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The lake and wooded islands seen from 1,050 feet up at Butler’s Pass

Things to see

Things to see around Lake Guntersville

A huge lake full of islands and coves, a small town surrounded by water, wooded state parks with eagles in winter, a giant cave and the rockets of Huntsville. Here are the places worth your time on and around Alabama’s largest lake.

Guntersville and the lake

The town of Guntersville sits on a set of peninsulas that reach out into the lake, so water is never far away. Its small downtown, the waterfront at City Harbor and the dam a few miles downstream are all easy to see in a day.

A calm, grassy slough of Lake Guntersville between wooded banks under a blue sky Lake

Lake Guntersville

Alabama’s largest lake

A Tennessee River reservoir of nearly 68,000 acres, made by the Guntersville Dam in 1939, and one of the most famous bass fishing lakes in the United States.

Older brick and white buildings and parked cars along Gunter Avenue in downtown Guntersville Town

Downtown Guntersville & City Harbor

A small town wrapped in water

The small lakeside town at the heart of the lake, with a historic main street, waterfront parks and the restaurants of City Harbor.

Aerial view of the locks and dam at Guntersville on the Tennessee River Dam & lock

Guntersville Dam

Where the lake meets the river

The TVA dam that created Lake Guntersville in 1939, with navigation locks for barges and boats and a tailwater that is popular with anglers.

The stone and white sign of the Whole Backstage Community Theatre on Rayburn Avenue, Guntersville Theatre

The Whole Backstage Theatre

Community stage shows in town

Guntersville’s community theatre on Rayburn Avenue, with plays, musicals and children’s shows through the year, performed by local volunteers.

State parks and the outdoors

Lake Guntersville State Park covers the wooded mountain on the lake’s eastern shore, with trails, a lodge and wintering bald eagles. Nearby are one of the largest cave entrances in the world at Cathedral Caverns and the hidden canyon of Buck’s Pocket.

View over Lake Guntersville and its wooded shores from the lodge on Taylor Mountain State park

Lake Guntersville State Park

Trails, eagles and lake views

A wooded park of about 6,000 acres on the eastern shore of the lake, with a lodge on Taylor Mountain, trails, a beach, a golf course, a zipline and eagle-watching weekends in winter.

Huge stalagmites and flowstone formations lit inside the main passage of Cathedral Caverns Cave

Cathedral Caverns State Park

A giant cave and the Goliath stalagmite

A huge cave north of Guntersville, with an entrance about 126 feet wide and Goliath, one of the largest stalagmites in the world, seen on guided tours.

Sandstone rocks above the forested canyon of Buck’s Pocket State Park State park

Buck’s Pocket State Park

A hidden canyon on Sand Mountain

A quiet, rugged canyon on the edge of Sand Mountain, north-east of Guntersville, with the Point Rock overlook, creeks, trails and simple camping.

Forested hills seen from the lodge overlook at Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville State park

Monte Sano State Park

A mountain above Huntsville

A wooded mountain park on the edge of Huntsville, with overlooks, miles of hiking and biking trails, cabins and a campground.

Day trips from the lake

Huntsville and its space museum are under an hour away, and Scottsboro sits at the north end of the lake. With a full day you can reach the waterfalls of Little River Canyon or Lookout Mountain above Chattanooga.

The full-size Saturn V rocket standing upright at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville Museum

U.S. Space & Rocket Center

Rockets, Space Camp and the Saturn V

Huntsville’s huge space museum, home to a real Saturn V moon rocket, Rocket Park and Space Camp, about 45 minutes from Guntersville.

The brick Jackson County Courthouse with its white clock tower in Scottsboro Town

Scottsboro

The north end of the lake

The county seat of Jackson County, near the north end of the lake, known for the Unclaimed Baggage store, the Scottsboro Boys Museum and lake fishing.

Little River Falls pouring over a wide rock ledge in Little River Canyon National preserve

Little River Canyon

Waterfalls and a canyon rim drive

A deep canyon on Lookout Mountain near Fort Payne, protected as a national preserve, with Little River Falls, overlooks along a rim parkway and swimming holes.

The castle-like stone entrance building of Ruby Falls on Lookout Mountain Mountain

Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga

Ruby Falls, Rock City and the Incline

The long ridge above Chattanooga, about 90 minutes from Guntersville, with the underground waterfall of Ruby Falls, Rock City Gardens and the Incline Railway.

Planning your route

The lake is long and the sights are spread out, so plan by area and drive between them. Guntersville sits near the southern end of the lake, the state park is on the eastern shore, and Cathedral Caverns and Scottsboro are to the north.

Start with the essentials

  1. Get out on Lake Guntersville, by boat, kayak or with a fishing guide.
  2. Walk around downtown Guntersville and have dinner at City Harbor.
  3. Hike and take in the views at Lake Guntersville State Park.
  4. Take a tour of Cathedral Caverns.

If you have more time

Drive to Huntsville for the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, or up the river to Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain. Stop at Guntersville Dam to see how the lake was made. Read our weekend itinerary.

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Plan your Lake Guntersville trip

Bass, eagles and nearly 900 miles of shoreline

Fish the grass beds with a guide, watch bald eagles in winter, walk the state park trails or drive to Huntsville and Chattanooga for the day. Compare tours and book in a couple of taps.

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