Monte Sano, Huntsville: homes, schools, parks and commute

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Sources: the City of Huntsville’s address and school zone data, parks layer, neighborhood associations list and Orbit schedule data; the Alabama State Department of Education’s state report card for 2025; Zillow Research; and OpenStreetMap.

Monte Sano is the mountain on Huntsville’s eastern edge: houses on wooded lots along Monte Sano Boulevard and the roads that climb to it, with a state park, a nature preserve and Burritt on the Mountain next door. It is one of the smallest areas in this guide by number of addresses.

What this means for you

• Zoned high school: Huntsville High, for every address in the area (2025 state report card: 90, an A).
• Home value: $393,739 in ZIP 35801 in September 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index; 35741, which covers the rest of the area, was $403,332.
• Nearest interstate exit: I-565 exit 20 (Oakwood Avenue and Andrew Jackson Way), about 7 miles by road.

Part of our Huntsville neighborhoods guide.

Where it is

On this page Monte Sano is the Monte Sano Elementary zone, the school zone that covers the mountain inside city limits. On Oct. 17, 2026, the city’s data held 2,492 address points in it: 57% in ZIP code 35801 and 43% in 35741, all inside Huntsville, so the city provides police, fire and garbage service. Monte Sano Boulevard is the main road across the summit; Bankhead Parkway and Governors Drive climb the western face.

OpenStreetMap names Mountain Heights, Walker Woods, Ryland Acres and Haden as places inside the area. The Monte Sano Civic Association is on the city’s neighborhood associations list; its board meets the third Monday at 6:30 p.m., with regular meetings on the third Tuesday of April and October, both at the state park lodge.

Schools

Every address in the area is in the same three Huntsville City Schools zones. Scores are each school’s overall 2025 score on the state report card (the 2024-25 school year).

Check one address with the city’s School Zone Locator. More in our schools guide.

Home values

The area spans two ZIP codes, according to the Zillow Home Value Index for September 2026:

The index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price. Both ZIP codes reach well beyond the mountain: 35801 covers downtown and Five Points, and 35741 runs east into unincorporated Madison County. The citywide figure was $286,952. More in our home prices guide.

Parks and trails

From the city’s parks layer:

• Monte Sano State Park, 5105 Nolen Ave. SE, a state park with walking trails and a playground; its lodge is where the civic association meets.
• Monte Sano Nature Preserve, trailhead at 2760 Bankhead Parkway SE, land owned by the city and the Land Trust of North Alabama, with hiking trails.
• Burritt on the Mountain, 3101 Burritt Drive SE, a museum and historic park on about 160 acres listed in the city’s parks layer, with walking paths.

The city and the Land Trust are each putting up $500,000 to pave the 1.3-mile Toll Gate Trail from the Bankhead trailhead to Fearn Street as a 10-foot-wide path, the city said in February 2025. Each September the state park hosts the Monte Sano Art Festival. More in our parks and trails guide.

Getting around

• Interstate: I-565 exit 20 (Oakwood Avenue and Andrew Jackson Way), about 7.2 miles by road, using the exit numbers and destination signs mapped in OpenStreetMap.
• Downtown: about 6 miles by road to City Hall, 305 Fountain Circle.
• Airport: about 18.5 miles to Huntsville International Airport. Distances are measured from the middle of the area on the OpenStreetMap road network with the OSRM routing engine; they are distances, not drive times.
• Orbit buses: no route stops in the area, according to the city’s schedule data. The nearest stops are on routes 2 and 6 in Five Points and Blossomwood.

More in our getting around guide.

Groceries and everyday stores

OpenStreetMap shows no supermarket or pharmacy on the mountain. The nearest are at its foot in Five Points: Propst pharmacy, 717 Pratt Ave. NE, and Star Supermarket.

How we drew this area

The area is the Monte Sano Elementary zone in the city’s school zone data. ZIP codes come from every address point in it, checked Oct. 17, 2026. Monte Sano State Park itself is state land and has few addresses. Place and store locations are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Frequently asked questions

What schools is Monte Sano in Huntsville zoned for?

Monte Sano Elementary, Huntsville Junior High and Huntsville High, for every address in the Monte Sano Elementary zone. Their 2025 state report card scores were 100, 74 and 90.

What ZIP code is Monte Sano?

Two: 35801, for 57% of the addresses in the city’s data, and 35741 for the rest. Zillow put the typical value at $393,739 in 35801 and $403,332 in 35741 in September 2026.

Is there a bus to Monte Sano?

No Orbit route stops on the mountain, according to the city’s schedule data. The nearest stops are in Five Points and Blossomwood.

Is Monte Sano a good place to live?

Here are the facts. Monte Sano has about 2,490 address points inside Huntsville city limits, borders Monte Sano State Park and the Monte Sano Nature Preserve, is zoned for Monte Sano Elementary (100 on the 2025 state report card) and is about 6 miles by road from City Hall.