The Retreat at Menlo Springs

09/04/2026

Our neighbor!! Come stay and experience our beautiful area!

Sitting atop Lookout Mountain, Mentone, Alabama feels like a completely different state, cooler air, mountain views, and a small-town charm that's hard to find anywhere else in Alabama. 🍂🏔️

This tiny artsy community has long attracted potters, painters, and craftsmen drawn to its scenic isolation and cool mountain climate, a welcome escape from Alabama's usual heat. Locally owned shops line the main street, selling handmade pottery and antiques, and the surrounding trails and waterfalls make it a favorite weekend getaway for people looking to slow down. It's the kind of place where you can spend an entire afternoon without ever checking your phone, just rocking chairs, mountain air, and good conversation.

There's something special about a small Alabama town that feels like a mountain retreat. Have you ever made the drive up to Mentone?

09/03/2026

Two recent travel features are putting DeKalb County’s natural beauty in the spotlight! From the 15,288 acres of Little River Canyon National Preserve + 147 recorded bird species on the scenic drive along the canyon rim, there’s a lot more to discover than just the views. And if you catch Grace’s High Falls after a good rain, you could see Alabama’s tallest above-ground waterfall at 133 feet. 💦 DeSoto Falls also makes an appearance, giving you another reason to add this area to your next road trip. There’s plenty more packed into these two stories, including some details you might not know about the canyon. Take a look and start planning your own trip to see it for yourself. 👇 🔗https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/travel/2026/07/21/what-is-alabamas-tallest-waterfall-a-road-trip-guide/90994137007/
🔗https://myfamilytravels.com/this-breathtaking-alabama-scenic-drive-features-an-overlook-facing-the-tallest-waterfall-in-the-state-8cdd81be/

09/01/2026

Now sleeps up to 18 guests! Book your fall group gathering

Relax in the garden (enjoy the outdoor furniture!) or sip a drink on the deck or patio of this 2800-sq-ft vacation home. As for the great indoors, you can try your hand at table tennis, or enjoy the free WiFi and TV.

08/31/2026

NEW HOURS

Monday–Thursday: 7 AM–3 PM
Friday–Saturday: 7 AM–5 PM
Sunday: 7 AM–2 PM

A little schedule refresh to better fit our week.
See you soon at Café Pilates!

08/30/2026

Postcard images of treasured local sites captured by the ever-talented Brad Lackey/Lookout Mountain Photography. Brad Lackey. lookoutphoto.com

08/30/2026

08/27/2026

A little history of our retreat site/location!

08/27/2026

Way up in Summerville, tucked back in the Northwest Georgia hills, a Baptist preacher turned two swampy acres into one of the most wondrous places in the whole state. 🎨 Howard Finster built Paradise Garden with his own two hands, out of bicycle parts, broken mirror, bottle glass, and pure vision.

Finster said God told him to paint sacred art, and paint he did, tens of thousands of pieces, plus a folk-art chapel and winding paths studded with anything he could nail down or set in concrete. 🚲 He got famous enough to make album covers for R.E.M. and the Talking Heads, but he never left these Chattooga County hills. Folks come from all over the world now to wander through what he made.

It is strange and joyful and a little bit holy all at once, the kind of place that reminds you Georgia has always grown its own brand of genius out in the quiet corners. You just have to know where to pull off the road.

Have you ever made it out to Paradise Garden, or is it on your Georgia bucket list?