Stretching ninety-three miles from Gadsden, Alabama, across the northwest corner of Georgia to Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Lookout Mountain Parkway runs atop the long ridge of Lookout Mountain and rambles along rural roads that slice through the lower Appalachians’ scenic splendor.
I first rode the two-lane byway as a teenager, when my family moved from Mississippi to Gadsden. Enchanted then as now by the parkway’s leisurely vibe and the bucolic jewel-toned landscapes rolling past the car window, I’ve now driven parts and all of it multiple times. While there’s usually something new to see, I always brake for food, cascades, canyons, and sometimes, the chance to soar. Here are a few highlights I’ve found along the ride.
The official starting point of Lookout Mountain Parkway is right outside the gates of Gadsden’s Noccalula Falls Park, where a paved path leads to a stellar view of the glittering waterfall tumbling ninety feet before splashing into Black Creek. The story behind the falls’ name is folklore—that the Native American princess Noccalula (whose statue is poised on the precipice) threw herself over the falls to avoid a forced marriage—but the allure of its rushing-stream soundtrack is real. There’s more to explore here, including miles of trails below the falls, but I’m usually eager to start my journey.
I’m soon out of the city on Highway 176, passing small farms with weathered barns and overgrown graveyards (for both people and rust-eaten cars). At an intersection in Dogtown, instead of heading straight on County Road 89, I turn right to stay on 176, leaving the parkway for a quick jaunt to access Little River Canyon National Preserve.
Also known as Canyon Rim Road, 176 twists and turns, leading me to several overlooks along the canyon’s edge, where I peer into the six-hundred-foot gorge—one of the deepest east of the Mississippi River—to see whitewater snippets of the Little River. If it has recently rained, I’m treated to a glimpse of Grace’s High Falls; the slim lady only shows herself after abundant precipitation. And every time I pass the gravity-defying Mushroom Rock, I snap a photo of its top-heavy form to prove it has still not tipped over. If the temps are high, I slip off my shoes and wade in a swimming hole above the foamy torrent of Little River Falls, where I can pick up the parkway again on County Road 89 and follow it past Desoto State Park.
If my stomach reminds me about lunch and I don’t stop to hike along the park’s thirteen miles of trails (leading to smaller waterfalls and wildflowers galore), I’m soon in Mentone. Blanketed in deep woods, with breaks in the trees yielding stunning mountaintop views, this tiny town is always lovely, but in late spring and early summer, the blooms of its abundant rhododendrons paint the town bright pink. There’s manmade beauty too. Local creatives show off at the Mentone Arts Center, where Meg Justice’s monochromatic linocut prints of cranes, otters, and other critters always grab my eye.
But about that mid-day meal: My go-to is Mentone Market, a combination of a gas station, café, and gift shop right on the town’s main drag. I peruse its collection of goods from local and Alabama makers, perhaps picking up a pair of brightly striped Zkano socks fashioned in nearby Fort Payne, or a jar of Auburn-based Hornsby Farm’s strawberry-basil jam. The creamy scoop of peppery chicken salad is my go-to, but I’m always tempted by the potatoes baked to fluffy perfection and stuffed with cheddar, bacon, and tender hickory-smoked pulled pork.
Stomach satisfied, I head for Rising Fawn, Georgia, on Highway 157 for a fragrance immersion at Lookout Lavender Farm. For a few weeks each summer, visitors can roam its fields of swaying purple stalks and pick their own lavender to take home. A visit to the farm store, perfumed with lavender’s soothing scent in linen spray, salves, and shea butter–beeswax lip balm, puts me in a serene state of mind.
Less than ten minutes away from the farm, I stop for a short hike in Cloudland Canyon State Park. Sitton Gulch Creek cut this ravine eons ago, and the surrounding landscape provides some of the parkway’s most stunning vistas, including one at the top of the one-mile Overlook Trail.
If the weather and timing are right, my spirits are soon soaring at Lookout Mountain Flight Park, also in Rising Fawn, where a hang-gliding ride with an expert guide lifts me where eagles dare roam. “Wonderful” and “weightless” are the most apt descriptors of the feelings evoked when I’m floating above the valley’s treetops with only clouds (and that trusty guide) as my companions.
Later, a fifteen-minute drive takes me to Rock City (still in Georgia but only six miles outside Chattanooga, Tennessee), by which point I’ve almost reached the parkway’s northern terminus. But this famed spot’s mix of geological gems—towering ancient sandstone formations you can walk over, under, and through (the narrow passage of Fat Man’s Squeeze makes me sweat)—and kitsch (a gnome valley and fairyland caverns) never fails to make me smile, so it’s a happy ending. And if I didn’t fuel up in Mentone—and sometimes, even if I did—I’ll drive to Chattanooga’s Southside Historic District, where Main Street Meats greets me with chef Erik Niel’s menu of prime steaks, juicy burgers, and house-made sausages.
If I’m pressed for time, I’ll hit Interstate 59 to get back to my parents’ house in Gadsden or my own home in Montgomery. But it’s a great full-circle weekend when I can afford to drive back the way I came, experiencing the relaxed pace and magical mountain scenery of the route all over again.
