Lake Guntersville State Park
Story by Seth Terrell Photos by Crystal Terrell and David Moore
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lying home in October from California after a family trip through Yosemite, King’s Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, I was still a little starryeyed. I had gotten so used to waking up each morning in air thick with the rich scent of evergreen trees – firs, redwoods, and sequoias. I was, and am, so enchanted by the sheer splendor of those national parks that a month later, before I fall asleep at night, I often replay the trip 62
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in my mind, visions of gleaming granite peaks and breathtaking valleys dancing in my head – El Capitan and Half Dome. To say I was utterly enraptured barely scratches the surface. When we touched down in Birmingham, I turned to my girls as we were exiting the plane. Though our time in California was done, there was still another park on our agenda. “I’ve got some good news,” I said. “Our adventures are not done …” Lake Guntersville State Park, which opened in 1974, is comprised of lands that
include an original acreage transferred by TVA in 1947. When editor David Moore called me with the idea of staying in the lodge for a few days, he mentioned that it was time to write the story on the park. My and David’s travels for the magazine have taken us in and out and all over the park’s footprint. Some of my personal favorite journeys include mountain biking with the Mountain Lake Cycling crew and horseback riding with Alabama Horseback Adventures. And I can’t forget the first time, as a kid, I watched a majestic bald eagle torpedo from the clouds and snatch a flopping fish from Lake Guntersville.
