Clean water and sanitary living conditions were found on the mountain and visitors' health improved.

Resort amusements included horseback riding, two bowling alleys, croquet, billiards, lawn tennis, and beautiful gardens.

[4] Geologically, Monte Sano is a mesa separated from the main Cumberland Plateau by the Flint River Valley.

It is characterized by a resistant sandstone caprock of the Pennsylvanian Pottsville Formation overlying more soluble layers of Mississippian limestone.

[citation needed] Much of the western slope of the mountain - the backdrop for downtown Huntsville and 2 miles from City Hall - comprises the Monte Sano Nature Preserve owned and managed by the Land Trust of North Alabama.

The Monte Sano Nature Preserve consists of over 1,107 acres and offers 23+ miles of public trails.

[7] The Old Railroad Bed Trail preserves what is left of the path of the steam locomotive that traveled from the Huntsville Depot to the (no longer standing) Hotel Monte Sano from 1888 to 1896.