The centerpiece of this beautiful 1,080-acre park is a 100-acre lake. Visitors enjoy the relaxing atmosphere surrounding the lake, which offers fishing, paddling and swimming.

Day use opportunities include picnicking and barbecue grills are available throughout the picnic area. Pavilions are available for family reunions, birthday parties and other special events. 15 to 20 miles of hiking trails offers excursions into the surrounding forest.

Eleven modern campsites with 50-amp services overlook the lake, which is surrounded by southern pines and hardwoods. For those who prefer tent camping, primitive sites are also available. A bathhouse is located nearby that is ADA accessible.

Paul M. Grist is a featured site on the Alabama Black Belt Birding Trail. In the park, you are likely to see a wide variety of waterfowl, song birds, raptors, and both migrating and resident species. Other wildlife you might see include White-tailed deer, Eastern wild turkey and a variety of amphibians and reptiles.

While staying at Paul M. Grist State Park, you can visit the nearby city of Selma, where there are many historic houses and The Old Depot Museum, an interpretive museum in an 1891 railway depot. Selma is also known for Civil Rights history and is home to the National Voting Rights Museum. Selma hosts several events throughout the year such as the Battle of Selma Re-enactment. Nearby is Old Cahawba Archaeological Park, the site of Alabama’s first capital. Adjacent to the archaeological park is the Old Cahawba Forever Wild tract, which features hiking and hunting opportunities.