Joe Wheeler State Park is a public recreation area in northwest Alabama on Wheeler Lake, about 18 miles east of Florence. Covering 2,550 acres in three parcels beside Wheeler Dam, it was created in 1949 after Alabama bought the land from the Tennessee Valley Authority, and a major upgrade beginning in 1973 added many of its resort features. Named for Joseph Wheeler, a Confederate general and later U.S. congressman, the park includes a lodge, convention facilities, restaurant, campground, marina, golf course, and trail. It remains one of Alabama’s better-known multipurpose parks, serving day visitors and overnight guests and earning Tripadvisor’s 2020 Traveler’s Choice Award.