PARKS AND Recreation

Whether it is a sporting event, a relaxing weekend at the lake or an evening stroll, Chilton County has a variety of options for both indoor and outdoor recreation.

Minooka Park near Jemison offers opportunities for comfortable camping amidst scenic views. A large pavilion provides the perfect place to pause enjoy lunch and take in the beauty of the trees and far off hills. Activities available include ATV and dirt bike riding, walking, hiking and horseback riding. In addition, the park also has trails that offer some views of some of Central Alabama’s most breathtaking scenery. The park is located between Jemison and Calera in North Chilton County on U.S. Highway 31.

In Clanton, there is Goose Pond Park located on Highway 31 North with picnic tables, a pavilion and walking track. The city is researching funding to create a dog park towards the back of the park. There is also City Park located on Highway 145 with a walking trail, pavilion, playground, baseball fields, tennis courts, picnic tables and disk golf. This park is also one of the locations of the city’s three Free Little Libraries. These stand-alone shelf units allow anyone visiting the park to take a book or leave one for the next person to enjoy.

Higgins Ferry Park offers fishing, camping, swimming and a full-service electrical hook-up for RVs along with places for primitive tent-camping. There is also a large playground. The climbing areas, slide and swings encourage children to have fun with little touches like a plastic spyglass to encourage imaginative play.

The park routinely hosts fishing tournaments.

The Higgins Ferry boat launch is open to the public, and can be accessed by taking the Lake Mitchell exit off I-65, and taking County Road 28 until it dead-ends at Higgins Ferry Park.

Jemison City Park offers tennis courts, a walking trail, pavilion, and baseball and softball fields. The city park is located at 396 Brenda Lane.

In Thorsby, Richard Wood Park is near the intersection of Alabama Avenue and park hosts both local guests and tourists and has the only museum in Alabama that is strictly devoted to the Civil War.

One of the more picturesque places in the county is Lake Mitchell, a component of the Coosa River that lies 10 miles east of Clanton. The 5,850-acre lake averages 29 feet in depth and includes 147 miles of shoreline.

Franklin Street.

Individuals can enjoy a walking track, playground, exercise equipment, pavilion, picnic area, grills, and Movies in the Park each Friday at dusk during the month of June each year.

Maplesville has both Double Fields Park at 6741 Shanks Drive and Single Ball Field at 301 Shanks Drive. Double Fields Park offers a walking trail as part of the Piedmont Plateau Birding Trail, baseball fields and a pavilion and Single Ball Field offers a playground, baseball field and pavilion.

Confederate Memorial Park near Verbena offers a family-friendly option that covers both a historical aspect and visually pleasing site. The site includes a museum, research facility, showcase of authentic historical structures, and a display of ruins and two cemeteries with more than 300 Confederate soldiers. The 102-acre

Alabama Power constructed Lay Dam in 1923 to provide flood control and hydroelectricity to central Alabama. Since then, Lake Mitchell has become a source of recreation with attractions such as boating, swimming, and fishing.

The lake also supports high densities of sport fish, such as largemouth bass, spotted bass, bluegill, crappie, catfish, walleye, striped bass, hybrid, and white bass. There is also a Marina restaurant, which will open for the season April through September. The restaurant offers burger, sandwiches, catfish and other American favorites.

Those looking for indoor recreational now have a few new options including martial arts, laser tag and ax throwing. Local gyms, which off a variety of fitness classes, sporting activities and community programs are also available.