New lodge coming to Cheaha State Park
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Renderings courtesy of Chambless King Architects
Special to the News
The State Parks Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is currently working on one of its most anticipated projects in years, a new lodge at Cheaha State Park atop Cheaha Mountain in Delta.
“We are very excited to announce the new Cheaha State Park Lodge, as well as a few additional renovations to this iconic state park,” said Chris Blankenship, ADCNR commissioner. “Our State Parks System has made massive strides in recent years on its way to being one of the best in the nation. With this project, we are adding another world-class facility to our growing list of exceptional overnight accommodations and amenities. We look forward to welcoming lodge guests in early 2026.”
The new Cheaha State Park Lodge will feature three hotel towers with a total of 32 guest units in a variety of configurations. The towers will be connected by breezeways clad in copper-colored aluminum designed to reflect sunlight in a way similar to The Narrows in Zion National Park and will align with the summer solstice.
Each hotel unit will have a private balcony with stunning views of the surrounding mountains and valley below. The project design also includes a rooftop bar and a meeting space that can accommodate conferences, business meetings, executive retreats, weddings, or family reunions.
“This new lodge will showcase the best of what Alabama State Parks has to offer in one of the most beautiful locations in the Southeast,” said Matthew Capps, director of ADCNR’s State Parks Division. “We are grateful for all the hard work Commissioner Blankenship and the state legislature undertook to get the bond measure on the ballot in 2022 and to the citizens who voted in support of Alabama State Parks. This facility will be an important addition to our State Parks System, and we look forward to sharing it with the public next year.”
The Cheaha State Park Lodge project will utilize building materials sustainably sourced in Alabama including exposed mass timber and stone that celebrate the landscape of Cheaha Mountain and complement the distinctive features of the State Park’s Civilian Conservation Corps structures. The exposed mass timbers are a sustainable building material made from compressed layers of wood that create strong, structural load-bearing elements with a strength-to-weight ratio similar to concrete.
During the construction and renovation phase of the project, most of the existing hotel will be replaced with the new guest units. The new hotel units will be connected to the existing Vista Event Center (previously the park’s restaurant) which will be renovated to serve as the lobby of the lodge where guest check-in services, office space for staff, merchandise sales, and a coffee shop will be located. The existing pool will also be converted into an observation deck and event pavilion that can accommodate up to 100 guests and will serve as a trailhead for Pulpit Rock.
To ensure visitors access to the hotel and event center prior to the paid point of entry to the park, the gatehouse will be moved 500 feet up the hill. The new gatehouse will share design elements with Cheaha’s new hotel and lodge.
The design for the new Cheaha State Park Lodge was led by Chambless King Architects, an award-winning architectural design firm with offices in Montgomery and Birmingham.
“Our firm’s guiding principle to create environments that resonate with their place and foster genuine human connection is fully realized in our work at Cheaha,” said Jared Fulton, firm principal and lead project architect at Chambless King Architects. “The design will create a hotel facility that leverages its extraordinary location atop Mount Cheaha and generates the sense of a vibrant, lived-in mountaintop village that honors the site’s significance within the Creek Nation and as Alabama’s first state park. We hope the completed project will enrich the lives of overnight guests and visitors at Cheaha State Park, encouraging them to treasure the mountain for its beauty, ecological impact and historical importance.”
Funding for the Cheaha project was provided through the $85 million bond measure approved by voters in 2022. Site preparation for the Cheaha State Park Lodge began in December 2024, and the project is expected to be completed in early 2026.
Cheaha State Park is located near Delta, Alabama, in Clay and Cleburne counties and features 2,799 acres of rugged mountain landscapes in the Appalachian foothills. The park is home to Alabama’s highest point, Cheaha Mountain, at 2,407 feet and offers primitive and improved camping, cabins and chalets, hiking and mountain bike trails, and much more. The upper and lower campgrounds, cabins and chalets have recently been renovated and will remain open during the Lodge construction.
Area attractions include the Talladega National Forest, Pinhoti National Recreation Trail, Cheaha Wilderness, Chief Ladiga Trail, Forever Wild Coldwater Mountain bike trails, historic downtown Heflin, Freedom Riders National Monument, and Talladega Superspeedway. Learn more about Cheaha State Park at www.alapark.com.
ADCNR promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through four divisions: Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. Learn more at www.outdooralabama.com.
