Lake Martin, Alabama

March 2013, Weekend, 1-day/night

We got a last minute invitation to visit friends in StillWaters on Martin Lake in Dadeville, Alabama. We had known that this visit might work out, which is part of the reason that we did not push for the upgrade that we did not receive at the Holiday Inn Express in Orange Beach. 

Lake Martin was a great location to visit before ending our Alabama visit the next day in Montgomery. The drive up State Highway 49 to StillWaters, after we got off Interstate 85, was scenic, and there was not much traffic. StillWaters is a peaceful gated community with condos, homes, Harbor Pointe Marina, and a golf course. 

view from boat dock

The condo we stayed in was perfect! Comfortable, clean, great location, and great company. We had a beautiful view of the lake and sunset from the balcony.

That evening, we all had steak dinners at a local restaurant called Poplar Dawg's. The steak and prices were both very good, and we had a first time experience that night. The state of Alabama allows "brown bagging" or BYOB from home. We were allowed to bring in our own bottle of wine to have with dinner for no charge! This was a pleasant surprise for us, since this is not allowed anywhere that I know of in Michigan. From what I read online after this visit, it sounds like restaurants can charge a corking fee at their discretion. 

The next day, we went for a boat ride on Lake Martin. Lake Martin is one of the largest man made lakes in the United States. It was a cool day; however, it was sunny, the company was great, and we love boat rides! We enjoyed a smooth ride with beautiful scenery. The first four pictures below were taken while we were on Lake Martin. 

When we left StillWaters, we took AL-50/Martin Dam Road instead of State Highway 49, so that we could drive by the dam and stop for an overlook view of the lake. We observed many flowering trees along State Highway 50, which we had not seen the day before on State Highway 49.

The next set of photos are from Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail off Martin Dam Road.

Lake Martin where we had been
for the boat ride

Overall

We thought Alabama was a great place to visit. In addition to the Alabama hotel reviews that I have provided on this blog, we also stopped at the USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park. It was $2 to park the car and see the outside displays. If we had had more time, we would have toured the inside of the battleship too.