Southern state parks offer natural settings, from beautiful lakes to rugged mountains, that can elevate any meeting. The following five state parks make perfect spots for meeting groups to combine conferences with stunning scenery and outdoor adventure.
DeGray Lake Resort State Park
Bismarck, Arkansas
Thirty minutes from Hot Springs, Arkansas, DeGray Lake Resort State Park is known for its beautiful lake and rocky islands. Groups wanting to host meetings at the park can book rooms at the lodge, which is on an island off the north shore of the lake. It has 90 guest rooms. The conference center, which has glass windows on one side for beautiful lake views, can hold up to 200 people. The room can be sectioned into three separate rooms and a reception area. There is a full-service restaurant and bar that handles all of the on-site catering.
The lodge also has two breakout rooms that can accommodate 30 people each and a small boardroom for six guests.
Between the lodge and the lake is a large event lawn that can host groups of up to 300. There’s also a playground, a sand volleyball court, bicycle rentals, a gift shop and a lighted walking path. The Island Trail follows the western shoreline of the island. The park also has 113 campsites, three yurts and an 18-hole championship golf course.
There is a disk golf course in the park, and groups can bring their own boats with them to take advantage of the lake. There are five walking trails within the park, and a marked paddle trail for kayaks and standup paddle boards with interpretive signs in a secluded cove. Groups can take sunset cruises, snorkeling tours or guided kayak paddles, or participate in a nighttime golf course safari, where groups explore the course in golf carts to look for wildlife.
Jenny Wiley State Resort Park
Prestonsburg, Kentucky
Located in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, Kentucky’s Jenny Wiley State Resort Park has a 49-room lodge overlooking Dewey Lake, as well as eight one-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom cottages. The facility is surrounded by pine trees and peaceful mountain settings.
The conference center is one large room that can host groups of 500 for a banquet or 800 theater-style and also includes premeeting space for registration or casual receptions. There are also six smaller meeting rooms in the park that can host between 50 and 300 people for a banquet. Two smaller meeting rooms off the lobby are perfect for board meetings. All told, the conference center can host events for 10 to 800 people.
The Music Highway Grill offers bar and food service every day except Monday and Tuesday. It can accommodate 132 guests. Full-service catering and bar service are available at all rentable areas in the park.
For fun, groups can rent pontoon boats or canoes to enjoy the lake or go fishing. There are also 10 miles of hiking trails, mountain biking trails, team-building opportunities, and planned recreation and naturalist activities.
Jenny Wiley is also a major birding destination and one of the few places in the state where groups can take an elk-viewing tour.
Hickory Knob State Resort Park
McCormick, South Carolina
Hickory Knob State Resort Park is located on South Carolina’s 71,100-acre Lake Thurmond, a reservoir ideal for fishing, boating and other watersports. It is the only park in South Carolina that has a hotel and restaurant. The park has 76 lodge rooms, a barracks that sleeps up to 10 and the restored Historic French Huguenot Guillebeau House, a two-bedroom home that can sleep up to four.
The convention center, which features a fireplace, kitchen and restrooms, can seat up to 100 guests. The Long Cane Center has a kitchen and restrooms and can seat up to 200. On-site catering and Wi-Fi are available in all of the park’s meeting spaces.
Groups can rent out the restaurant, which can seat up to 200, or the Bordeaux room in the restaurant, which can seat 75. The park is well-known for its 18-hole championship golf course that was designed by Tom Jackson. The challenging course is situated on the shores of Lake Thurmond. The park also has skeet shooting, archery and axe-throwing ranges, as well as nearly 12 miles of hiking and biking trails. There is a boat ramp with kayak and canoe rentals and an outdoor recreation area with cornhole, horseshoes, ladderball, a firepit and a picnic area with grills.
The park also has a practice putting green by the lodge, a swimming pool and three boat docks for people who want to bring their boats.
Cacapon Resort State Park
Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
Cacapon Resort State Park sits in the shadow of a mountain ridge in West Virginia’s eastern panhandle. The park covers more than 6,000 acres and is a major draw for history buffs because of its proximity to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Groups wanting to stay in the park and host a meeting or event can book rooms at Cacapon Resort, choosing from 120 lodge rooms and 31 cabins, including six economy cabins.
The resort has 13,120 square feet of meeting and conference space, including the Lord Fairfax and George Washington rooms, which combined can host 200 for a banquet or 300 theater-style. The Daniel Morgan Room can host smaller groups of 35 for a banquet. The Old Inn features 12 guest rooms with one large meeting space, making it perfect for small group gatherings. The Bath House has 2,763 square feet of space for meetings or banquets of 80 guests.
Food and beverages are available in the Cacapon Dining Room, which can accommodate 120.
Cacapon Resort includes a full-service spa and a championship golf course. There is a golf pro shop and snack bar, horseback riding, a seasonal beach for lake swimming, tennis and game courts, paddle boats, fishing, hiking trails, a lighted walking trail, and a naturalist program and nature center. A new $3.5 million bike park expansion is coming soon.
Fontainebleau State Park
Mandeville, Louisiana
Fontainebleau State Park is one of the oldest state parks in Louisiana. It is located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, an hour north of New Orleans and just three miles from the Northshore town of Mandeville. It is known for its beautiful sunsets over the water, its sandy beach and spectacular kayaking.
Fontainebleau was once the site of a large sugar mill built under the direction of Creole planter and senator Bernard de Marigny in 1829. The plantation fell into disrepair long ago, but groups visiting the park can tour the brick structures that remain and learn more about the man who built the mill inside the park’s visitor center.
There are several lodging options at the park, including 12 two-bedroom cabins that sleep eight and a standard lodge that sleeps up to 10 people. Group Camp I includes a dining hall and two dormitories that can sleep up to 100 guests. Group Camp III includes a dining hall and two dormitories that sleep up to 65 people.
Groups of up to 100 can rent pavilions equipped with grills and fire rings. There’s also a meeting room that can host 50 people for conference and theater setups. A decommissioned rail line has been turned into part of the 27-mile Tammany Trace trail, which runs through the park and is perfect for hiking, biking and horseback riding. Interpretive ranger programming is available throughout the year, and visitors can also rent kayaks along the lake shore.