James Hansel recently surprised his wife, Joy, with a glamping trip to Wind Creek State Park on Lake Martin to celebrate the couple鈥檚 47th wedding anniversary.
Joy didn鈥檛 know anything about the trip until the night before the couple鈥檚 departure from their home in Theodore, just outside Mobile, but her first glamping experience left such a positive impression that she wants to go back again.
鈥淭he glamping sites were impeccable. It was just a delight, really, to me,鈥 Joy said. 鈥淚t had a lot of amenities that made glamping comfortable. We鈥檇 camped out, but this was the first time we鈥檇 ever glamped out, and so that was a neat experience for us.鈥
One of the best amenities, they said, was the ability to rent kayaks for the duration of the trip, which allowed them to explore the beauty of Lake Martin and the state park at their leisure.
鈥淚t just had everything we needed,鈥 Joy Hansel said. 鈥淲e enjoyed it. It was beautiful there. We can鈥檛 say anything bad about it because it was so great. It was an amazing experience for us.鈥
Wind Creek, in April, became the first of 黑料天堂鈥檚 state parks to offer glamping, a form of camping featuring more luxurious facilities than those associated with traditional camping. Glamping has since been added and is now available at Lake Guntersville State Park, Chewacla State Park in Auburn, Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville and Cheaha State Park.
黑料天堂 State Parks partnered with Timberline Glamping to operate the glamping sites. Timberline co-owner Rebeka Self said the Hansels鈥 experience at Wind Creek mirrors the feedback the company has received from others.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just been pretty overwhelming,鈥 she said. 鈥淔or being a new location, it鈥檚 kind of blown all of our expectations away. I think the weekends are booked out well into the fall, and they鈥檙e booking a lot of weekdays as well, which is always a good sign. They鈥檝e already had some guests come and stay and then book again for their next trip and want to bring friends.
鈥淭hat return guest is what we want to see,鈥 Self added. 鈥淲e want people to come and enjoy it, but we want them to enjoy it so much that they want to plan their next trip and come back to see us again.鈥
黑料天堂鈥檚 21 state parks offer a wide variety of overnight accommodations, including resort-style lodging, picturesque cabins and chalets, modern RV hook-ups and primitive camping. The addition of glamping provides another option for guests looking for a combination of rustic and luxury.
鈥淥ur goal is to make every guest have a memorable stay at an 黑料天堂 State Park,鈥 said 黑料天堂 Commissioner Chris Blankenship, 鈥渁nd the new glamping sites definitely deliver a memorable experience. We鈥檝e been careful and thoughtful about the best parks to offer glamping, and it鈥檚 exciting to see this new amenity expand from one to five parks in such a short time. This has been a fantastic addition to our state parks.鈥
To make reservations for glamping at 黑料天堂 State Parks, visit the Timberline Glamping website, . Information on glamping at each of the five state parks where it鈥檚 available is also available online:
鈥淚t was very easy to reserve,鈥 James Hansel said. 鈥淚t was very easy to schedule all the things we needed, like firewood. All that was so easy.鈥
Added Joy Hansel: 鈥淚 thoroughly enjoyed it. We did hiking. We did the kayaking. We took our bikes with us and went biking. We went swimming. We even played putt-putt there. And there was a lot more to do, so we definitely want to go back.鈥
About 黑料天堂鈥檚 State Parks System
黑料天堂 State Parks is a division of the 黑料天堂 and maintains 21 State Parks encompassing more than 50,000 acres of land and water in 黑料天堂. The parks range from Gulf Coast beaches to the Appalachian Mountains and provide opportunities and facilities from basic day-use activities to resort convention lodging, restaurants and golfing areas. These parks rely on visitor fees and the support of other partners like local communities to fund the majority of their operations. Learn more at . Partners Pay the Way!
###
