Interview with River Ridge Escapes

River Ridge Escapes offers an amazing variety of tiny home communities about an hour from Chattanooga, TN. These communities are intentionally designed with breathtaking views of the natural surroundings. Wind River has built several tiny homes for dwellers in River Ridge Escapes, but we’re excited to offer a way to skip the wait for a custom build. We have a Wind River “Cumberland” model listed for sale with land in their newest community, Shady Oak Escape. The Cumberland is a 45-foot home with our signature handcrafted finishes, and we’ve handled the land development as well, listing the home move-in-ready with furniture included as a home-plus-lot combo. Located on top of Lookout Mountain in Mentone, AL, it sits on almost an acre nestled among native trees for privacy. Work from home? The Cumberland comes with a spacious built-in desk with plenty of storage and a window — and all River Ridge Escape communities have high-speed WiFi. Built-ins are handcrafted with solid wood cabinetry and soft-close hinges. With space for a stacked washer/dryer and all other appliances included, you don’t have to sacrifice your creature comforts when you move in. We recently interviewed River Ridge Escape to ask them what they feel sets River Ridge Escapes apart for other tiny home communities. 

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Wind River: How long has River Ridge Escapes been in business?

River Ridge Escapes: We started developing our first community in 2016 and we have grown tremendously since then.

Wind River: What do you think attracts people the most to River Ridge Escapes? 

River Ridge Escapes: Most tiny home communities you see are very much like an RV Park where the lots are 50'x70' and set up side by side. Our first community, Little River Escape located atop Lookout Mountain in Cloudland, GA, is a 50-acre community with 48 3/4-acre lots. It is truly a tiny home community nestled in the woods in the mountains. This is what really set us apart from most tiny home communities and what got us acknowledged in the US News & World Report as being one of the Top 5 Communities in the country. So from that point on, we continued with the tiny-home-nestled-in-the-woods-in-the-mountains "theme" so to say. All of our communities are private and wooded with lots ranging from half an acre to 3+ acres. 

Wind River: What other services does River Ridge Escapes offer to their clients? 

River Ridge Escapes: We are a one stop shop. You can come pick out a house and pick out a lot and then we can manage all of the site development and set up of the tiny home from start to finish. This is a big selling point as our customers are from all over the country. Having to develop a piece of property from hours away and trying to find contractors to be able do the work is difficult and stressful. So we provide that service to allow them to enjoy the process and not stress. Most of the time, once our customers get moved in, they often come to us and ask about getting a shed for some extra storage. Well, we are also a dealer for sheds. We can provide them the website to go on and choose the type, size, colors etc, and then we can get them a quote and get it ordered. So we truly are a one-stop shop and we strive to help make this process smooth and pleasant.

Wind River: How many developments do you have? Do you have plans for more? 

River Ridge Escapes: We currently have a total of 10 tiny home communities. We actually just opened our 10th community a few weeks ago on Weiss Lake in Centre, AL. We have communities that are private, gated communities with lots for lease, or we have communities with lots that you can purchase. We do have some things in the pipeline for new communities, yes.

Wind River: Besides being just 3 miles from downtown Mentone, what are the greatest amenities that attract people to Shady Oak Escape? 

River Ridge Escapes: Shady Oak Escape is in a central location to so many things. Not only is the town of Mentone beautiful, it is also located within 25 minutes of 3 state parks. Those are Desoto State Park in Mentone, Cloudland Canyon State Park in Rising Fawn, GA and Little River National Preserve in Fort Payne, AL. Between these 3 parks, you can explore nature with many different levels of hiking trails, stunning waterfalls, swimming under the falls, and so much more! On top of that, it is located in the “ABC Triangle” — 1 hour & 45 min to Atlanta, GA, 1 hour & 45 Minutes to Birmingham, AL, and 1 hour South of Chattanooga, TN.

Wind River: How is the security at Shady Oak Escape? Is it a gated community? 

River Ridge Escapes: Shady Oak Escape is located off of a quiet country road in Mentone, AL. Mentone is a small town with a great community of locals, so crime is not an issue here. However, we do have 6 of the 12 lots that are in a gated section that share a common drive.

Wind River: What if someone is unsure if tiny living is right for them? 

River Ridge Escapes: When we first started, we offered a "try before you buy" program. However, now at this stage in the game, we have many homeowners throughout our communities that list their homes on AirBNB. We have a list of those on our website along with the links that we recommend to customers to rent for a few days to get a little glimpse of what tiny home living is like.

Wind River: If you could tell the public one thing about River Ridge that they may not know, what would you tell them? 

River Ridge Escapes: Our goal is not just selling tiny homes or selling lots. Our goal is to create a sense of community with like-minded people. To allow them the opportunity to downsize so that they can focus more on making memories. Meeting our customers and hearing their stories about their lives is what we enjoy the most, and they become part of our tiny home family. We have people from one side of the country to the other and hearing their stories and what brought them to this very moment is what we enjoy.

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More information and photos of the Cumberland at Shady Oak Escape can be viewed HERE. Wind River Built is proud to bring this land-and-home combo to market through River Ridge Escapes, combining our shared missions to create high-quality homes and developments for people who desire tiny home living that’s immersed in nature with a sense of community. For purchase inquiries, contact Sam at 706-936-0007 or email her at samantha@riverridgeescapes.com .

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