South Sauty Creek / Campground Trail

Buck's Pocket State Park is a quiet little hideaway just to the east of Lake Guntersville, but attention outdoor adventurers: it's anything but quiet. When the water flow is just right, whitewater kayakers head here to challenge the South Sauty Creek, a beautiful, clear mountain creek strewn with large boulders that make their excursion even more challenging against the 900-foot face of Point Rock.

For hikers, you get to take in both on the South Sauty Trail. This 7-mile out-and-back follows along its namesake creek beginning at the pier at Morgan's Cove, an inlet of Lake Guntersville. The trail is marked with ribbons but is easy to follow – just follow the creek.

Along the route when the water is up, the creek thunders alongside you. This is an easy walk along the creek bank (which also uses a forest road). Keep your eyes peeled for rare species of wildflowers such as trillium. You will also come across sassafras, blackjack oak, and blue beech trees.

Soon you will come to the canyon that makes up Buck's Pocket, the sandstone etched away ever so slowly over the centuries by the action of the creek. The park has been dubbed "A Haven for Defeated Politicians." It got its nickname when former Alabama Governor "Big" Jim Folsom, after losing an election, came to Buck's Pocket to "lick his wounds."

The name Buck's Pocket is from a Native American legend about a hunter who was stalking a large buck in the canyon. He cornered the buck at the top of one of the bluffs, but the buck decided he would not be taken alive and jumped to his death.

Continuing on the trail you will begin your own ascent up to the top of Point Rock. It is a steep series of switchbacks to the top through the Big Sink Ravine, but the walk is worth the effort as the panoramic vistas unfold around you at the point.