Erik Wesner of the Amish America blog listed his 7 most scenic Amish communities in a posting in December. Â Those are fun types of lists, so I thought I would share my list and we can see if any of our choices overlap. Â And this is a TOUGH list to compile because so many Amish communities - generally located in rural areas - are quite picturesque although maybe in different ways. Â For instance, the spartan, pastoral fields to the east of Berne, Indiana are actually quite pretty. Â Still, it lacks the dramatic vistas and sweeping beauty of other places so I didn't include it. Â So without further ado, Â here is my list:
1. St. Ignatius, Montana: Â This is the only Amish community that I've been to where one is afforded breath-taking vistas of towering, snowcapped mountains. Â Â Rexford, Montana made the top of Erik's list and while it is amazingly pretty there, the settlement itself is tucked away in such a deep valley that it's difficult to get many eye-popping vistas. Â The bishop's house there is located high up on a mountain and only once you get there do you get some sweeping vistas. Â I'll post some photos some time from his house.
2. Adams County, Ohio: Â Okay, I'll admit that sentimentality does come into play here. I have a long history with this community. But the rocky, hard-scrabble hills that locals sometimes call the "Little Smokies" is such a dramatic departure from flat, dull western Ohio that one feels as if they've plunged into a different state once they hit the Adams County line. Charming lanes meander through the valleys, dotted with covered bridges and home-based Amish businesses.
3. Â Pearisburg, Virginia: Â It was tough to rank this as #3, it could have easily taken the #2 slot. Â This settlement is just gorgeous, perched at the base of Walker Mountain. Â To me this community bears an amazing resemblance to Rexford, Montana, except the vistas of the mountains here are more generous.
4. Â Holmes County, Ohio: Â No list of beautiful Amish communities would be complete without Holmes County on the list. Â The emerald colored hills are rich with color and character and dotted with small towns that are majority Amish. Â And a warren of tiny roads un-spool like gray threads haphazardly across the county. This makes every trip here an adventure if you just get off the main highways and onto the back-roads and explore. Â I'm never disappointed when I do.
5. Pinecraft, Florida: Â Okay, this is cheating a little since it's not a 100 percent Amish community, but where else can you visit an Amish community while standing on the sugar-white sands and clear waters of the Gulf?
6. Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: Â This is the other "overlap" on the list with Erik. Â There's just no denying the postcard panoramas of this heavily visited Amish area. Â I doubt so many people would visit if it weren't so pretty.
7. Conewango Valley, New York: Â This is a rustic, rural area of steep hills, dramatic valleys, and lush sugar maple forests. Â The horses here are muscular from pulling buggies, it's probably the hilliest Amish settlement I have visited.
HONORABLE MENTION: Â If Dayton, Virginia were an Amish settlement, it would probably rank #2. Â But it's not, it's an Old Order Mennonite community. Â But this Plain community spreads out across the rolling floor of the Shenandoah Valley of western Virginia, offering gorgeous views of mountains in all directions. Â And the "mole hill", the extinct nub of an ancient volcano rises in the middle of the Mennonite settlement, offering a view within in a view. Amazing. Â Above is a photo I took from the molehill looking down upon Mennonite dairy farms that dot the valley floor.
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