Joe Wheeler State Park — Attraction in St. Joseph

We started going to Joe Wheeler state park about 6 yrs ago with our collegiate fishing team and stayed in cabin #4. It was beautiful and had the best of flatware, linens, etc. And furnished like a 5 start hotel. I wrote the management there telling them how nice it was, but, at that time the dock had nails around the edge and my grandson damaged his boat extensively after he tied up to it. Since then we have gone back 3-4 times as we love the beautiful lake and get a room overlooking the pool. However, I noticed this time the lodge is in great need of an update as it just is not as nice and does not meet the standards for a $150 night hotel. Two of the fabric bottom chairs were stained excessively and I put a towel over each to sit in. The kitchen was so dark with two ceiling lights but obviously very low wattage bulbs I had to move the floor lamp from the bedroom to the kitchen. There was a minimum of flatware, there was only one SMALL TRASH CAN IN THE KITCHEN so that it overflowed and one small in the bathroom, which is expected, but most hotels have a large trash can in the kitchen, and there was NO TRASH CAN IN THE LARGE BEDROOM AREA. We are 85 yrs old and have difficult walking so making a trip to another room for a trash can was a big deal for us. The wall in the toilet area was all banged up and paint peeling back. And the vanity area had messy grout showing that looked like an amateur had done it. Both tacky and an eye sore. Also, the check out time was not posted anywhere in the room as most hotels have on the back of the door. I could not figure out how to use the phone as there was no directions on it so I dialed 0 thinking i would get the operator but I did not. Finally, I called the office on my cell phone having to look up the number. It just seemed this trip things were more difficult even calling the office to ask departure time. Even when I went to a neighboring town jewelry store, when I told her we were staying at the Lodge, she said "they really need to update that place". That they would not be going back until it was updated and we feel the same way. The dining room staff was friendly but the Thursday salad bar was skimpy with not much choice as no bell peppers, etc (the slaw was almost all mayo). The wall in the bathroom was so banged up with paint coming off and was an eye sore. Lamp hangers were still in the ceiling from the 1960's hanging lamps, but no lamps. The air conditioner was leaking water on to the patio with dead bugs in it as we had to step by to use the patio. There was not a little table as most places offer to set our coffee on so I had to take a kitchen chair to the patio to use as a table. Either bending to get the cup up from the floor or toting the chair to the patio both were painful for me. Things just were not as nice and comfortable as they were in the past. I really wish the State of AL would spend some money to make it more desirable, as Pickwick Lake did a couple years ago. Again, the staff is wonderful as one of the maintenance men saw me struggling to get my bag out of our truck car and he jumped right in to help me. Cindy, a housekeeper, saw me again struggling with luggage as we were leaving and came immediately to help me realizing we were an elderly handicapped people. It seems things that most hotels do or provide,you did not this time, making it difficult for us . Perhaps because our health is poor now and everything is more...

The park is great, clean and well maintained. The lodge was clean and the restaurant was reasonably priced. Everyone in our large group were happy with the food and service. The marina and other facilities were clean and appeared to be well maintained but we didn't get to use them this time We rented 4 of the lakeside cottages for our group. Everyone loved the location and the view, we had some great sunsets. We saw lots of wildlife from the deck. They obviously have done some repairs but I think that they need to check them more often, 2 of the 4 decks had some rotting and warped boards and nails sticking up. I didn't go out without shoes and didn't want my grandson to be out there alone for fear of him putting a foot through a board. The cottage was basically clean but I guess that by the end of the season, we were there the 1st weekend of October, the rugs were dirty and the furniture was as well. The furniture was not really good to relax in and our bed was too soft and we both woke up with backaches but others didn't have complaints. There were plenty of cooking utensils and pans but the dinnerware and eating utensils were lacking. None of the cottages had enough to service the number of people in the house, we were 6 people in a 3/3 unit and didn't have enough bowls and spoons for cereal for everyone. Luckily I brought paper plates and plastic silverware so it was ok. There were plenty of glasses but not enough coffee cups. It appeared that each cabin has a corkscrew but no wineglasses. There were some coffee filled filters but we needed to buy just plain filters for our coffee. There were plenty of towels and toiletries, extra toilet paper and paper towels, salt and pepper in the kitchen. There are ice makers in the fridge that seemed to work well for our group but you couldn't fill a cooler. The tap water was fine for drinking. The handicapped unit was great, kitchen cabinets were wheelchair accessible and shower had lower handheld shower head and regular showerhead with separate controls and a flip down seat. Very thoughtful. The pet friendly unit didn't smell. Beware, the weekend was rainy and paper stuck to wooden tabletop and countertops because of the humidity I guess so don't put important papers on them. There weren't any accessable plugs in the bedroom so we all charged phones in the kitchen and dining area. Wifi is non-existent and AT&T signal spotty. I had no prob with Verizon phone and text but data was slow. Several went to the lodge for wireless internet service. All rooms had TV with direct TV. Several platforms for sitting close to the lake or fishing, a few lawn chairs would have been a good idea. We had a few small issues but not enough to not enjoy...

We love Joe Wheeler State Park! We have camped there since we bought our RV 9 years ago. We were lucky enough to also be able to keep our RV in one of the few storage spots they have. Good prices and right by the office! We have stayed every 4th of July ( plus several other weeks during the year) and enjoy all the activities offered. Decorate your camp site contest, popsicle eating contest at the lodge, golf cart and bike parade in the evening. Last year they had movie night with popcorn and a local church had a bingo night several years ago.That was a big hit and we had more then expected and ended up having to copy extra cards and use dried beans to cover our squares. Love seeing all the deer ( we always joke around that the deer go home and say “ oh my you should have seen how many humans we saw today! 😊 ) and watch the sneaky little raccoons try to steal stuff. The staff and camp host are always friendly and helpful. We have also stayed at the Lodge for the parade of lights and breakfast at Daniella’s, the cottages with a group of Sunday School girls, taken a pontoon cruise, golfed, fished, played disc golf , use the boat ramps, celebrated many grandkids birthdays, had nature scavenger hunts, hiked and last year watched two eagles eating breakfast! Awesome. And enjoy unplugging and enjoy our happy place. We leave stuff on our table and have never had anything taken. One year when we had to work during one of our stays, the wind had picked up. Came back “home” to find our neighbors had lowered our table tent and our RV awning so they wouldn’t get torn up. When breaking down our site and rain was close by we had our neighbors help put stuff up. Close by is Shef’s kitchen, Jan’s Antiques, Fat Cats seafood, Whitt’s barbecue, McDonalds that has first Saturday of the month specials, fish fry at the fire hall, and now a brand new Taco Bell! When the tornado hit we were devastated since that was the only campground we have every camped at. At this time only the campground and day use area are closed. Everything else is open. Check for winter hours at Daniella’s. Recently I saw this and it sums it up... only when camping can you, walk around in your p.j’s, with your fur babies, with a bag of dog poop in your hand and talk to strangers and be happy! Can’t wait till they open cause it will be bigger and better then ever!...