Hiking in Lake Guntersville State Park: Alabama’s Best Park

Sweet home Alabama has some beautiful state parks.  These parks are packed with waterfalls, mountains, lakes and even caves.  But when it comes to the best state park in all of Alabama, Lake Guntersville State Park might just take the cake!

Between their state of the art campground (with free wifi!), the beautiful lake-side trails and their incredible lodge that overlooks Lake Guntersville, this place is worth stopping by.  

With over 35 miles of hiking trails, you’re sure to find one you love!  So head on down to Lake Guntersville State Park in northern Alabama for a day (or more) of great hiking.  

Important Links

Lake Guntersville State Park website

Campground – Make Reservations Here

Trail Map – PDF

Camping in Lake Guntersville State Park

Location

Lake Guntersville State Park is located in northeast Alabama and is arguably one of the best parks in the entire state!  This 6,000 acre state park sits on the banks of the Tennessee River and is the perfect place to getaway for a week or weekend, no matter your budget!

The best part is that Lake Guntersville State Park is fairly close to several major cities.   This campground is just 1.5 hours southwest of Chattanooga, TN, under 3 hours northwest of Atlanta, GA and a mere 1.5 hours northeast of Birmingham, AL.   

Daily Fees

Like all Alabama State Parks, there is an entry fee to enjoy this beautiful place.  The fee is $5 per adult, $2 for kids (11 and under), $2 for Senior Citizens (62+) and free for kids 3 and below.   Unfortunately, this pass is only good at whatever state park you purchase said day pass from.  

If you are camping here, you do not need to buy a day pass to enjoy the state park.  All day use areas are accessible with your camping reservation, you just need to show them your parking tag (provided upon check-in).

Time to Spend Here

With 36 miles of hiking trails, the amount of time you’ll want to spend here depends on how much you’ll want to hike.  The trails vary in distance between 0.5 miles and up to 4 miles one-way.  However, many of these trails can be combined to make longer loops.

If hiking isn’t your favorite thing to do, there is also fishing, or relaxing on the beach. Or you can rent kayaks, go ziplining, book a horseback riding trail ride, or even book a tee time on their world-class golf course.  

But if you would rather just relax around a campfire for a weekend, there is also the Lake Guntersville State Park campground that is home to over 295 campsites.  

There are so many options of ways to spend your time at Lake Guntersville State Park, you really can’t go wrong with whatever amount of time you plan to stay here.  Whether it’s a day trip for a quick hike, or a week-long stay to enjoy all of their amenities, this might just be Alabama’s best state park!

Camping

Lake Guntersville State Park Campground might be one of the best campgrounds we have ever stayed at.  My husband and I camped here for 3 weeks in the late fall of 2024 and we loved the lakeside campground.  

As far as amenities go, the bathrooms were always clean, there was excellent wifi, the laundry rooms were clean and the machines were affordable.  There’s a great playground, several sport courts (basketball, tennis and volleyball) and even a splash pad for all the kiddos.  

And if you don’t mind spending a little bit of money, there is a great golf course, a horseback riding company nearby, ziplining up by the lodge, and you can rent various kinds of boats.  

However you decide to stay, there is something for everyone and every budget.  For all the details about the campground, check out this post on Camping in Lake Guntersville State Park.  

Hiking

Alright, let’s get back to hiking!  As you already know, there are over 35 miles of hiking trails that wind through the park.  You can choose to hike the shortest trails, or you can combine multiple trails for a full-day in the woods.  

Below is the list of trails to choose from and a few quick stats about each trail.  

List of Trails

• Benny Bobo Accessible Trail – 0.35 miles (ADA and Paved)
• Bootlegger Trail – 2.5 miles
• Butler’s Pass – 1.22 miles
• Cascade Trail – 0.76 miles
• Cave Trail – 1.5 miles
• Chalet – 0.27 miles
• Cutchemine Trail – 2.56 miles
• Daniel’s Trail – 0.13 miles
• Dry Falls Trail – 0.76 miles
• Firebreak Road – 0.7 miles
• Golf Course Loop – 3.8 miles
• Golf Course Loop Alt – 1.7 miles
• Graveyard Road – 0.2 miles
• King’s Chapel Trail – 0.7 miles
• Lickskillet Trail – 2.5 miles
• Lodge Trail – 0.8 miles
• Loop Trail – 1.45 miles
• Meredith Trail – 0.9 miles
• Moonshine Trail – 0.85 miles
• Nature Trail – 0.6 miles
• New Sheriff Trail – 0.7 miles
• Old Lickskillet Trail 0.6 miles
• Old Meredith Trail – 0.6 miles
• Old Still Trail – 0.7 miles
• Seale’s Trail – 2.1 miles
• Shannon Trail – 0.25 miles
• Taylor Mountain Trail – 1.9 miles
• Terrell Connector Trail – 0.6 miles
• Terrell Trail – 1.3 miles
• Tom Bevill Alt. Trail – 0.9 miles
• Tom Bevill Cutchemine Connector – 0.2 miles
• Tomb Bevill Trail – 4 miles
• Trail of Tears – 0.6 mile

As you can see, there are many, many trails to choose from.  You can read in more detail about each of these trails here.  These descriptions will give you a great overview of what to expect from each trail and what you will see.   

What to Expect

The hiking trails at Lake Guntersville State Park are well-kept and can make for a great day of hiking.  But with the small mountains in this area, there are definitely some steep and rocky sections on each of these trails.  

Secondly, you will almost entirely be in the shade of the woods on these trails.  Each trail is primarily located in the woods and therefore makes for a great hike, no matter how sunny the weather.  

And finally, several of the trails are lake-side.  They will wind you around the concaves of the land and follow the water line.  (2 examples: Seale’s Trail and the Cutchemine Trail).

One other quick thing to note, most of these trails are also bike trails, so make sure that you are respectful of the bikers.  

Trails from the Campground

There are 2 great trails that connect right from the campground and will take you to some great views!

The Lodge Trail climbs up Taylor Mountain to the Lodge.  There is about 500 feet of elevation gain on this trail, so don’t be deceived by how short it is.  This trail starts across the street from the camp store and you’ll hike straight up the hill until you exit the woods.  Once you are out of the woods and off the trail, you can head to the right and walk around the beautiful lodge, or you can head to the left to the Mabrey Overlook.   This overlook gives you a great view of the Tennessee River below you.  

The second trail that you must do from the campground is Seale’s Trail.  This trail starts all the way at the back of the primitive section of the campground and winds you around the waterfront of the Tennessee River.  There are a few rocky and steep sections, but for the most part this is an easy trail where you can walk along the water.  

Other Excellent Trails

Conclusion

Lake Guntersville State Park is a great place to enjoy hiking and biking as well as camping in a great campground.  The park offers 36 miles of hiking and hiking trails and great fishing.  

If you are looking for a day trip filled with hiking, or a long weekend filled with camping and fishing, this place is the perfect Alabama state park for you!

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at averagewildexperience@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to get back to you shortly!

-Happy Hiking!