The city of Huntsville sits like a crown at the top of Alabama.
In Huntsville, we embrace our inner geek, love hiking, and make amazing craft beer. Huntsville mixes the innovation of the future while respecting our past.
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We may be biased at Our Valley Events, 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!
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.
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…
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 #2: 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):
- 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
- Best Places for Tech Jobs in 2016 – #2 – NerdWallet
- Best Places for STEM Grads – #1 – NerdWallet
#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.
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
- Trolley & Walking Tours – 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 embraces their inner geek.
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.
I wrote a rap about Hsv that I deliver at the end of good classes when I substitute teach. Am going to get it produced for my YouTube channel next month.
Send us a link when you do! We would love to see it. Thank you!
Neat article! Burritt on the Mountain (just 10 minutes from downtown) has a collection of log homes from the 1800s, including the oldest documented log house in the state, the Eddins House. This house has been documented to 1810, and we believe it was actually constructed in 1808. The Weeden House may be the oldest house in the state in its original location, but Burritt does have an even older house that has been moved to our site in order to preserve it. Learn what life was like in North Alabama in the 1800s – visit Burritt on the Mountain!
We love Burritt! Thanks Tammy.