Relax, Explore, Discover and Enjoy Gulf State Park
The Lodge at Gulf State Park has so much for you to experience, in addition to enjoying our white sand beaches. Being centrally located in Gulf Shores, Alabama, makes it simple for guests to access everything in the area while getting in touch with the Gulf’s beautiful natural environment. The Lodge is just steps away from over 28 miles of hiking and biking trails and 800 acres of freshwater lakes for easy access to water activities! Whether you want to relax or explore, there is no doubt you will discover something to enjoy at Gulf State Park.
THINGS TO DO
- Hike or bike the 28 miles of trails
- Take a Coastal Segway Tour
- Educational Programs at the Learning Campus
- Go on a geocaching adventure
- Enjoy free bike sharing
- Embark on a kayaking or paddle boarding trip
- Grab some binoculars and birdwatch
- Cast a line freshwater fishing
Eat & Stay
Woodside Restaurant
Woodside is a laid-back, family friendly restaurant smack dab in the middle of Gulf State Park. Its gift shop and backyard games add to the incredibly creative Southern cuisine and cocktails that Woodside is known for. Take a load off in the dining room, screened porch, or outside on the deck, where you may even catch some of the best live local music the Gulf has to offer. Woodside is open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Open Daily
8 am – 9 pm
Breakfast 8 am – 11 am | Lunch 11 am – 4 pm | Dinner 4 pm – 9 pm
Eagles Cottages at Gulf State Park
The Eagle Cottages are a blend of Southern hospitality, breathtaking natural beauty, with a strong devotion to sustainability. When all of this comes together, it creates a uniquely exceptional experience of all the things this wonderfully diverse park has to offer. With three bedrooms and a lakeside view, guests will find themselves fully immersed in Gulf State Park when they stay at Eagle Cottages. With specialized amenities including freshly prepared breakfast each morning, guided tours with Park Naturalists, bicycles to explore our trails, and daily housekeeping, Eagle Cottages is a vacation you’re sure to remember. Warm by the fire in your lakefront backyard or cast off the pier for some relaxing fishing, there’s truly nothing like a stay at Eagle Cottages.
The Cabins at Gulf State Park
If you’re after a unique vacation nestled in nature, then stay at The Cabins at Gulf State Park. Located within the park are nineteen fully furnished cabins: four within the tree line of our longleaf pines and fifteen overlooking the tranquil shores of Lake Shelby. Wake up just a few steps from beautiful hiking and biking trails, enjoy an afternoon by the calm of the lake, and finish the day off with a cast from the pier and BBQ on the grill. Our Woodside cabins are open now, and our new Lakeside cabins anticipate opening in early 2024!
Explore & Educate
Learning Campus
Located only a few steps from Woodside Restaurant, The Learning Campus is a sustainably designed property rooted in the purpose of making learning fun! Complete with indoor and outdoor classrooms, a laboratory, meeting space, overnight bunkhouse accommodation, and dining at Woodside, it’s easy for guests to be engulfed by discovery. Engage your sense of adventure through unique programs and multi-day camps that highlight what makes the local environment of Gulf State Park one-of-a-kind.
For program information, please call 251-923-3101
Interpretive Center
The Interpretive Center is Alabama’s most environmentally friendly building and what we consider the gateway to Gulf State Park. The facility produces its own electricity and water as it pursues the world’s most rigorous building certifications, like LEED Platinum and the full Living Building Challenge. Come explore the park’s nine ecosystems through a variety of family-friendly interactive exhibits before you hit the trails across the Park’s 6,150 acres.
For more information, call 251-923-2901.
Gulf State Park Fishing & Education Pier
The first 725 feet of the pier is open to sightseers and anglers. The pier is open 24/7 with staff on-site from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Show your Lodge key card for complimentary sightseeing access to the pier.
Nature Center
The Nature Center is a living museum that gives guests an opportunity for a closer look at our native wildlife. Come say hello to critters like baby alligators, owls, hawks, turtles, snakes, and plants that are lucky to call the Gulf Coast region home! Also, every week the park naturalists host a variety of educational programs, like guided beach and nature walks, for the whole family to explore and enjoy.
Check alapark.com for the current schedule. For more info, call 251-948-7275.
Rentals & Attractions
Gulf State Park Rentals
Bike Share Program: Free bike rentals located just outside the Lodge lobby and throughout the Park based on availability
Coastal Segway Adventures: Hiking, Kayaks, Segways | 251.509.8687
Ike’s Rentals: Banana Boat Rides, Paddle Boards, Kayaks, Beach Umbrellas, Beach Chairs – 251.948.3757 | Parasailing – 251.981.0055
Nearby Attractions
- World-Famous Flora-Bama Lounge & Oyster Bar
- Fort Morgan
- Craft Farms and Peninsula golf courses
- Tanger Outlets Foley
- Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo
- Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge
- The Wharf at Orange Beach offers shopping, dining, a concert amphitheater, mini-golf, ziplining, marina and several entertainment venues
