Sweet Home Alabama! Tannehill Ironworks State Park is a park I just stumbled upon and boy was I glad that I did. On a recent road trip to eastern Tennessee I decided to camp here for the night. Tannehill Ironworks State Park is located about 30 miles southwest of Birmingham, AL. Tannehill Ironworks was the only 3 furnace facility in the South during the Civil War. It supplied the Confederacy with iron until it was partially destroyed in 1865.
The road to Tannehill Ironworks is very scenic. I just had to pull over and shoot a few photos of the drive into the park. I bet this place is just bursting with color in the Spring and Fall.
Pulling into camp definitely puts a smile on your face immediately. This place is so picturesque and I immediately feel at home. A nice little General Store welcomes you which is also where you check in for camp.
The area around the General Store is very relaxing. I had to stop and take a look around before getting to my final camp site. A nice little day use area where visitors can picnic and fish the ricer.
While I was here I had plenty of Wi-Fi signal so I got a chance to get some website work done. I noticed the signal was the strongest near the General Store but not sure how far the signal reached. Not sure if it reached the RV parking area that was about 50 yards away.
In addition to the paved RV pads that were available they had some tent camping spots as well as some more primitive tent sites. I opted for the primitive site. No water, no electric, no cell signal, no wi-fi….. No Problem! This site is P-19 and it was very nice. Probably the best site available in the primitive section. I arrived on a Wednesday so I was the only one out there. On the weekends you might not be as lucky.
A fire ring, picnic table and the sounds of Mill Creek to lull me to sleep. Perfect!
Old cabins and other relics from the past are scattered throughout the park are reminders of times gone by. It’s literally like walking into the past.
A short hike back reveals the main Ironworks Facility. Wow. I was totally not expecting this! I just picked a nearby State Park when I was ready to call it a day of driving and this is where I ended up. What are the chances of that?!
So much history here… Man if these walls could talk….
Hard to imagine this place was in full operation well over 150 years ago and yet its still standing. Just let that sink in. 150 years.
Visiting this area of the park during the week is a must. There was nobody there so it was very easy to sit back and picture what this place looked like back in the day. I am sure this place is a bustling tourist attraction on the weekends and is tough to fully absorb all this site has to offer.
The park has a bunch of hiking trails as well as mountain bike trails. I noticed a few mountain bikers and biker trail markers out and about.
Everywhere I looked seemed like the perfect place for a photo. I couldn’t help myself. I bet this place is just amazing in the Spring and Fall. Next time I’m up in this part of the country I certainly hope it’ll be during that time of the year. Since I went in early March we had plenty of storms blowing through which made for some cloudy weather.
The main Bath House is located in between the General Store and the RV Sites facilities which made it easy to get to. The restrooms in the Tent Camping and Primitive Camping sections were not as easy to get to nor were they as nice.
Six individual shower stalls…
Not the cleanest nor the dirtiest showers that I’ve been in but the Hot water was plentiful so I had zero complaints. Always remember wear Flip Flops in any shared public shower. No Exceptions!
Laundry! As one that travels on the road for weeks at a time I just love when camp grounds actually have a Laundry Room on site for their guests to use. This saves me a stop in town somewhere at a public laundromat. Most State Parks don’t have these facilities so I was very surprised that this park had them.
Park Map located HERE.
The Tannehill Ironworks State Park is definitely one of the nicest parks I’ve camped at. The area, the buildings, the mill are all worth seeing. There is a ton of history here and it’s great that its preserved for future generations to see and appreciate. American history is very important and its nice to take a stroll through time.
VanUnity 