Huntsville State Park

Awesome Park

We are always looking forward to visiting Tyler State Park. We usually go in October, after the crowds have thinned out a little. The autumn colors are awesome here, and the weather is cool enough to truly enjoy hiking all the way around the lake. It’s also quite large, hilly, and scenic with beautiful pines and hardwood trees, creeks, and a gorgeous lake. It offers camping, picnicking, hiking, biking, swimming, fishing, playgrounds, and boating.

For boating, you can launch your own, or rent one from the park store, which offers canoes, kayaks, pedal boats, jon boats, and bike boats. The store also offers souvenirs as well as limited camping supplies and groceries. The park has scenic roads for vehicles and road bicycles, as well as 13 miles of trails for hikers and mountain bikers.

There are a wide range of accommodations ranging from tent sites with water only, all the way up to full hookup RV sites, screened shelters, and mini-cabins. Some sites are very level, while others have a slope. Water and electric supplies are good. On the technology side, we received about 30 over-the-air TV stations, 4G LTE cell phone service from Verizon, and Wi-Fi internet from the park, although it was slow at times. While all the sites are quite nice, our favorite area is the Lakeview tent and trailer camping area. It is right on the shores of the lake, has great views, and is right on the Lakeshore trail, which is a very scenic and easy 2-mile loop around the lake.

The fishermen in our group always want to camp as close to the lake as possible. They have pulled some big bass out of it! The lake has a swimming beach, a hiking trail all the way around, and in the summer has various watercraft rentals.

There are a couple of playgrounds that delight the grandkids, and a camp store. Most of the campsites seem to have been converted to full hookups, especially those close to the lake. Just talking about it makes me want to go back again.