Back
Lookout Mountain Parkway: Mentone, Lookout Mountain, Alabama
Photo: Rick Shu · CC BY-SA 3.0 · cropped

Drives Alabama Alabama

Lookout Mountain Parkway: Mentone

County Road 89, DeSoto Parkway, Desoto Parkway · Fort Payne → Mentone

Sweeping13.5 mi25 min1,200 ft climbHigh point ≈ 1,800 ftOne way
Scan to drive it in CarvePoint a phone's camera here. It opens ready to drive.
Drive it in Carve, free

Opens this route in the app, or where to get it.

Drive this road
in the appOpen

The drive

County Road 89 leaves AL 35 on top of Lookout Mountain above Fort Payne and runs north along the plateau to Mentone, 13.5 miles. It's rated sweeping, with two twisty stretches near the end. Garden & Gun describes the wider Lookout Mountain Parkway as a leisurely drive on two-lane rural roads along the ridge.

DeSoto State Park is on the way, on Lookout Mountain about eight miles northeast of Fort Payne. It has many waterfalls, a 104-foot DeSoto Falls nearby, and a lodge with a restaurant, and Garden & Gun notes 13 miles of trails leading to smaller falls and wildflowers. Mentone is a tiny town in deep woods with mountaintop views. The center of town sits on the crest of the mountain at 1,736 feet.

Along the way

  1. Fort Payne (AL 35)
  2. DeSoto State Park
  3. County Road 89
  4. Mentone
Elevation
1,200 ft of climbing · high point ≈ 1,800 ft
Fort PayneMentone
Curves
Mostly gentle, with two twisty stretches
Fort PayneMentone
GentleHairpins

Good to know

  • The DeSoto State Park site warns that GPS directions to the park can be unreliable and points to its written driving directions.
  • The DeSoto State Park lodge front desk is staffed around the clock all year.

Open all year, weather permitting. Roads close for snow, fire, storms and repairs: before you set off, check Alabama State Parks: DeSoto State Park.

Questions about this drive

How long does the Lookout Mountain Parkway to Mentone take?

The drive from Fort Payne to Mentone on County Road 89 is 13.5 miles and takes about 25 minutes.

Where is DeSoto State Park?

DeSoto State Park sits on Lookout Mountain about eight miles northeast of Fort Payne, near Mentone, and this drive passes it.

Is the Lookout Mountain Parkway twisty?

It's mostly gentle with two twisty stretches, a quiet winding road along the mountaintop.

What you get in the app

Turn by turn, on this roadSpoken directions along the exact route. Carve never reroutes you onto a faster one.
Preview it in 3DFly the whole drive over satellite and terrain before you go.
Drive it with no signalAPEXDownload the map and every turn before you go.
Live Group TrackingAPEXEveryone on the route, on the map, by name.
Road conditionsAPEXWet or dry, ice, fog and wind along the road before you go.
Record your drivesAPEXRecord a drive and turn it into a route to drive again or share.

Free on iPhone and Android. CarPlay and Android Auto come with Apex.

Download on theApp StoreEarly access onGoogle Play

More drives near here

All 10 drives in Alabama ›

Distance, time, elevation, curves and intensity are from Carve's route. Checked 2026-10-28.

+ Plan a new route
Map of Lookout Mountain Parkway: Mentone, from Fort Payne to Mentone