by Shari Sullivan

Picture yourself outside in a hammock beneath the tallest trees you’ve seen in a long time. You sway back and forth in the breeze with the sun warming your face. After a hike to the tallest point in the state of Alabama and return to your campsite for a delicious dinner cooked on your camp stove. After your campfire with s’mores you head inside your tent to fall into your cloud soft bed complete with crisp white linens and silky soft pillows. If this sounds like your idea of a perfect camping getaway, welcome to glamping – camping made extraordinary.

Welcome to Glamping with the Timberline Cheaha Glamping Company! Glamping is camping made extraordinary!

Meet Aimee at Timberline Cheaha Glamping Company

I had a serendipitous meeting with Aimee last fall at an outdoor adventure show. Aimee is the owner of Timberline Cheaha Glamping Company (.https://cheaha.tlglamping.com/) and has created the perfect place for anybody who loves to enjoy the out of doors. Aimee invited me to visit her Glamping tents at Cheaha State park. If you want to camp, but don’t want the extra work of reserving your site and setting up your tent or towing your camper and setting that up, Timberline Cheaha’s glamping tents are the perfect option for you.

Timberline Glamping Company was founded in 2018 by Nathan and Rebeka Self of Georgia. They wanted to create a space where people could go to experience and be close to nature, but still have modern comforts. In my opinion, they have created the perfect solution with their glamping experiences. They eventually began offering others the opportunity to create their own glamping experiences underneath their banner name, and that is where Aimee and Mark Bennett come in. The Bennetts have their own Timberline Glamping getaways at Cheaha State Park and Aimee has put her personal touch on all five of their glamping tent options. I’m going to share my experience from the trip I took to our choice – Site #13.

When my sister Diane and I had the opportunity for a mid week getaway to go glamping in one of Timberline Cheaha’s beautiful glamping tents in February of 2024, we jumped at the chance. Aimees glamping tents are also pet friendly, so that made it even more appealing. We are both avid outdoor lovers and we have each have 8 month old puppies that we are introducing hiking to. We arrived at Cheaha State Park early enough to take the short hike out to Bald Rock. While it was a little overcast that afternoon, the view from Bald Rock was amazing and the pups did great on their first hike. Of course we took the obligatory photo at the top!

The Glamping Experience

We arrived at Site #13 at our check in time of 4:00. When you pull up to the campsite, you immediately notice that this is no ordinary tent. Sparkling string lights awaited us and surrounded our outdoor table and fire circle. A bright blue hammock was hanging between two nearby trees just begging to be tried out. Then we opened the tent to go inside… what waited for us inside was just too good to be true!

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When we unzipped the front entrance of our glamping tent, I think we both let out an audible gasp! Of course we had seen the photos on the website, but it is still so much more impressive to see it in person. Could this really be a tent and not a 5 Star hotel? Combined with the gorgeous setting, it is more like a 5 million star hotel!

The first thing you will notice are the beautiful queen sized beds that are covered in cloud soft duvets and piled high with fluffy pillows. To add a rustic charm, there are campy blankets reminiscent of an old Pendleton wool blanket folded at the foot of each bed. A quick test of the bed verified that it was just as promised. No doubt a good nights sleep was in our futures.

Each tent has a heating/air conditioning unit that is easy to set for your personal comfort level. The tent had been prepared for our arrival so it was warm and cozy inside. In case it got chilly at night we could adjust the temperature for our comfort, and if that wasn’t enough there was also a small space heater for our use. We had our own darling little retro fridge which was truly a bonus, complete with a bottle opener on the side. It is so nice not to have to run to the camp store to purchase ice to keep our food cool. Our Keurig coffee maker and an extra bottle of filtered water was waiting on a table, as well as delicious personalized coffee pods and insulated Timberline Cheaha coffee cups too!

Extraordinary Touches

Everywhere you look there are extra touches that make it even more magical than the photos promised. There are so many little special touches that it’s hard to describe every single one. When you look at our photos you will see the darling little lamps, the plants that make it feel homey, a card game, thoughtful books, a personalized welcome sign and so much more. As a special treat, Aimees friend Lisa who owns “Lagniappe”,( https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077595371530)a boutique catering company, created the most incredible charcuterie board for us to enjoy. That made our experience even more special. Oh… and it was delicious too – especially the blueberry champagne jam!

When you plan your stay at Timberline Cheaha, you have your choice of five glamping tents and can choose 2 queen beds or a king sized bed and 2 sets of bunk beds. Each tent comes well equipped with heating and air conditioning, plenty of lights and electrical outlets, your own fridge and coffee maker, chairs inside along with games and books. Outside you will find your own picnic table, fire pit with a cooking grill, hammock, sparkly string lights and 2 adirondack chairs on your covered front porch. It’s your own little piece of glamping paradise just waiting for your arrival. All glamping tents are located within a very short walking distance to the Cheaha State Park bathhouse and restrooms, which have been freshly painted and are very clean.

Creating An Experience

Because Aimee is determined to make this a glamping trip you won’t soon forget, she has also included a long list of ‘add-ons’ that you can choose from to make your trip even easier and more special. Celebrating a birthday? They will hang a special Happy Birthday banner on your tent for your arrival and you can even have birthday cookies waiting too! Want to cook on a stove instead of the fire pit? We chose to use a Coleman propane stove that was available and it was perfect for grilling a couple of steaks for dinner. Like outdoor games? They offer Giant Jenga and Cornhole games and will have them waiting for you at your glampsite. Of course you can order special treats like the Happy Camper Charcuterie board we enjoyed and a variety of other options, a S’mores Kit and roasting sticks for the marshmallows, personalized cookies or a brunch box. If you want an ‘indoor’ dining spot, you can even request a dining gazebo – all set up and ready to use. Nothing has been left to chance and every detail is well thought out.

Alabama’s Highest Point

It just so happens that Timberline Cheaha is located in the oldest state park in Alabama. Cheaha State Park https://girlcamper.com/chapter/alabamas-oldest-state-park/ is also the highest spot in Alabama, and no visit to the park would be complete without a visit to Bunker Tower. Built in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps the tower is 80 feet tall. The panoramic view from the top is worth the climb up the stairs, even on a partly cloudy day like we had. Our puppies, Mulligan and Matilda, made the climb up the stairs to have a look around before enjoying some free time in the campgrounds’ dog park. As you can see, Mulligan was impressed with the view from the top!

There are trails for every hiking level at Cheaha State Park. Though we visited in February, the weather was mild. We enjoyed seeing the first leaves budding on trees and tiny flowers peeping out from underneath the thick bed of leaves lining the trails. After our hike, our glamping tent was waiting for us when the afternoon rain started. There is nothing like being in a tent during a rain storm. This time there was no concern about water leaking inside. We enjoyed a cup of Timberline’s special blend of coffee and played cards while the rain poured down. Our puppies snuggled up on the blankets for a little nap. Our time glamping at Timberline Cheaha was pretty close to perfect!

Aimee has committed to making this so much more than a regular camping trip. She has created an experience! It’s clear that she wants to be certain that each visit Timberline Cheaha is one that is filled with memories to last a lifetime. The beautiful amenities that she has created here, along with a storybook location has made Timberline Cheaha a destination for anyone looking for an outdoor experience that is truly unforgettable. Thanks to Aimee people who wouldn’t consider camping will try glamping. They they, too, will discover the beautiful out of doors and have their own adventures to treasure.

I highly recommend you try out glamping too. Come on down to Alabama and visit Timberline Cheahas glamping tents. You won’t regret it – in fact you might find a new favorite way to experience camping. I know I have!

Happy Trails… Shari Sullivan
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