Rocky Branch Public Use Area, which Recreation.gov lists as Rocky Branch Day Use Park, is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers park on Holt Lake, the navigation pool of the Black Warrior River above Holt Lock and Dam. It sits on a wooded peninsula on the south shore of the lake, northeast of Tuscaloosa and about 6 miles west of Brookwood in Tuscaloosa County. It is day use only. Besides the swim beach it has a picnic area, two group shelters and a boat ramp that is open all year.

From Tuscaloosa, follow Highway 216 east from the intersection of University Boulevard and Veterans Memorial Parkway for about 7.4 miles, then turn left on Rocky Branch Road and drive 2.5 miles to the park gate on the right. Coming from Birmingham on I-20/59, take Exit 86 (Covered Bridge Road), go 5.5 miles to the light, turn left on Highway 216 for 3.6 miles, then right on Rocky Branch Road. The street address is 13710 Rocky Branch Road, Brookwood. Past the gatehouse, the park road winds through pine and hardwood forest to a parking loop just above the beach at the western tip of the peninsula.

The beach is a curved strip of sand on the main body of the lake, facing west, with a buoy line marking off the swimming area. The Corps describes it as an improved, maintained swim beach. The lake is a dammed river, so the water is usually tinted rather than clear, and it warms up by midsummer. The Corps does not publish depths for the roped area, so wade in and check before anyone jumps. There are outdoor showers, flush toilets and drinking water near the sand, and picnic tables and grills under the trees behind it. No lifeguard is on duty, so swimmers are on their own, and children need an adult watching them the whole time.

Rocky Branch is not free. Every vehicle needs a USACE Day Use Pass ($5 per vehicle per day), a USACE Annual Day Use Pass ($40) or an America the Beautiful interagency pass. The Corps sells the day pass on Recreation.gov and asks visitors to buy it ahead of time and carry a printed or downloaded copy, because cell coverage in the park can be weak. The gates are open 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The beach area is seasonal and opens on the Friday before Memorial Day and closes after Labor Day. Outside that window the beach is closed, though the hiking trails and the boat ramp stay open.

Park rules ban pets on the beach, fires on the beach and alcohol anywhere in the park, and there is no camping. Holiday weekends regularly fill the park, and the Corps warns that a shelter reservation does not guarantee entry once it is full. Holt Lake is part of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway, so the main channel carries towboats and barges along with recreational boats. Stay inside the buoy line. The Holt Resource Office (205-553-9373) is the place to check before a trip.

The Hickory Point and Hilltop group shelters can be reserved, or used first come first served when they are open. The park's hiking trails follow the lakeshore through the woods, and the Rocky Branch Trail is one of the longer and steeper routes around Holt Lake at about 3.5 miles round trip. The boat ramp next to the day use area is busy with anglers and boaters, and bank fishing is allowed there.