Hawkins Ridge Lodge - Enjoy the Southern Comfort living with a Private Lake

Our trip to Lake Eufaula was for the ABA Couples bass fishing championship. We had 5 couples stay together at the lodge. This property is a nature lover's dream. All 5 couples on our stay can't wait to come back and stay again.

Our stay coincided with the Paradise Pumpkin Patch event held at the lodge. Craig Hawkins, the owner, doesn't normally rent the lodge during this time. He was concerned that we would be bothered by the children and noise. But we actually became kids again (youngest is 50) and enjoyed the event on our first day since the water was off-limits. We took silly pictures at the photo cutout stands, rode the train, went down the inflatable slide, rode the zip line, went on a hayride, rode stick horses and had a great time. I will be providing pictures to Craig of our fun times at his Pumpkin Patch to post on his website if he so chooses.

The layout and size of the property was perfect. We had no problems parking and charging all of our trucks and boats. Everyone had plenty of room to relax. We spent our days on the water and our evenings on the back deck between the main living area and the kitchen building eating, drinking and laughing so hard our ribs hurt. We didn't get a chance to go fishing in the onsite lake or sit in any of the deer stands, but I sure would have loved to. Those items are on my to do list for my next visit.

Craig Hawkins was a gracious host. He would stop by on occasion to see if we needed anything. The only issue we had was starting the dishwasher and it was handled the same day before we returned from the water.

My next stay will have to be a hunting trip. The animal mounts in the lodge are beautiful especially the buck and doe mount. I told Craig he was lucky that one didn't come home with me. This property is a free range hunting property with great trophies based the pictures on his website.

If you're looking for peace and quiet or a place large enough to hold a group and not feel cramped, then look no farther. You have found the perfect peace of heaven. I know we did. I can't recommend this property enough. I have spoken with all of the couples that stayed and we will all definitely be back.

Thank you Craig for your hospitality and for providing such a relaxing environment for our vacation. See you next time...

ABA we're ready to return to Lake Eufaula, please put this lake back on our Championship schedule soon!

We had a blast with great fishing in the lake! Very roomy which is great for a large group!

Very clean and the staff was always there when we needed them.

Wanting a place that we could gather some family over the summer without the overcrowded campsites and lakes we found this gem on HomeAway. Not only did it have the lodge, super large kitchen, bathrooms for every bedroom, breezy front porch, a private lake with a paddle boat, kayaks, two fishing boats with trolling motors, lake house and pretty much a small drive through zoo - but it had the most awesome owners & manager. Anything at all that we had questions about or if there was anything that we needed they were on it. Super friendly and by the end of the stay, almost felt like we were leaving family behind. We have already discussed coming back to this location in the future. Thank you Craig (& family) & thank you Gary for everything! 5 stars!

My sisters and I traveled from California and Connecticut to meet for a long overdue reunion with other family members coming in from Florida and Alabama. We had a total of 9 people and were able to function quite comfortably in this home. Owner Craig Hawkins was friendly, helpful and great with communication before, during and after our stay to make sure we had everything we needed. His daughter Becky stopped by and introduced herself and his son Jake showed us around the grounds and introduced us to the animals. The house is spacious and decorated with rustic cabin flair to set the mood of a great hunting lodge. An extraordinary collection of game adorns the shelves, mantles and walls of the home. You can't help but marvel at the beauty of the majestic animals surrounding you while also admiring the master craftsmanship of their taxidermy. The front porch is wide and inviting with Cracker Barrel-style rocking chairs. We hung around for hours on the porch, deep in conversation with cocktails, appetizers, country music and a scenic view overlooking the property. The kitchen is fully stocked with dishes and every single kitchen item you need to cook or bake with, which was great. The bank of industrial refrigerators was huge! There were several chest style freezers, an upright freezer and even an ice maker. We cooked together as a family in the large, clean, industrial size kitchen. All our meals were eaten at one of the two large dining tables. It was a pleasant surprise to receive farm fresh eggs delivered by Jake one afternoon during our stay! The bedrooms all have their own en suite bathrooms. They were all well appointed and provided all the room and amenities everyone needed for privacy. Everyone slept well and relaxed every day. We fell in love with all the exotic game on the ranch. Charlie the camel was especially friendly! Seeing an actual Kangaroo and petting a Zebra were once in a lifetime experiences for all. The newly born goats were adorable! We had a fun time fishing in the beautiful pond. My sister was "hooked" after she caught her first fish! We used the paddle boat and kayaked around the peaceful lake area. We also rode around the meticulously kept grounds on the golf cart provided with the rental. It was very scenic, peaceful and iconic Alabama. We truly enjoyed this house and hope to return for future reunions. Thank you for the hospitality and great stay