Beyond LA - Kayaking at Lake Guntersville State Park - Alabama

Summertime in New Orleans....time for a road trip! 

There comes a point each summer in New Orleans, usually in June, when the humidity is so high, your sweat just stops evaporating and there's virtually no wind. Outdoor activity just gets dangerous at that point, and that's the way it's going to be until late September, if we're lucky. It's a long, muggy, hot 4 months. And that's when it's time to travel north!

In the very weird COVID summer of 2020, once the heat and humidity(and the COVID shut down) really settled in, I decided to find somewhere to escape the humidity, and maybe a little bit of the heat. I wanted it to be close enough that I would have time to kayak or hike after the drive up or before the drive back. If I stayed two full days, I'd also have two half days on the drive-up and drive-back days.

Using online maps and a little research, I ended up trying Lake Guntersville State Park, in northern Alabama. I enjoyed that trip so much, I went back in May 2023 and again in June 2024.

Link to Lake Guntersville State Park

Even though this post will be about specific kayak trips I've done on Town Creek and Short Creek, there are tons of other options around this area. Just look at online maps of the area, and you'll see what I mean. But because I've only made three relatively short road trips (so far) to Lake Guntersville State Park, I have not taken the time to explore some of the other paddling options around. These two options, Town Creek and Short Creek, are extremely convenient from the state park, and - at least on weekday mornings - are very safe, calm paddling trips. But, from the three launch spots I'll describe here, there are lots of options for simply exploring and wandering, checking out the various coves and hollows, or paddling into Guntersville Lake soaking in amazing views. Just be very aware of power boat traffic. And beyond the area immediately around the state park, there are tons more places to paddle. I still haven't made it to the other side of the lake for a popular sunset paddle to a bat cave. 

Regarding the routes I'll describe here,  I'm going to mention this more than once, because it's important:

My trips have always been early in the week, avoiding weekends, and early in the day. This area in general is hugely popular for bass fishing and boating. I think it's a safe bet that motor boat traffic is much, much heavier on weekends and holidays. Don't let my pictures of calm water fool you - those are all before noon, on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays. 

Link to Google Maps at LGSP

 

And please also keep in mind that I'm a tourist to this area. I only know what I've seen on three (so far) trips in May, June, and July.

 
I said at the beginning that my goal was to find some relief from the unbearably humid and windless summers of New Orleans. And, I have to tell you, on my three trips to Lake Guntersville State Park (LGSP), I've found exactly that. I've been in May, June, and July. On my May trip in 2023, it was noticeably cooler than NOLA. On my June and July trips, the temperatures were probably exactly the same, but the humidity in northern Alabama was easily 20% less, the air simply felt cooler, and there was always a great breeze. Sweat evaporates here!!! In June 2024, I kept thinking how much it felt like October in New Orleans - very hot, but low humidity and a constant, refreshing breeze.

This is about a 6 - 6 1/2 hour drive from NOLA, and I have gotten in nice paddles and/or hikes on my drive days. And on the day you arrive(and every other evening), you'll get treated to amazing sunsets:



For what have become my semi-annual "just me and my kayak" escapes, staying in the lodge at the state park is perfect. I think I could dedicate an entire post to the awesomeness of waking up in the center of this state park. And the town of Guntersville is just 15-20 minutes away, so I go into town each night for a meal out. So this post will be written from my perspective of being based in the state park itself. But again, look at the map and you'll find tons of options.

This is the view from my room's balcony in 2023:

And another:


Okay, since this is a paddling blog, I'm actually going to start writing about these two areas I've paddled: Town Creek and Short Creek, and the three launch spots from which you can start your own adventure.

But now, I'm going to repeat what I said earlier: I've only done these kayak outings on weekday mornings. On my trips, there is very little boat traffic when I start, and just a little more when I return at midday. I think it is a very, very safe assumption that motorboat traffic is heavy on the weekends, especially later in the afternoon. This area is hugely popular for boating and fishing. Please keep that in mind when looking at my very calm pictures. One reason I always end up going Sunday - Wednesday or Tuesday - Thursday is that I usually cannot get a room in the lodge over the weekends. So PLEASE be aware that if you come here on a holiday or weekend, you should expect much more boat traffic than I've dealt with.

Also, for clarity: Google Maps has this section of Guntersville Lake labeled as the Tennessee River, but Wikipedia describes Guntersville Lake as stretching between the towns of Guntersville and Bridgeport. And, it's very often referred to as Lake Guntersville. I'm just calling it Lake Guntersville throughout this post. This is part of TVA and the amazing lakes created along the Tennessee River. Also, by the way, it's a little funny (to me) to call these "creeks", since they're so wide and feel almost like linear lakes for in the sections I paddled near their mouths. In 2024, I paddled far enough upstream to see that they are, indeed, creeks. 

Here's a snippet from Google Maps of the state park and the three launch spots I've used (excuse the airplane contrail in this image):

In 2020 and 2023, I launched from the state park launch (which, by the way, is very large and may indicate lots of weekend traffic), and both years, I did the same trips - Go NE/right from the park to Town Creek, or SW/left from the park launch to Short Creek. On those trips, I just paddled and enjoyed the weather and beauty until it was time for me to head back - usually around 5 miles out and 5 miles back. These are amazing paddles - so different from the Gulf Coast, especially in the summer.

Compared to what we get along the Gulf Coast, Town Creek and Short Creek are visually stunning. But, at least on the weekday mornings when I've done them, they're very calm, non-challenging trips. And, by the time I paddled each of them a couple of times (dare I say it?), I was starting to get a little bored. In fact, as I planned my June 2024 trip, I considered bringing my surfski, since the water is so calm, and that would allow me to paddle a little further upstream on these two trips. But I didn't. I did a little more map studying, and changed my launch spots for each trip, which chopped off 2-3 miles from each route, or 4-6 miles round trip, and that completely changed the feel of these paddles. I brought my workhorse sea kayak - my Janautica Anadyr - whose green bow appears in so many of my pictures on this blog - and it was the perfect kayak for this. On each of these 2024 trips, I ended up floating in very shallow, clear water, weaving slowly through and over rocks. It was good to be in my sturdy boat. And, if you're curious, the blue boat that appears in some of these pictures is my Stellar SR18R, which I brought on this trip in 2020 - very light, fast, and not nearly as scratch and bump tolerant.

When launching from the park, you spend your first mile or two on Guntersville Lake, first paddling along the state park, then along the rock walls along the mouths of Town Creek and Short Creek, before settling into the creeks themselves. Guntersville Lake is beautiful and seems to go on forever, in many different directions. But know your limits, and be comfortable with some wake from boats you may not even see. Then, especially as you head into the mouth of Town Creek, as it narrows, expect closer boat traffic, faster wakes, and reflection waves as the wakes hit the rocky walls. Even on my weekday trips, I've ridden some bouncy wake waves from boats that I sometimes didn't even see, and who certainly did not know or care that I was there. Nothing too crazy, but be aware and know your comfort zones. My vibe, from my limited time here, is that this is powerboat country, and folks simply are not expecting to see kayaks. Don't expect the courtesy slow-downs that you'll usually get on narrow waterways. 

Here's the LGSP park launch.



Here's a Google Maps link:

Lake Guntersville State Park Boat Launch

I've actually launched from the rocks, just to the right of the ramp, and landed in the grassy area just around the corner, north of the parking lot. By the way, there is no shade here - on sunny summer days, prepare for a hot vehicle on your return.



When you launch from here, this is your view from your kayak:


This (below) is the grassy area where I land - it's a little muddy, but not bad. And then you do have to carry your boat up and over a raised grassy area (with stairs) to the parking area:




So, here's the Town Creek portion of this post and the 11 mile route I've done from the park into Town Creek:

At first, you paddle past the park's beach area, then camping and cabin spots, and you'll probably see some fishing boats, and depending on the time and day, other boat traffic.

After a mile or so, you paddle right, into the mouth of Town Creek. As you make this turn, the land on on your right turns from grassy shoreline to walls of large rectangular rocks, and you know you're not in Louisiana anymore. You'll see Hwy 227 ahead, and you're going to paddle under the bridge into beautiful Town Creek. On the way to the bridge, you'll pass one or two coves or hollows, and on your left, the Town Creek boat launch just before the Hwy 227 bridge.




The route shown in the above image was my first trip here, and I paddled to the right after passing under Hwy 227. Being my first trip, I was just exploring the southern tip of Town Creek. Eventually, this becomes a trickle, and I turned around and paddled another 3 or 4 miles until I was ready to turn around. In 2023, I skipped that extra portion to the right, and just paddled a little further upriver.

Here are some pictures from my trips paddling north on Town Creek, and as you look, imagine the feel of a refreshing wind, and the sound of that wind moving through the trees:














You'll pass 2 or 3 more small coves or hollows, usually with a small creek feeding the main creek. In the summer, these tend to be dead still and abuzz with flying bugs.
By the way, something I don't remember from my previous trips but dealt with in 2024 on Town Creek was a lot of river grass. I did spend a bit of time having to clear my paddle and deck of long strands or clumps of grass.

Every time I looked at the online maps, I could see that farther upriver, Town Creek seems to get rocky and have a current. And I wanted to go see this, or see how close I could get and what kind of current I'd encounter. But from the state park, this area seemed to be perhaps 7 or 8 miles away, making for a 14-16 mile round trip. So in 2024, I decided to launch from the Hwy 227 launch, near the Town Creek Fishing Center:

And here's the Google Maps link to this launch:
Town Creek Public Boat Launch


This launch spot is actually on Town creek, and cuts off about 2 miles (each way) from the route that starts at the state park:

And 6 miles later, I was looking at this:

Suddenly, I felt like I was in the mountains, enjoying the sounds, sights, and feel of a mountain stream.
 

Okay, that's the spoiler - that's what you get after paddling 6 miles. For most of that 6 miles leading to this, you're enjoying the very calming, wide open, beautiful trip up Town Creek. Then, after 4 miles or so, the creek starts turning east, then it bends south east, and then south.

As I approached this turn to the right, this came into view:



And the closer I got, the better it got:




This field of flowers happens to mark the turn to the east, and then you may notice a small triangular island on your left as the creek continues curving, now to the south. On my previous trips that started at the state park launch, I didn't paddle this far (this is probably almost 7 miles from that launch), so this is another benefit of launching from the Hwy 227 launch spot. 

As Town Creek heads south, you start passing more large rocks in the creek, and then fairly suddenly, you're floating between the rocks.

 

I started hearing the moving water at around the 5 mile mark, but it's really not until the last few hundred yards that you start to notice a convergence zone with a dry creek bed on the left,  and then you're floating between, and over, the boulders. You need to watch where you're going, but on this June trip, I was able to float right up to this:


And I was all alone. Nobody around (on a Monday morning). Paradise. This kayak trip that could have been called beautiful-but-maybe-boring-if-done-too-often, was now one of my all-time favorites. To be able to go from this beautiful, wide, rolling hills paddle to suddenly feeling like you were in a mountain stream, after just 6 miles of paddling, was amazing.
"You're not in Louisiana anymore"







By the way, this seemed like a fairly sudden change - from free floating to rocky creek in just a few yards. And, on this June trip, in 2024, the weather was perfect for jumping around from rock to rock, taking a little swim, eating a snack, and just relaxing. Once you're done with your picnic, or mediation, or swimming, or all of the above, you just paddle back.

The 6 mile paddle there, and then back, is calm and peaceful. Birds soaring everywhere, and such a stark difference compared to anything we see in southern Louisiana. And then, ending up at this incredibly peaceful, soothing, "mountain stream", without a 12 hour drive to the actual mountains, was a real treat.

By the way, on this Monday morning trip, I passed perhaps two motor boats.

And, I now had a new addition to my Favorite Paddles list.

That was Monday. Tuesday's paddle may have been even better:

Short Creek

This is a very similar story to Town Creek. If you leave from the park, you'll paddle past part of the park, but without passing the beach or camping area - it'll just be you and the rock walls and a couple of coves, and the occasional wake of a boat that you may never even see. By the way, I know I keep saying that, but it's because you usually have clear warning that a wake is coming - you see or hear the boat go by. . Here, the water may just start rolling under you with no warning. But, that also means they're longer, slower, fairly gentle "rolls". Oh, and you may see some critters moving along the rocks. Then, after maybe 2 1/2 miles, you'll come to the mouth of Short Creek, where you'll turn left, or east/south east. In a lot of ways, this is like Town Creek - very wide, very beautiful. As with Town Creek, you'll see Hwy 227 ahead, and after you pass under that, there's the other boat launch on your left. As with my first two Town Creek paddles, I just paddled 5 or 6 miles until I decided to head back.
And here's the 10 mile route I've done from the park into Short Creek in 2020:


But in 2024, I launched from the Hwy 227 launch, at King Hollow, and this chopped about 3 miles off of the route, or 6 miles round trip. As with Town Creek, I wanted to find the rocky part of Short Creek. And that changed everything.

Short Creek Boat Ramp - Hwy 227

This is more of a true roadside launch with angle parking along the road. There is a small shelter, with a little information and map of the area:


My Garmin reset on this trip, so this is just the trip going out, which was just shy of 3 miles:


On this June Tuesday, in 2024, I found what I believe to be the ideal group paddle. Or Total Escape Paddle. Or a Made For The Movies Paddle. Launching from Hwy 227 allowed me to see just how short Short Creek is, and the amazing spot where I stopped.

Here are some pictures from the paddle along Short Creek, including a very shallow area good for wet volleyball (add a little variety to your group paddles!):

That volleyball net is a little more than a mile from the launch, and the water is very, very low as you approach it. This is sort of a sandy, overgrown island as Short Creek starts bending into an S curve and narrows.








I didn't notice until I stopped, but I could have gone to my right, and seen a true, shallow, rocky stream (varies with the seasons, I'm sure). But I stayed to my left, and pretty suddenly...











No fragile boats:


After weaving your way (carefully - slowly) through this, you come to a dead end that creates a pool, of sorts - a col du sac in the creek - surrounded by these large rocks. But, to be clear: this is NOT a diving spot - too many slippery rocks with too many deep gaps between them.

Now, keep in mind, exiting and entering the boat here can be very tricky and you need to be careful. You'll be stepping onto submerged rocks in an unknown depth of water. You could very easily have a foot slip between two rocks and get in real trouble - the water is several feet deep here. Don't spoil your dream paddle with a broken and/or stuck leg, miles from anyone else.
I picked a spot that I could wedge my kayak between two smooth rocks and have dry rocks to step on (but I still took a dunk on my first re-entry attempt, and I was lucky to not hit my head).



I walked around, carefully stepping from rock to rock - at least with June 2024 water levels, and with better shoes, you could spend A LOT of time here, looking around, swimming, playing in the rushing water a few feet away.






I had this "pool" on one side, then a narrow wooded section, and then this rocky stream, just a few feet away.



Looking upstream a little ways, I could see another section of calm water, and I wondered if a group of paddlers in smaller and lighter boats could do a portage and continue, but it appears the creek does become mostly the rocky stream as you continue.

All that, after less than 3 miles of paddling. And with only a 3 mile paddle back, why not hang out a while? It's worth being repetitive - group picnic, meditation, swimming, exploring, playing nature photographer, all of the above. If I lived in this area, this would be my go-to group social paddle - less than 6 miles, round trip. Eventually, I decided I should head back.
Probably the only caveat for a group trip is that it was quite windy on my 2024 trip, and the mouth of Short Creek at Hwy 227 is quite wide and exposed. It's possible that this could be difficult for inexperienced paddlers in very short boats. In my sea kayak, I had to pick my launch carefully, a few feet from the ramp, so that I could change my angle with the short, wind driven waves coming in. At the ramp, my kayak was rocking back and forth heavily. But once on the water, it was also easy enough to find shelter from that wind by paddling closer to the wooded shore.
And, final note about launching from Hwy 227: The launch is at King Hollow, which I explored when I returned. I paddled about a half mile into the hollow, which narrows pretty quickly, becoming a very still and narrow stream that seems to just blend into the woods. And, by the way, as I approached King Hollow on my return, I passed a couple of folks just paddling around in smaller, recreational boats. This is a great spot for that.


So, there are my two go-to routes when I head to Lake Guntersville State Park. And now I'll talk a little more about the state park and the area in general. This is not a paid promotion, but I love it up here so much, I just want to share. And I'll say it one more time: I am certain that my weekday morning experiences are very different from what you'd experience on weekends and/or afternoons. This area is a hugely popular bass fishing and summer camp area. It's also clearly popular with the local area for day trips. But, I'll also mention that I've hiked the trails in the park multiple times, morning and afternoon, on these trips, and I've met one couple, one time, on the trails. Otherwise, I've never seen another human on the trails.
In fact, I've seen more deer than people (and that's okay with me!):


On this trail, the "less difficult" option was difficult enough for me:







But, again, this is a paddling blog, not a hiking or travel blog, so I'll stop with the random pix....

My trips are my semi-annual solo escapes - just me and my kayak. I always stay in the lodge, in one of the "motel" rooms. These are very basic, but completely comfortable. I request a room on the bluff side, which gives amazing views of the lake. Between kayak trips and hikes, I can just sit on the small balcony(patio if on ground level) and soak it all in. My typical day starts on the water, to beat boat traffic, and then I have the entire afternoon to do whatever. For me, this means food, refresh, relax, and then before long, I walk out of the room, and within a few hundred yards, I'm on trails in the woods. These trails vary from easy to moderately hilly. There's an entire network (get the maps and a good app) of criss-crossing trails, and regardless of what trail I head out on, I always end up on another. I get lost very easily, and I've had a few head-scratching moments, and I've had to scramble up some pretty steep hillsides. But when I use a good app, carry a map and use my compass, even I don't really get lost. I've shared a few pictures of my trail hikes, but I will not attempt to give any trail guidance here.

The main lodge building has a pool and very large deck/balcony public spaces, along with rocky and grassy areas to just sit and relax. Sunsets here are not to be missed. I wake up with coffee on my balcony (bring your own coffee), and I finish my day incredibly satisfied and relaxed, looking at the sunset, either from my balcony or a few hundred feet away at the main lodge.


Note that the lodge has two restaurants, but they're not open Sunday through Wednesday. So bring what you need. Besides the modest lodge rooms that I stay in (only a small fridge), the park has campgrounds, chalets, cabins, glamping sites, and probably other options.

But for me and my semi-annual, Sunday - Wednesday, solo, "clear my head" trips, the simplicity and immediate beauty of staying in the lodge is perfect. OH, by the way, I haven't taken advantage of this yet, but the lodge and the park are DOG FRIENDLY.

When I return home from these trips to Lake Guntersville State Park, I have very mixed feelings. I'm always very relaxed and refreshed. But I always wish I'd stayed longer. In fact, about a month after my June 2024 trip, I'm trying to figure out if I can head back up there again this summer. Or this fall - I may investigate water temperatures and consider a "fall colors" trip.

By the way, I found this site, and their Facebook page, useful when planning my non-kayaking activities:

Explore Lake Guntersville