Residing in the tippy-top of Alabama is the city of Huntsville. We embrace our inner geek, love hiking and make amazing craft beer. Huntsville mixes the innovation of the future while respecting our past.
We may be biased here at OVE, but we think Huntsville is pretty darn good at a lot of things. We’re even going to say that Huntsville is the BEST in a few areas. Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments!
What Huntsville AL Does Best
Here is our list of 6 things Huntsville AL does better than the rest of Alabama.
#1: Our Drink of Choice – Craft Beer
Kicking off our list of things that Huntsville does best is craft beer. In fact, Madison County has the highest per capita volume of breweries than any other county in the state. But this volume makes perfect sense to us; brewing beer is a science after all, requiring very precise formulas. If there is another field Huntsville excels at, it would be all things science…
Source: Alabama Brewers Guild Executive Director Dan Roberts
Local Craft Beer Events:
- Winter Warmer
- Rocket City Brewfest
- Homegrown Huntsville’s Beer Hop
- List of Huntsville’s local breweries
#2: Our Jobs – Tech
Which brings us to number two: our jobs. Popular sayings joke that you can’t throw a rock in a Huntsville bar without hitting a rocket scientist. They aren’t too far off; our Chamber of Commerce reports that Huntsville has the highest per capita concentration of engineers in the entire United States.
Technology is not just in our brains; it’s in our hearts and our DNA.
Stats (Because You Can’t Argue With Facts):
- Highest per capita concentration of engineers in the US – Huntsville/ Madison County Chamber of Commerce
- Top high-tech hot spots in America – Progressive Policy Institute
- Top 10 Most Promising U.S. Tech Hubs – Techie.com
- Top 25 cities for high-tech startups – Entrepreneur Magazine
#3: Our Surroundings – Outdoors
Another thing that Huntsville does best is mix the fun of a city with the beauty of the country. You can have lunch downtown and be hiking in a state park 10 minutes later.
We even have a giant cave within BLOCKS from our downtown square! How many cities can say that? In Madison County we have over 60 greenways and hiking trails!
Local Organizations Celebrating the Green:
- Land Trust of North Alabama
- Operation Green Team
- Monte Sano State Park
- National Speleological Society
- Find a trail near you using our handy guide
#4: Our Free Time – Volunteerism
When there is a need in Huntsville, you can be sure that our community will find a way to fill it. Many of our non-profits rely daily on local volunteers. And, for any local that remembers the tornadoes and resulting power outages of April, 2011, you’ll also remember the immense outpouring of support for community- not only our own, but fundraisers and benefits for those in other areas that were impacted as well.
Find a Nonprofit:
#5: Our Homes – Historic Buildings
Despite being a town devoted to all things tech, we still appreciate the past here in Huntsville. In fact, Huntsville AL does historic buildings better than anyone else in the state.
Our Twickenham district in downtown Huntsville boasts the largest Antebellum district in all of Alabama! AND the Weeden House (also located in downtown), is the oldest house in Alabama.
Events to Explore Huntsville History:
- Huntsville Ghost Walk – Runs June through end of October
- Spring Breakfast Trolley Tour – Run by Alabama Constitution Village
- Spring Garden Tour – Run by the Historic Huntsville Foundation
- Historic Downtown Walking Tour – Run by Alabama Constitution Village
- Self-Guided Tour – Download information on the Huntsville/Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau website
#6: Us – Geek
One of Huntsville AL’s best qualities (in our opinion) is the way our population does not hide their inner geek, but rather embraces it. And why wouldn’t they? Our geeks are some of the smartest folks on the planet.
Events to Flaunt Your Inner Geek:
You Tell Us!
What did we miss? What do YOU think Huntsville does better than anyone else? Let us know in the comments!
If you are reading this – this is an older article published by Our Valley Events. The information may be out of date – be sure to check for new info!
Don’t forget the Kildare Mansion and Quietdale Plantation in the Historic Houses category!
Thanks Matthew!
Don’t forget that Madison County has the highest per square mile quantity of caves of anywhere in the world. Hence the reason for the National Speleological Society here in Huntsville.