About the Gulf Coast

Learning Campus

Located in Alabama’s beautiful Gulf State Park, the Learning Campus serves as an educational basecamp for visiting school groups, post-secondary students, teachers, researchers, scout troops, adult learners and other nature enthusiasts. It provides an opportunity for learning through immersive programming and hands-on experiences to learn about and connect with the natural and cultural heritage of the park and Alabama, inspiring visitors to live well and in harmony with the world around them. Sustainably designed and operated facilities include indoor and outdoor classrooms, a laboratory, meeting space, overnight accommodations, and dining. For more info, click here.

Interpretive Center

Adjacent to the Gulf State Park Beach Pavilion, at the east pedestrian bridge, the Interpretive Center is a coastal classroom and the gateway for everything the Park has to offer. This is an excellent starting point for all visitors to learn how we are preserving our environment and natural resources and what simple steps they can take to do the same when they return home from their adventure.  We’re living proof that education can be fun.

The Lodge

The Lodge at Gulf State Park, A Hilton Hotel is a unique destination on the Alabama Gulf Coast where nature is at your doorstep. It is located inside the naturally beautiful 6,150-acre Gulf State Park. This unique destination stands out from other Gulf Coast destinations because of its size and the diversity of its preserved ecosystems.

Nature Center

Gulf State Park’s Nature Center is a living museum of plants and animals that are native to the Gulf Coast region, with the goal being to inspire people to care for the environment by expanding their knowledge of the state’s natural resources through experiences that lead them to understand their connection to the natural world.  The Nature Center offers many exciting and worthwhile programs.  Weekly programs include guided nature walks, beach walks, pier walks, and a nature time.

Trail System 

From wetlands and woodlands to beaches and trails, exploring our assorted natural habitats is a non-stop adventure. Discover seasonal flowers and native wildlife on guided tours of freshwater marshes and coastal hardwood swamps, then head over to the Butterfly Garden and take a break when you’re done. Park enhancements make it even more accessible with the addition of over nine miles of new trails and expanded car-free loops. For more info, click here.

Outpost Camp

These campsites are ideal for those who love to primitive camp.  Each of the 3 military style tents are already set up for you, with 4 cots inside.  (Each campsite includes firewood.)

Eagle Cottages

The Gulf State Park’s Eagle Cottages have been designated by National Geographic as one of its highly esteemed “Unique Lodges of the World.” Only 56 properties worldwide are included in the program, and the Eagle Cottages are one of only seven within the United States.