Gulf State Park Campground in Gulf Shores has been named the Alabama Tourism Department’s 2018 Attraction of the Year, receiving the honor on August 6, 2018, during the Alabama Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Montgomery, underscoring how first-class hospitality, education and recreation can translate into higher occupancy for RV park and campground operators statewide, according to the department announcement.
The annual honor recognizes destinations that excel in hospitality, educational programming and recreational amenities, the state release said.
“Our employees and dedicated volunteers work incredibly hard to make Gulf State Park the best it can be.”
“This park is one of the jewels of our entire system and we’re honored to receive the award from the Alabama Tourism Department for 2018, and we expect the next year to be even better with the opening of the new Lodge and Conference Center this November.”
The park covers approximately 6,500 acres of coastal property and offers 496 paved, full-hookup campsites plus eight primitive tent-only sites. All full-hookup pads are 45–65 feet long and include a picnic table and pedestal grill. Eleven modern, air-conditioned bathhouses—each upgraded in 2023—anchor the campground, which also includes laundry facilities and a well-stocked camp store, the park’s campground details show.
Guests find a 1,540-foot fishing and education pier, more than three miles of beaches, a swimming pool with splash pad, tennis and pickleball courts, horseshoe pits, volleyball courts, an on-site Nature Center with weekly programs and access to over 28 miles of multi-use trails, according to the same amenities list.
For operators hoping to turn hardware into head-count, basic best practices include featuring the accolade in website banners and booking engines, updating third-party listings so the distinction appears early in descriptions, coaching frontline staff to mention the honor during calls or chats, creating limited-time “celebrate our award” packages and partnering with local vendors on co-marketing efforts that share revenue.
Gulf State Park’s customer appeal is reinforced online: in 2018 the park earned three TripAdvisor Certificates of Excellence and was inducted into TripAdvisor’s Hall of Fame for five consecutive years of high ratings. “In recent years, Gulf State Park has been recognized by its customers for its excellent service through certificates awarded by TripAdvisor.com,” Alabama State Parks Director Greg Lein said, according to the Wikipedia entry.
Capital projects continue to shape the experience. Restored and expanded sand-dune systems, a new Interpretive Center and a Learning Campus have joined the lineup, part of a park that spans nine distinct ecosystems and underwent major rebuilding after hurricanes, according to the Wikipedia entry.
Those improvements sit alongside environmental measures such as a rainwater-recycling system and wildlife-friendly lighting, which the park touts as a model for resilient coastal development, the Wikipedia entry notes.
Operators with smaller budgets can replicate many of the park’s green wins by starting with free utility audits, shifting to dark-sky LED fixtures, converting turf to native plant zones, installing rain barrels at bathhouses and tracking resource savings on guest-facing signs to spark participation.
Separately, The Lodge at Gulf State Park opened in November 2018 with 350 guest rooms, 40,000 square feet of event space and LEED-Gold and SITES-Platinum design targets.
Continuous upgrades, a motivated team and visible sustainability measures keep the campground competitive, offering a blueprint for operators who want to leverage recognition into year-round occupancy and rate strength.
The park also reminds visitors to follow wildlife-safety rules—alligators live in the area—and to purchase firewood locally to prevent the spread of invasive insects, according to its safety guidelines.