the trails

DeSoto State Park is 3,502-acre property featuring motel rooms, cabins, mountain chalets, meeting rooms and developed and primitive camping atop Lookout Mountain in northeastern Alabama. The park also offers an Olympic-size swimming pool with a playground nearby, a Nature Center with live animals and interpretive programs and more than 24 miles of hiking trails (11 miles of mountain biking trails) through the forest to waterfalls and wildflowers. Bikes are also allowed on the cabin road and in the campground.

The Lodge at DeSoto State Park was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's, originally as a dance hall and group lodge. In the 1970's the lodge was expanded with the addition of stores and offices and a motel was built right next door. Today, the main part of the old Lodge is operated as the Mountain Inn Restaurant.

Log cabins offer telephone, cable TV, a full suite of kitchen gear, 2 bedrooms: a queen size and a full size bed. 2-night minimum on weekends from March to November. The rustic cabins offer almost the same (except for 1 bedroom: double bed with 2 twin beds in living room). All cabins have a three-night minimum for Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day and Thanksgiving weekends. The mountain chalets offer about the same except 1 bedroom (double bed) and a sleeping loft (2 twin beds), same 2 and 3 night minimums.

The improved campground offers 94 sites, all with sewer, water, cable TV and 50/30 amp electric. Sites average 16 feet wide by 60 feet deep and have space for slide-outs and picnic tables.

The primitive campground offers 20 sites, no electric, community water tap, short drive to bathhouse.

There are 2 designated back country campsites that allow a max of 6 people, 2 tents each. Usually folks register/reserve in advance and no one is allowed to head into the back country less than one hour before sunset.