Find the top rated trails in Gardendale, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
The Jones Valley Trail near downtown Birmingham stretches a half mile along 1st Avenue South from 25th Street to 32nd Street. Following a former railroad corridor, the paved, tree-lined rail-trail is...
The Sumiton Trail begins at City Hall in the heart of the community of Sumiton, which lies northwest of Birmingham. The mile-long paved trail heads west out of town and ends with a connection to the...
Fultondale Rails to Trails is part of the Five Mile Creek Greenway which will eventually extend over 27 miles. This segment of the Five Mile Creek project is over three miles and is ideal for walking...
Railroad Park is an 8-block recreational public space in downtown Birmingham that celebrates the city's railroad culture both past and present. It borders active railroad lines that transverse the...
Birmingham's mile-long Vulcan Trail scales the ridge of 1,025-foot Red Mountain. In summer, the tree-lined trail offers cool respite from the heat, while bare winter trees yield city views. Best of...
The Horse Creek Trail spans just over 3 paved miles between Dora and Sumiton, two small communities northwest of Birmingham. As the trail was built on a former railroad bed, it's a flat, easy walk or...
Homewood Shades Creek Greenway will one day stretch 6 miles through Homewood, a southern suburb of Birmingham. Currently, 2.6 miles are complete paralleling Lakeshore Drive and the wooded banks of...
This is a rolling paved trail that follows along the shoreline of Guntersville Lake and is alongside Sunset Drive. Some of the hills are a little long, but there are plenty of flat areas as well. The...
Birmingham's much anticipated Rotary Trail opened April 2016. At its entrance, the trail features a 46-foot-tall sign which reads: "Rotary Trail in the Magic City." It is modeled after the historical...
Homewood Shades Creek Greenway will one day stretch 6 miles through Homewood, a southern suburb of Birmingham. Currently, 2.6 miles are complete paralleling Lakeshore Drive and the wooded banks of...
Fultondale Rails to Trails is part of the Five Mile Creek Greenway which will eventually extend over 27 miles. This segment of the Five Mile Creek project is over three miles and is ideal for walking...
The Jones Valley Trail near downtown Birmingham stretches a half mile along 1st Avenue South from 25th Street to 32nd Street. Following a former railroad corridor, the paved, tree-lined rail-trail is...
Birmingham's mile-long Vulcan Trail scales the ridge of 1,025-foot Red Mountain. In summer, the tree-lined trail offers cool respite from the heat, while bare winter trees yield city views. Best of...
Railroad Park is an 8-block recreational public space in downtown Birmingham that celebrates the city's railroad culture both past and present. It borders active railroad lines that transverse the...
The BMRR South Trail is part of a network of 14 miles of hiking and biking pathways throughout Birmingham’s 1,500-acre Red Mountain Park, which opened in 2012. The park’s namesake mountain was the...
The Horse Creek Trail spans just over 3 paved miles between Dora and Sumiton, two small communities northwest of Birmingham. As the trail was built on a former railroad bed, it's a flat, easy walk or...
The Sumiton Trail begins at City Hall in the heart of the community of Sumiton, which lies northwest of Birmingham. The mile-long paved trail heads west out of town and ends with a connection to the...
This is a rolling paved trail that follows along the shoreline of Guntersville Lake and is alongside Sunset Drive. Some of the hills are a little long, but there are plenty of flat areas as well. The...
Railroad Park is an 8-block recreational public space in downtown Birmingham that celebrates the city's railroad culture both past and present. It borders active railroad lines that transverse the...
Homewood Shades Creek Greenway will one day stretch 6 miles through Homewood, a southern suburb of Birmingham. Currently, 2.6 miles are complete paralleling Lakeshore Drive and the wooded banks of...
Fultondale Rails to Trails is part of the Five Mile Creek Greenway which will eventually extend over 27 miles. This segment of the Five Mile Creek project is over three miles and is ideal for walking...
This is a rolling paved trail that follows along the shoreline of Guntersville Lake and is alongside Sunset Drive. Some of the hills are a little long, but there are plenty of flat areas as well. The...
The Jones Valley Trail near downtown Birmingham stretches a half mile along 1st Avenue South from 25th Street to 32nd Street. Following a former railroad corridor, the paved, tree-lined rail-trail is...
The Sumiton Trail begins at City Hall in the heart of the community of Sumiton, which lies northwest of Birmingham. The mile-long paved trail heads west out of town and ends with a connection to the...
Birmingham's mile-long Vulcan Trail scales the ridge of 1,025-foot Red Mountain. In summer, the tree-lined trail offers cool respite from the heat, while bare winter trees yield city views. Best of...
Birmingham's much anticipated Rotary Trail opened April 2016. At its entrance, the trail features a 46-foot-tall sign which reads: "Rotary Trail in the Magic City." It is modeled after the historical...
The Horse Creek Trail spans just over 3 paved miles between Dora and Sumiton, two small communities northwest of Birmingham. As the trail was built on a former railroad bed, it's a flat, easy walk or...
The BMRR South Trail is part of a network of 14 miles of hiking and biking pathways throughout Birmingham’s 1,500-acre Red Mountain Park, which opened in 2012. The park’s namesake mountain was the...
Shared asphalt greenway for bikers, walkers, runners. Follows a beautiful creek. Screened from road traffic but not remote. Used by All ages. Popular morning, day & early evening. Although shared, most bikers know to shout "on your right!" as they overtake walkers. Plenty of parking at east end of trail. Pro: Wide, Shaded, Mowed & caretaken, Easy. : No potties unless Homewood field potties are open, a few car breakins recently so stash your goodies well, dog walkers sometimes don't clean up w/doggie bags.
There are benches and trash cans spread along the path. A nice Creek Trail breaks off the path giving you a chance to walk down to the creek and explore a couple of minor waterfalls (less than a foot high). There is one building that you can rest in from the shade or the rain
The trail is really beautiful. There were lots of people walking and cycling. There are also areas where you can sit and even charge your phone. I enjoyed my walk and plan to go further next time to see more of the trail.
This is a cute little trail that runs along 1st Ave N. near Sloss Furnace. It's paved and very stroller/bike/skates/walking friendly. It leads right up to the Rotary Trail and right past that is Railroad Park. I like to start at the Jones Valley trailhead and walk all the way to Railroad Park for a few laps and then back. It's aroun 3 miles of you do that.
nice biking trail, watch out in the 2nd residential area there are some dogs that get close to you but never had one to come after me
We took a ride from Bham up Old Hwy 78 W to reach this trail. One end of the trail is accessible from Old Hwy 78W behind a Jet-Pep next to Horse Creek Golf. The other end is down Sharon Blvd towards Dora in the TS Boyd Elementary School Parking lot. The trail is wonderfully maintained. There are kiosks along the route for sitting with bike racks. We saw deer along the route grazing. The trail begs to be extended. Families walking the trail were friendly! On our return back to Bham we did our own grazing at Lee's Family Restaurant. Wonderful food!
Pleasant ride thru the rolling hills of the countryside. Easy access to Dora from new Interstate 22. Poor signage to trailhead, had to ask locals for directions. Short ride that ends too soon, has the potential to be extended.
I ride here usually daily. It's quite and rather secluded. A few pesky dogs may try to bark and simulate biting at you but they not of any danger. The walkers and joggers mostly stay in the their appropriate lane but some of them want to go the wrong direction or walk and jog on the line of the trail and other groups take the complete trail and pay little attention to a bicyclist. I usually holler at them and tell them on their left. The ones that ignore I scream they need to stay in their lane. Walkers and joggers have just as much responsibility as bicyclists to be aware of their surroundings and be on the look out to get out of the way of bicyclists in the passing lane. It's and age old problem that will never be resolved. You just can't fix stupid. BUT I love the trail. It's great.
Although there is only one mile of paved trail, you can continue on a well traveled wooded path for another mile. This path terminates behind a business (formerly the FOP lodge) on Green Springs Highway. A neighborhood street (Red Mountain Terrace S.) also dead ends there. You can park at the end of that street and walk first on the wooded path and then continue on to the paved trail.
In April 2013 a few days ago, My friend sent me this about Vulcan Pk Trail. "During my lunch break during the last couple of weeks, I have been birding the Vulcan trail which lies on the upper north slope of Red Mountain. I have found an abundance of palm warblers as well as lots of indigo buntings, some hooded warblers, red eyed vireos, rose breasted grosbeaks, scarlet tangers and a good variety of other neotropical species represented by single individuls including cerulean warbler, ovenbird (two days in a row), Tennessee warbler and bay brested warbler. Wood thrushes have been singing in the area as well."
Today, May 1st 2013 I saw some great birds as well!!!!
Indigo Buntings, Great Crested Flycatchers, gorgeous male Baltimore Orioles,White-eyed Vireos,Eastern Towhees,Gray Cat bird,Eastern Phoebe,Yellow-rumped Warbler,Turkey Vultures, Carolina Wren,Scarlet Tanagers & the usual jays,cardinals, sparrow,Rough-winged Swallows & Crows.
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