Explore Alabama || Prattville and Montgomery

Sitting about 3 hours north of Fairhope, AL lies the neighboring cities Prattville and Montgomery. Montgomery, a larger metropolitan city-like region, and Prattville, a quaint little town which actually reminded me a lot of Fairhope. If we’re being honest, the overall outcome of my visit to these two places was not the most titillating for the three hour drive, but I did get to feed a giraffe so I guess I won’t complain.

Anyway, if you ever find yourself in Prattville, AL or Montgomery, AL and are looking for some things to do, things to see, or places to go, here are my favorites. 

Prattville

Wilderness Park
800 Upper Kingston Rd.
Prattville, AL 36067

Only about a 0.3 mile loop trail, so not very lengthy or strenuous in any way. However, the entirety of the trails are lined with sky scraping bamboo stalks, making for a very unique atmosphere and experience. In fact, the nickname of this park is called “Bamboo Forest”.

Prattville Cotton Gin Mill – Downtown Prattville
167 W Main St.
Prattville, AL 36067

This is the address to the creamery here (where they make hand rolled iced cream). No, I’m totally not trying to get you to go there ;), but there’s parking right across the street. I encourage you to park, get out, walk up to the mill (unfortunately it’s not accessible to the public), and then walk around the little shops that line the streets here. Victoria’s Boutique has really cute clothing and accessories, as well as other fun little items.

Other places to visit here:
Jackson Lake Island (anyone seen Big Fish?) portions of the movie were filmed here, and the owner of the island asked the directors to leave the sets rather than bulldoze them. I didn’t make it here the day I visited because the bridge leading to the island was flooded 🙁

Montgomery

Montgomery Zoo
2301 Coliseum Pkwy
Montgomery, AL 36110

Okay, it’s a zoo, and it’s not a big one. We’ve all been to one. You know what to expect. BUT this zoo offers a few cool little mini-encounters you can purchase at the front gate. My advice? Definitely do the sting ray encounter. You can feed and pet the stingray babies. I was way too entertained by the sight of a stingray taking a dead shrimp from my hands, but it was so cool to see one eat, as I’ve never even thought about how they do this. Definitely do the giraffe encounter. The hungry little guys eat right from your hand and it is absolutely precious. Lastly, and hopefully you’ll have more luck than I, do the skylift. This is like a ski lift that takes you all throughout the zoo above right above the exhibits. When I went, it was too windy, so the damn thing was shut down and I was so sad. Each encounter costs about $3-$5 and in my opinion is worth it. Skip the parakeet encounter. Most of them hid in their bird house, and it wasn’t very thrilling to have a bird eat off a stick that you hold.

Common Bond Brewers
424 Bibb St. Ste #150
Montgomery, AL 35104

This place is so cool! They have two outdoor seating areas, and an indoor bar. You can see the brewery behind glass windows in the hallway when you walk in. They had a great variety on tap (I got the crema stout which was delicious even in the heat) and are very reasonably priced for craft beers. In the front yard area they have lifesize connect four, and cornhole for you to play while you relax with your beverages, and you can bring dogs! If you get hungry, I do not believe that they serve food, but there is a pizza place right next door which shares the front yard, and seemed to be a hit with the other customers.

Other:
– Try to grab brunch at D’road Cafe. I went during easter weekend, so I assume that’s why they were closed. Place looks really good and I was going to get one of their benedicts.
– Grab a coffee at Prevail Union. I heard really good things, but just didn’t have the time to drop by and snag one.

Ultimately, this is kind of a day trip I would suggest for someone who lives relatively close by. I had a really awesome time, but I just don’t feel it was worth the 3 hour drive there and back. The scenery is beautiful, and the people are friendly as usual.

Alright y’all, I’m in the process of putting together more day/weekend trips, and hopefully another actual vacation in the very near future (*dropping hints for a possible NOLA weekend trip at the end of the month*). Stay tuned.

I’ll be dropping some posts from my trip to the Wildlife Refuge in Gulf Shores today on my instagram (which unfortunately won’t be making it to my blog but was really cool so if you have a chance check it out)! @unfriendlyadvice

-C