Service Park (a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers facility) sits on the shores of 97-mile-long Coffeeville Lake, the third largest lake on the Black Warrior- Tombigbee reservoir system and the last reservoir on the Tombigbee River before it reaches the Gulf of Mexico. Service Park’s campground offers 32 sites with electrical and water hook-ups, showers, and clothes- washing facilities. If you’d prefer a more rustic camping experience, you’ll find primitive camping sites in the area, as well as seven day-use areas around the lake. You can fish from shore for catfish, white perch, bass, and bream, or launch your boat on the lake. Nearby Choctaw National Wildlife Refuge encompasses some 4,000 acres of Coffeeville Lake, creating a haven for wildlife, wildlife viewing, and hunting. A marshy slough behind the Service Park picnic area attracts shorebird species and offers a lovely avantage point from which to watch the river.

The park is active with birds any time other than the hot summer months, and even then, you may see long-legged waders, Ospreys, Bald Eagles and Anhingas. The half-mile long entrance road is lined with an all-age mixed forest. Look for songbirds and a variety of woodpeckers (including Pileated, Red-headed and Hairy). This is a good place to study the songs of Wood Thrushes and Hooded and Kentucky Warblers.

Beyond the entrance gate (no admission fee for day-use), the road forms a loop around the restroom building. Winter may bring a handful of gulls and some waterfowl on and around the lake. Waders may be present throughout the year, though they are most numerous in late summer and fall. Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons are year-round occupants. Look for Wood Storks from July through October and White Ibis, Little Blue Herons, Green Herons, and a few Snowy Egrets at any time, though typically in the warmer months.

Directions: From the intersection of US-43 and US-84 in Grove Hill (Clarke County–fuel, food, some nearby lodging available) take US-84 west for 22.7 miles. Turn right (north) at the sign for Service Park. Or, from Coffeeville, Alabama, drive about four miles west on U.S. Highway 84 and follow signs to campground entrance.

GPS N 31.75127 W -88.144391

Coffeeville Lake (Service Campground Park)
451 Service Park Rd.
Silas AL 36919
(251)753-6935