The next morning, before we explore all that’s new around this 69,000-acre lake ensconced in the Appalachian foothills, we strap on our hiking boots to trek through some of the area’s older attractions. Marshall County is home to 3 state parks, and my artist friend Elise Toups and I are eager for a little forest bathing.
We have the Cutchenmine Trail nearly to ourselves as we parallel the shoreline through a lively wood, snapping photos of natural tableaux for future watercolors (in Elise’s case) and for note-taking purposes (in mine). For about 5 ridiculous minutes, we struggle in near-slapstick fashion to photograph a spider aloft in its web, making me glad for the trail’s solitude.
But elsewhere, Lake Guntersville State Park is action-packed. Its 6,000 acres are home to a golf course, a fishing center, a beach, and a zip line course.
In winter months, the main attractions are found in the treetops: Scores of bald eagles migrate from the frozen north for the excellent fishing at Lake Guntersville and other Alabama lakes. Three known pairs nest in the park every year, naturalist Indya Guthrie explains later by phone.
“After our leaves drop, you can see the lake from almost anywhere in the park, and that allows us to see the eagles’ nests, too,” Guthrie says. “Sometimes you can see them flying over the lake carrying huge tree limbs to add to their nests.”
Set in a historic home just steps from downtown, Lake Guntersville Bed and Breakfast epitomizes “charming” with sprawling porches, delectable breakfasts, and water views. Guests love the comfy mattresses, soft sheets, and plush robes. Don’t miss its happy hour sangria and a new media and game room. Rates start at $150.
The park hosts Eagle Awareness Weekends twice in January and once in February, bringing in rescued raptors from other areas of the state and letting visitors observe the apex aviators from 5 feet away.
But Elise and I are here a little too early for the migration. Instead, we stop for lunch on a rocky promontory. Paddlers pass peacefully by, while a speeding Jet Ski zooms away in the other direction.
Lake Guntersville, named for the dam that formed it in the 1930s, is the southernmost part of the Tennessee River. Two-lane byways bridge its islands and peninsulas, making the area as pretty to explore by land as it is by water. From here, a determined boater could reach the Mississippi, the Great Lakes, or even the Pacific Ocean in a large craft.
Tooling around in a pontoon boat is, by far, the more popular option, Russ Cranford of Alred Marina tells me. The family-run marina in Guntersville is also home to Islands Boat Rental, which hires out kayaks, pontoons, and small fishing boats and offers bespoke trips to one of the lake’s more unusual natural wonders.
In warm-weather months at sunset, tens of thousands of gray bats emerge from Hambrick Cave, which locals know as the Bat Cave and is reachable only by water. (Lake and River Fun runs group tours to the cave as well.)