Alabama Lakeside Town Named Among America's Most Charming

Alabama boasts a rich history, culture, and natural beauty, complemented by its diverse cuisine, engaging activities, and numerous attractions.

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The Yellowhammer State is home to 31 lakes, offering abundant options for lake enthusiasts. According to A to Z Animals, Lake Martin stands out as a popular destination, spanning over 44,000 acres as a man-made reservoir.

Alabama Lakeside Town Named Among America's Most Charming

However, according to Love Travel, the Alabama town that has "lake views in every direction and as far as the eye can see" is in Guntersville. Making it one of the most charming lakeside towns in America.

The National Audubon Society has named Lake Guntersville in North Alabama as a significant location for birds. "The chance to see nesting and wintering Bald Eagles may be the highlight, but the lake is equally known for wintering waterfowl, nesting Osprey, and wading birds."

LOOK: Here are the best lake towns to live in

Many of the included towns jump out at the casual observer as popular summer-rental spots--the Ozarks' Branson, Missouri, or Arizona's Lake Havasu--it might surprise you to dive deeper into some quality-of-life offerings beyond the beach and vacation homes. You'll likely pick up some knowledge from a wide range of Americana: one of the last remaining 1950s-style drive-ins in the Midwest; a Florida town that started as a Civil War veteran retirement area; an island boasting some of the country's top public schools and wealth-earners right in the middle of a lake between Seattle and Bellevue; and even a California town containing much more than Johnny Cash's prison blues.

Gallery Credit: Peter Richman

LOOK: Here are the best small towns to live in across America

LOOK: 50 cozy towns to visit this winter

Stacker created a list of 50 cozy American towns to visit each winter. Towns were selected based on visitor opinions, ratings from nationwide publications, and tourist attractions.

Gallery Credit: Laura Ratliff

LOOK: The 50 best small towns to raise a family in the U.S.

Looking for the best small towns to raise a family? Stacker compiled this list of the top 50 small towns in the United States using 2023 data from Niche.

Gallery Credit: Annalise Mantz

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

Gallery Credit: Keri Wiginton