Gulf State Park Masterplan

Gulf State Park is a 6,150 acre state park with pristine coastal scenery and wildlife habitat on the historic Alabama Gulf Coast. Officially opened in 1939, the park played a pivotal role in regional development by attracting new visitors and residents to the area. Over the years, Gulf State Park expanded its size and facilities; however, in 2004 Hurricane Ivan swept through the Gulf Coast and destroyed many park facilities located along the beach front. After rebounding from the loss of amenities, devastation hit again when the Deepwater Horizon Disaster marred the Gulf Coast in 2010. With beaches closed, Gulf State Park suffered ecologically and economically. In 2014, Sasaki was awarded the Gulf State Park Masterplan project on the park’s unique assets and demonstrating best practices for outdoor recreation, education, and hospitable accommodations. The park is incredibly diverse, with many different ecosystems within its borders, including: evergreen forests, pine savannas, maritime forests, dune ridges/ sand scrub habitats, fresh and salt water marshes, freshwater and brackish lakes, coastal swales, dunes, the beach, and the gulf. As the largest contiguous preserved open space along the Gulf Coast with such diversity, the park is home to a diversity of wildlife, including the federally endangered Alabama beach mouse, and an important rest stop for migrating birds and butterflies.