City: Birmingham, AL

Category: Annual Events & Festivals

Telephone: (205) 274-2153

Description: The Blount County Covered Bridge Festival, set in downtown Oneonta some 30 miles northeast of Birmingham, set out nearly 3 decades ago to highlight the wonderful old covered bridges of this wooded, mountainous region. From the treasures like Swann Covered Bridge and Horton Mill Covered Bridge to the Easley Covered Bridge and the ghostly abandoned Stracener Bridge over the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River, the range and beauty of these bridges is remarkable. Swann, a lattice truss spanning 324 feet across the Locust Fork, is the longest covered bridge in the state and one of the longest in the country. Horton Mill is the highest covered bridge in the United States. The festival itself, with a quilt show, river walk, golf tournament, arts and crafts, pancake breakfast, 5K run, car show, and Miss Covered Bridge Pageant has plenty of activities to entertain just about anyone. Downtown Oneonta is covered in vendors selling everything from handmade jewelry to festival food. The bridges of Blount County are one romance novel away from being world-famous.