Overview
Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park is a 1,500 acre piece of paradise located about 25 miles Southwest of Birmingham, Alabama. The park celebrates Birmingham's historic iron industry with a museum and a restored furnace and multiple buildings from the era. If you like camping, nature, and history, you will thoroughly enjoy this park.

There is a very large campground at Tannehill State Park with a handful of full hookup sites. There is also a creek, a cold clean spring, miles of biking and hiking trails, a small gauge train, a sweets shop, a restaurant, 19th century cabins to rent, rockhounding, fishing, and much more. 

Tannehill has a very large facility for events, and there are are a good many that take place here. On the third weekend of every month from March to November, the park hosts Trade days, a sort of swap meet. Then there's the Dulcimer Festival, a Civil War reenactment, a rock an mineral show, a major archery event (state championship), and a woodcarvers show. Frankly, it seems there is always something happening at Tannehill.

Adventure Journal
Entry Date: June 2011
We visited Tannehill State Park the same on the same dates last year. I've had to do a presentation at the Mercedes plant in Vance two years running, so we made an adventure of it both years. We had originally planned on staying at Oak Mountain State Park this year, just to check it out. Unfortunately, after driving through Oak Mountain's two campgrounds twice, I could never find an RV site I liked. That's another story though.

We arrived late in the afternoon on a Wednesday expecting plenty of full hookup campsites. There was just one available. A terrible tornado came through here last month, devastating nearby Tuscaloosa and ripping a path through the pines for miles. Clean-up crews were using the park's campground as a home base. Unfortunately, that meant an unusually messy campground (just the full hookup section). There seemed to be more cigarette butts and general trash than usual. It's hard to blame the park for that though. Typically, Tannehill is very well maintained.

It was hot, real hot. Recalling last year's visit, the kids took to the creek at the first opportunity. There's a spring that flows cold an clear into Roupes creek. I can imagine Native Americans using the creek to cool off in centuries past. I'm sure plenty of artifacts can be found here.

In the evenings, after the air cooled down a little, we took bike rides. There are lots of trails around Tannehill State Park. Many follow old road beds that were used to transport ore. They are very well maintained and an easy ride (or walk).

We only stayed for two nights on this trip because we were heading South for more adventures. We really want to come back though, especially for some of their scheduled events.

The Richardson Tribe

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Live Oak Landing
Lula Lake Land Trust
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McKinney Campground
Moto Mountain Powersports
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Noccalula Falls Park details and pictures
Old Stone Fort Archaeology State Park
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Rock Town - Pigeon Mountain
Rome GA
Salt Springs Recreation Area
Silver Springs
Stone Mountain Park
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Tellus Science Museum
The Southern Museum
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Townsend KOA
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Zoo Atlanta - Details and Pictures

Watch for coming events!
Features Rating (1-10)

Description

  
Official website 9 Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park's website is very well done. Could use more pictures of campsites and amenities.
Campground

8

 Tannehill has lots of campsites, many on the creek from $21. There is just one full hookup area (including sewer), but they are cramped and unkempt. The non-sewer sites are much roomier and shady. All sites are first come-first served (NO RESERVATIONS), but you can call ahead to see if sites are available - (205) 477-5711.
Cottages/Cabins *

There are several restored cabins, built in the 1800's, that can be rented. Rates (as of 2011) are from $80 per night.
Playground

8

 The playground equipment is pretty nice, but the grounds were in need of some repair and landscaping (as of June 2011).
Hiking/Mountain Biking 9 There are many old road beds that serve as great trails for bike riding and hiking.
Museum

9

 The museum is awesome, filled with lots of relics from the iron industry.
Geocaching

*

 Geocaching is available, but we didn't have a chance.
Rockhounding

8

 We found lots of interesting rocks here. There is a spring that feeds a stream that is several inches deep and crystal clear. On a hot day, you an sit in the stream and pick through rocks (and other thing). I found a mineralized animal bone that showed evidence of someone scraping away the marrow with a sharp tool. My assumption is that it was food for some ancient Native American, but I'm no expert.
Local Attractions

9

 Mercedes Assembly Plant (tours, museum), Birmingham, Oak Mountain State Park, Tuscaloosa, University of Alabama, etc.
*Note: We rate only the amenities we have personally reviewed.

No financial consideration or favor has been received for listing in PB&J Adventures' website. We are in no way affiliated with this facility or any other facility we review. Any paid advertising seen on this site was arranged after the destination was reviewed. You can trust the reviews to be unbiased.

June 2011

June 2010