Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Hometown Tour - Mentone

by Valerie

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to the Historic Town Of Mentone Alabama!

mentone

Mentone is in DeKalb County it is located 35 miles from Chattanooga, TN. It is approximately 111.5 miles from Birmingham, but well worth the drive! This little town with a population of just over 500 offers activities for the entire family. The town of Mentone first came into existence sometimes in the 1880’s. It was part of the Cherokee nation and is believed that Sequoyah lived in the valley below during the time he developed the Cherokee alphabet. You can find a detail history here. It is very interesting reading.

It is also the only place in the state of Alabama where you can ski!! Yes ski! For family fun you will need to check out Cloudmont Ski and Golf Resort. They offer horse back riding, golfing, hiking and of course skiing! They offer ski and chalet packages too.

This is also summer camp head quarters. There are various camps: Lookout Mountain Camp for boys, Alpine Camp for boys, Camp Desoto for girls, Camp Laney for boys, Camp Skyline Ranch for girls and several others. The activities that these camps offer range from horseback riding, swimming, rock climbing, boating, fishing, archery, hiking, bike riding, craft making and there are tons more. Children also get to experience camp life and make life long friends.

The scenery alone in Mentone is just breathtaking. Here’s a little example.

When it’s time to eat you will definitely have to visit Big Jim's, Cragsmere Manna Restaurant, Dessie's Kountry Chef, Log Cabin Restaurant & Deli and Windwood Farms Restaurant - southern food at it’s best! For your shopping pleasures you will enjoy White Elephant Antiques, Wildflower Cafe and Country Store along with arts and crafts shops.

The Bed & Breakfasts in Mentone are just beautiful. You have your choice of Raven Haven, Crystal Lake Lodge, Mentone Springs Hotel and so many more. Pictured below is Mentone Springs Hotel it is the oldest hotel in Alabama!

Mentone hosts several events during the year. Fall Colorfest - Held the 3rd weekend of October each year in Mentone's Brow Park. Mountain Musical Strings every third Saturday on the town square May- December and Rhododendron Festival - held in the spring. In December they celebrate by having a Musical Mountain Christmas with a parade and of course Santa!

One place that you will really want to see is Howard’s Chapel.

This chapel was built around a huge rock. In the first picture you can see the rock to the right. I liked this picture of the inside. The builder was Colonel Milford Howard. Services are held every Sunday and it is also popular for weddings.

While you are in the area you can visit the group Alabama’s Fan club and Museum, DeSoto State Park and let’s not forget Little River Canyon National Preserve. I have been to all three and they are all worth the visit.

There are a couple of web sites that might interest you. They are Mentone, Alabama and Welcome to Mentone Alabama both of these are great web sites that really go into detail about Mentone and it’s history. They also have beautiful pictures of the area.

With all of this beauty and activities to do I can understand why Mentone is called "one of the best kept secrets in the southeast"!

If you would like to feature your hometown on Alabama Bloggers, please contact Rachel (rachel@alabamabloggers.com) or Valerie (valwonderfullife@aol.com) and let us know!

4 comments:

MamaHen said...

Thanks Valarie. I have driven through Mentone once, but I had no idea there was so much else to do there. I am going to check out some of the kids camps and kids activities.

Anonymous said...

Good review. I lived in Mentone for 5 years working at Ponderosa Bible Camp www.ponderosastudentministries.com
I think you should add that to your website.

Derek said...

I've always heard about how nice Mentone is, but we've never been. Thanks for all the great information!

Kathryn Lang said...

Thanks for sharing about Mentone. I went to Valley View Ranch when I was younger and my oldest son attended Boy Scout camp up there this year.

Driving up for family day at Scout Camp we passed the Episcopal church in town. I was reminded that Happening in Alabama #2 was hosted in Mentone.

I had no idea how many memories I had of the place. I need to visit more often.

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