Buck's Pocket

[trainspotter]

Has anyone ever been hiking at Buck's Pocket State Park before? I had someone tell me before that this was one of Alabama's best state parks, and also one less traveled. Online brochure says there are 20 miles of hiking trails. Just wondering....... .

[Uncle Wayne]

Has anyone ever been hiking at Buck's Pocket State Park before? I had someone tell me before that this was one of Alabama's best state parks, and also one less traveled. Online brochure says there are 20 miles of hiking trails. Just wondering....... .

Yes and it an isolated place to hike.  We haven't done all 20 miles of trails but I would recommend it.

[Firedog]

How about a map of the trails. Does anyone know of any?

[AlabamaDan]

Amazing the spots I've never heard of.

[SmokeDiver]

I've heard climbers talk about the area. I'd like to visit it myself.

[weathermansam]

Has anyone ever been hiking at Buck's Pocket State Park before? I had someone tell me before that this was one of Alabama's best state parks, and also one less traveled. Online brochure says there are 20 miles of hiking trails. Just wondering....... .

It's in need of some funding, it seems a bit rundown, but it is definitely a pretty area to say the least.  

I usually do an annual camping trip here with some guys from work.  We always camp in the primitive area, and usually hike some on the Point Rock Trail, although it seems I remember seeing a sign that said Waterfall Trail there instead.

This page shows some of the photos I took of the waterfalls along that trail.  A few pages back covers canoeing around the primitive campground area, including over to the Morgan's Cove area.  
http://www.weathermansam....09buckspocket/index5.html

How about a map of the trails. Does anyone know of any?

This is the only online map I know of:  http://www.briartech.com/buck.pdf

You can also get a printed map from the Park Office there, assuming you can find someone on duty.  

One of the trails, maybe the High Bluff Trail, has a shelter at the end of it that indians used.  I recall there being a tree there also that there was something special about, but I don't remember anymore.  Never been down that trail myself, just read things about it and word of mouth from friends who've explored it.  

[WolfVanZandt]

The primitive area is more accessible than it used to be, which is why we abandoned it - it was the first home of the SEHowl. The trails a great. I don't have a map but I've been up all of them.

The trail to the primitive area continues around to Morgan Cove. About two thirds to the camping area is a boulder field with a nice stacked waterfall at the top. About half way up is a shaft cave that's easy to manipulate - be warned that, in the summer, it fills up with Black Widows (or it used to). There's also a series of cascades just past the camping area that goes all the way up to the rim.

The rim across the creek from the range station has a trail with several high falls. It's a really nice trail.

The High Point trail begins just down from the Ranger station and includes several beautiful falls, a surprising assortment of trilliums (we spotted a couple of varieties that were a bright (neon) purple), an undercut cave, and the overlook to the canyon (which you can also drive to). The approach road down into the canyon sports several intermittent falls which are pretty spectacular when they're running, and the Indian House trail follows a high bluff and merges with the High Point trail. At one point on the High Point trail, the creek disappears into a cave and reappears to empty into the Sauty.

There are also some other spectacular falls nearby on Towns Creek such as High Falls which is broad and has a natural bridge extending out from it. There's also a double fall just below where the main road (I don't know the number crosses Towns Creek.

Pisgah Falls a stacked pair of 100 foot falls is not too far north of there in Pisgah, Alabama. And, of course, Lookout Mountain, with Little River Canyon is across the valley. You might also check out my favorite caverns, Sequoya Caverns near Rising Faun, down in the valley.

[weathermansam]

The primitive area is more accessible than it used to be, which is why we abandoned it - it was the first home of the SEHowl. The trails a great. I don't have a map but I've been up all of them.

Most people seem to use the primitive trail as a road, though if you don't have a truck or a jeep you're looking at some major clearance issues.  Some very drunk locals drove up in a truck the last time we were camping and offered us some moonshine and were looking for some girls.  Told them no thanks and to try the next city on the girls part.  I've been down the trail section to Morgan's Cove a few times, but it was too dry so I missed the waterfalls I guess.  Do you remember the significance of the tree on the Indian House Trail?  Were there arborglyphs on it or something?

[PastorLarryT]

...About half way up is a shaft cave that's easy to manipulate - be warned that, in the summer, it fills up with Black Widows (or it used to)...

Ouch... For some reason that thought bothers me more than snakes! 

[WolfVanZandt]

Honestly, I never checked out the tree at Indian House. I'm a waterfall freak and was so entranced by the many waterfalls that most else escaped me.

It's funny. On a later than usual Howl (early April instead of late March) a bunch of us  descended into the cave and were completely creeped-out by the abundance of black widows. Back at the camp, I told Wolfmage and he couldn't get there fast enough. Some folks just have a death wish, I guess.

[shawnbama]

I've got a lot of experience with this park (I live in Jackson County)- it's great. A lot of the year you can go there and not see a soul, but I avoid it during the summer months. They've graded the road (trail?) that ends up at Morgan Cove so that pretty much anyone can get to the end in a car-which results in a lot of drunks and their music most weekends. If you come in from the Jackson county side there's a pulloff about halfway down the mountain- across the road is a nice trail ( not sure of name) or I stay on the pulloff side and meander just below the bluffline. It's not really a trail, but easy enough to hike around without getting lost and there are several small waterfalls/ interesting rock formations.

[weathermansam]

Is the "trail" graded from roughly where it stars downhill from the park office to the primitive campground or from the primitive area all the way to morgan cove.  Hate to hear this...I do an annual trip here with friends from work...it was rowdy enough last year.  A couple of guys way too drunk to be driving pulled up about 11pm and asked if we knew where they could find any women.  I resisted the urge to be a complete smartass.  They offered us some moonshine, and when we turned them down they stumbled back to the truck and drove off....up to the next campsite. 

[shawnbama]

No, just to the primitive camping area-and (as far as I know) there's still a footpath beyond that over to the Morgan Cove boat ramp area. Speaking of which, there's another trail there at the boat ramp that's pretty nice and gets almost no use. Nice easy walk in the woods,several miles- it follows the contours of Morgan Cove to where it merges into the main body of Lake Guntersville.