Horse Pens 40

3
3525 Co. Rd. 42
Steele, AL 35987

(256) 538-7439
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Park Features & Amenities

Camp Basics

Sites:

100

Pull Through Sites:

No

Full Hookup Sites:

100

Pets Allowed:

No

Shaded Sites:

Yes

Credit Cards Accepted: NA

Utilities & Amenities

Restrooms:

Yes

Showers:

Yes

Recreation

Clubhouse:

No

Boat Launch:

No

Traveler Tips


Traveler Reviews


Mr. S.
1 review
5

Owners response to "pariots1"

In response to this very old negative review (I just ran across it), I would offer this extensive rebuttal so all sides are represented. We find so few negative reviews that we can take the time to personally respond to each one that we find, even very old ones. We do take every complaint very seriously (as I guess you can see), and provide each and every guest with my personal cell phone number in case anything does not meet your expectation. I would consider that in itself to be very unusual in this day and age.

The only time we charge a campground parking pass ($20) is during our very largest events. The only one ever in any November would be the Triple Crown Bouldering Competition, which is the largest outdoor bouldering competition in the world (as far as I know). At any rate, we only do so a very few (3-6 max) times a year. We normally allow your to park at your campsite for FREE the rest of the time.

The special campground parking pass is to encourage the majority of vehicles to park in the FREE PARKING area just outside the camping area at these largest events. If you wish to have your vehicle in your campsite at any of these events, you must have a parking pass. We do this to prevent overcrowding (ex. 900 people with 600 cars), prevent potential hazards to our guests from people having a few drinks and deciding to 'take a little ride around the campground', and to cause most traffic to occur outside the camping areas, thus cutting down on the general traffic inside the campground while everyone else is trying to sleep. Also, each vehicle takes up or blocks approx. 2 (or more) campsites, and can make for a much more crowded campground. A FREE PARKING area is nearly always provided, with provisions made for vehicle entry/exit for unloading/loading your camping gear at your campsite.
As I said, these are SPECIAL PROCEDURES made only for our VERY LARGEST EVENTS. We always explain these details upon admission to all of our special events, so evidently the gentleman noted above decided to park at his campsite at this event BY HIS OWN CHOICE, thus needing a parking pass. It was always his choice to do so or not. THESE PARKING RESTRICTIONS DO NOT APPLY 99% OF THE TIME.

He said they arrived a 3am and were only charged a day fee (Our camping fee includes a park day fee, good from 8am until sundown THE NEXT DAY. If you arrive in the middle of the night, we consider you to be camping.). What that means is that he was not charged anything at all for camping the night he arrived and only paid the day fee for the following day. (If he was even actually charged the day fee at all, witness his own entry under "RATE PAID" of only $10.00 ?) We did what we could to help him out, even with his very late (early morning) arrival.

See if any other campground, hotel, or motel will let you arrive a 3am and stay the rest of the night for free and then let you stay until sundown the next day, including world-class bouldering, and the largest comp in the world. All for free. If so, you better take advantage of it, because they won't be there for long.

The info he gave and the rate he paid indicates that he was a Triple Crown competitor that arrived after 3am on Friday night, and because he arrived so late was only charged for one out of the 2 nights (Sat. night) camping over the weekend event, may have paid for Saturday day use, chose to purchase a parking pass, was not allowed to freely burn the firewood that was cut, split, stacked, and destined for sale (firewood sales at HP40 go to support the equine rescue program), and was unhappy enough to write an unfavorable review. I am not sure what we could have done to make this person happy, but if he had made us aware of his complaints, we would still have made an effort to do so.

HP40 is a family-owned, family-operated campground, a "leave no trace" nature park, and our family home. It contains historic areas, native American burial and ceremonial areas, archeological sites, unbelievable rock formations, world class bouldering, and is the home of many rare, threatened, protected, and endangered species. We constantly welcome guests from all over the US and all over the world. The diversity of locations in our guest registry is unbelievable for a small park in the foothills of Appalachian mountains.

We bought the park area to preserve it from developers, and our only interest in operating it is to preserve it for the future, and for the guests who wish to be able to visit it. Our family takes no income from the park, and there are no paid employees at HP40. We neither receive nor would accept government grants, funds, or other outside support. This is something that we all believe in, and is not operated for the scant proceeds that it brings in.

No, we do not provide free firewood for you. No, we do not normally allow you to camp for free.
Yes, we do live here, and we are very strict in preventing any damage to the rocks, the wildlife, and the parks facilities. We have 24 hour security, and are on call 24/7 to assist you, and will help you in any way that we can. If your battery is dead, we will jump start you. If you tire is flat we will pump you up. If you lock yourself out of your car, we will try to get you in, or help you find someone who can. We charge for none of these services. If you forgot something, we have a well-stocked camp store that will probably have what you need. If you cannot be happy with these things, then perhaps HP40 is the wrong place for you. If this sounds good to you, then we welcome you to come see us anytime.

Thanks for reading this extremely long and detailed response. Please see our website at horsepens40.com or hp40.com (Same site) for lots more info.

Oh, and if you have a complaint of any kind, please call me so I can do my best to make you happy. Although sometimes it seems impossible, you might be surprised what we can accomplish.

Take care, and we hope to see you soon up on the mountain.

Date of Stay:
 May, 2014

Pariots1
1 review
1

If you want to climb at HP40 camp somewhere else

Just climbed at HP40 with my closest friends this past weekend and we will never stay at HP40 again. These people are unprofessional, rude, out to get all your money... A place that makes you pay $10 a night per person for camping, plus charging you $20 to park your car as if they were a lot in New York City is insane. We drove 11 hours and arrived to HP40 at 3:00 and because it wasn't 4:00 they charged each of us a additional $5 day fee. They sell chalk bags that they have found in the boulder field, there was old wood at our camp site and a worker told us we couldn't use it as fire wood and took it away.. Probably because they wanted us to pay for wood.
Stay at a hotel, camp somewhere different or sleep in your car. HP40 is a terrible place to stay.

Date of Stay:
 November, 2011
Rate Paid:
 $10.00