Alabama’s newest public beach recently opened, providing access for swimmers, paddlers, anglers and a nautical-themed playground for children.
Mobile’s reopening of Bayfront Park in Coden comes after a three-year closure and $9.5 million in renovations and improvements funded by Deepwater Horizon disaster fines allocated through the RESTORE Act. The star attraction of the site is a newly constructed, 900-foot-long protected “pocket beach.”
Other new amenities include the playground, parking areas, walking paths, restrooms and park office building. Visitors will find seven small picnic pavilions along a grassy area shaded by pine trees; they overlook a long stretch of white sand protected by rock walls with gaps opening into two sheltered coves. Beyond those are the waters of Mobile Bay, with the Dauphin Island Bridge visible in the distance.
The park is at 15961 Dauphin Island Parkway in Coden.
Before its closure the park was an observation point on Alabama’s Coastal Birding Trail. According to the county, its wetland conservation areas will continue to be protected. Work to rebuild the park boardwalk is expected to begin later this year and will not require park closure, according to the county.
County Commissioner Randall Dueitt, who was on hand for a media preview on Friday, said he’d caught a lot of flack for the closure of facilities such as the park and the nearby Cedar Point Pier. “It just feels good to get it back open,” he said. “I get a lot of criticism over closing things, and I get it.”
The timing of the closures is often driven by factors such as the availability of the grants that provide the funding and the processes of getting necessary permits. When the money and the permits are in hand, he said, it’s time for the work to start.
Mobile County recently reopened its largest public park, Chickasbogue Park, after a three-year closure stretched out by “delays related to supply chain, materials, labor and increased construction costs.” According to a statement released by the county, similar factors turned the Bayfront Park revitalization from a one-year project to a two-year effort: “There were multiple sources of delay, such as supply chain delays and increases in materials costs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, which made it difficult to award bids, and some replanning was necessary.”
Dueitt said Friday that the payoff was that county residents were getting something they wanted. In recent years the county has added several public facilities with water access. Chickasabogue and BayFront Park have gotten major improvements, while the county bought three privately-owned sites: Memories Fish Camp, Escatawpa Hollow Campground and the Cedar Point Pier. The county also plans to develop a new boat launch near the pier.
“The biggest overall request I got when I was running for office was for access to natural resources,” he said.
Park gates opened at noon on Sunday, March 9, with the ribbon-cutting celebration running from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
According to information provided by the county, Sunday’s program will include “music, face painting and other activities, plus free goody bags and food while supplies last.” Attendees “are encouraged to be prepared for fun in the sun,” and are welcome to launch their own kayaks and canoes from the beach. Pop-up canopies are discouraged, however.
Officials taking part in Sunday’s ribbon-cutting included Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and Mobile County Commissioners Dueitt, Merceria Ludgood and Connie Hudson.
Park hours will be 8 a.m. to dusk daily. Alcohol is not permitted in Mobile County parks.