A place to stay on the Elk River
Oct. 26—There's nothing quite like spending a weekend in nature, particularly on the water by the river. Connection with the Earth these days is rare in our electronic world. Many in Limestone County are lucky to live in the area along the Elk River, but for the rest of the county population, a quick visit will have to do.
A particular spot along the river in Limestone County is the Elk River Group Lodge. It is actually a state park facility, the one in the county, and it is run by Joe Wheeler State Park.
It has 13 separate bedrooms, each with two beds, so large families and groups looking for a camp type of setting will find it to be an accommodating space. There is also a large commercial kitchen, a common area, as well as men's and women's bathrooms.
Chad Davis went to college at Athens State University and began his career with the park system at Joe Wheeler 20 years ago. After some time at other parks in the state, he has returned home and is the Northwest District Superintendent of the Alabama State Parks based out of Joe Wheeler.
"It's almost set up like a dorm," Davis said. "It can hold up to 26 people."
"We get a lot of families that rent the whole thing out for their stay. We get fishing groups that will rent and will park their boat and utilize the boat ramp there ... golfing groups, fishing groups, family reunions and church groups those are kind of our main people," he said.
He's worked at Lake Guntersville and DeSoto State Park during his career too. and even though Joe Wheeler has many of it's own facilities in the main park area, there's something special about the quaint cabin camp.
"I think it's important for our state parks to have several different kinds of accommodations and our park is mainly over in Rogersville where we have hotel and a convention center. We have cabins and cottages that are part of our state parks and a campground of course but this is a unique facility where everybody can be all in one location," Davis said. "It can enhance your experience in our park just by being in one facility with the people you enjoy being around."
He said while the Elk River Group Lodge is an older facility for the park, they still prioritize its cleanliness for guests.
"Part of our mission statement is to maintain and operate these types of facilities and keep them available for the public," he said.
To book the Elk River Group Lodge you can visit the Alabama State Parks website for cost and contact information.
"We just encourage everyone to visit our state parks. We area self-sufficient state agency. So we depend on those that visit our parks and stay in our parks, and those that come eat at our restaurant and rent a boat from us if they can't stay overnight," Davis said. "People that are around here locally should utilize our parks and hiking trails that we have. The more people we have that come visit, the better our parks suited to provide services to the public."
