WOW! What a crack!
Buck's Pocket is a 2,000 acre State Park surrounding a natural canyon affectionately referred to as a pocket. The canyon lies in the Cumberland Plateau, a geological area west of the Appalachian Mountain chain that stretches from eastern Kentucky to northern Alabama and is contiguous with the Allegheny Plateau on the northern side.
It's one thing to learn about things like plateaus in school and quite another to see them in person. It's pretty incredible to see grassland and farmland so vast that you forget you are in the mountains, but then suddenly and out of nowhere a canyon like Bucks Pocket appears like a huge crack in the earth.
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The main overlook known as Jim Lynn Overlook @ Point Rock sits at the end of a peninsula of stone that is almost undetectable from the parking area. You will follow a wooden platform with multiple stairs up and down for about 100 yards. The stairs/platforms were recently refurbished in 2017. Along the way are several side overlooks that are not fenced (so be careful with children).
According to alapark.com, the cliffs surrounding the overlook roughly exceed 1,000 feet, but that is overall elevation above sea level... not the true height of the cliff. ACCORDING TO THE USGS NATIONAL TOPOGRAPHY MAP, the area of Buck's Pocket nearest to Point Rock overlook sits around 1,100 feet above sea level. The Little Sauty Creek that passes through Buck's Pocket near the base of Point Rock is at an elevation of around 750 feet above sea level. This means Point Rock could not possibly be 1,000 feet tall as advertised, but instead only around 350 feet, which geologically is referred to as its overall prominence.
Regardless, there are sheer drops here that would be unquestionably fatal. A fence with wooden beams and stone columns surrounds the overlooks main area. This is not an overlook for long distance views, but instead one that magnifies elevation differences. Without the fence, even someone without a fear heights would probably have a panic attack at the cliffs edge.
Area 2,000 acres
Established 1971
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HISTORY
The park opened in 1971 after the land was originally purchased from a farmer by a Booster Club in 1966. It was once inhabited by Cherokee Indians and was also used for growing coffee and olives by the French during the 1700s and later for logging in the 1940s.
Buck's Pocket was said to have been give its name because an abundant amount of deer that once roamed these lands. Urban legend has it that a buck apparently leapt from Point Rock to its death after being trapped by Cherokee Indian. Yet another urban legend says a man named Buck Berry used this area to escape being drafted during the Civil War and still another more modern legend says Alabama politicians would come here after unsuccessful bids for office I suppose to wallow in their sorrows.
There are 15 miles of trails for hiking and horseback riding plus a picnic area with views into the canyon below.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
Beautiful canyon worthy of a quick visit if traveling through Alabama on a scenic road trip!
2020 / 27 read more
