Explore the best rated trails in Sylacauga, AL. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Ensley-Pratt Greenway and High Ore Line Trail. With more than 12 trails covering 48 miles you’re bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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...
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...
Homewood Shades Creek Greenway, also known as the Lakeshore Trail, will one day stretch 6 miles through Homewood, a southern suburb of Birmingham. Currently, 2.6 miles are complete paralleling...
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...
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...
In northeast Alabama, the nearly 33-mile Chief Ladiga Trail is a regional playground that passes through welcoming towns and pastoral landscapes. Following a former CSX railroad corridor, the...
The High Ore Line Trail, which opened in 2016, is located in the southwestern outskirts of Birmingham, Alabama. The pathway offers a convenient and pleasant transportation option as it passes over...
The Enon Ridge Trail is part of a trail network called Red Rock Trails, a proposed collection of 750 miles of trails, sidewalks, and bike lanes across Jefferson County. This shaded trail sits close to...
The Enon Ridge Trail is part of a trail network called Red Rock Trails, a proposed collection of 750 miles of trails, sidewalks, and bike lanes across Jefferson County. This shaded trail sits close to...
Homewood Shades Creek Greenway, also known as the Lakeshore Trail, will one day stretch 6 miles through Homewood, a southern suburb of Birmingham. Currently, 2.6 miles are complete paralleling...
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 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 Ensley-Pratt Greenway can be found in west Birmingham, traveling through two neighborhoods referenced in its name. Both communities were once standalone industrial towns but were incorporated into...
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...
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 High Ore Line Trail, which opened in 2016, is located in the southwestern outskirts of Birmingham, Alabama. The pathway offers a convenient and pleasant transportation option as it passes over...
In northeast Alabama, the nearly 33-mile Chief Ladiga Trail is a regional playground that passes through welcoming towns and pastoral landscapes. Following a former CSX railroad corridor, the...
Bessemer’s first rail-trail was opened in the spring of 2018. At just under half a mile, the first phase of the trail sits in the shaded former corridor of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad paralleling...
In northeast Alabama, the nearly 33-mile Chief Ladiga Trail is a regional playground that passes through welcoming towns and pastoral landscapes. Following a former CSX railroad corridor, the...
Bessemer’s first rail-trail was opened in the spring of 2018. At just under half a mile, the first phase of the trail sits in the shaded former corridor of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad paralleling...
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 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...
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, also known as the Lakeshore Trail, will one day stretch 6 miles through Homewood, a southern suburb of Birmingham. Currently, 2.6 miles are complete paralleling...
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...
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 Ensley-Pratt Greenway can be found in west Birmingham, traveling through two neighborhoods referenced in its name. Both communities were once standalone industrial towns but were incorporated into...
The Enon Ridge Trail is part of a trail network called Red Rock Trails, a proposed collection of 750 miles of trails, sidewalks, and bike lanes across Jefferson County. This shaded trail sits close to...
The High Ore Line Trail, which opened in 2016, is located in the southwestern outskirts of Birmingham, Alabama. The pathway offers a convenient and pleasant transportation option as it passes over...
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...
On our 50th wedding anniversary trip from Michigan to Gulf Shores we stopped at Piedmont and rode the Chief Ladiga trail to the start of the Silver Comet. Beautiful sunny day and quite warm. The trail is definitely a slight easy uphill grade going east. The lack of any restroom facilities at the junction of Chief Ladiga and the Silver Comet trails was very disappointing as was the lack of places to stop and see the beauty that surrounds. There’s some rough spots caused by roots but not so bad as to cause a problem.
We biked the Chief Ladiga trail from the Anniston Trailhead to Jacksonville State University baseball facility to watch a baseball game (approx. 8 miles total). The trail was well maintained. Passed a few people at the beginning in Anniston with the middle of the trail pretty much to ourselves. Once we got close to the University, biking and foot traffic picked up but was very manageable. We had an excellent adventure on our first Trail biking trip and plan on riding more of this trail in the future.
Chief Ladiga Trail, Nov 2018, *Excellent*
I recently bicycled from Dallas, Ga, to Anniston, Ala. An excellent ride which I highly recommend, that could easily be broken into sections for a family outing or weekend 'de-stressor'. Thank you to those responsible for the development and maintenance of this path. Great job!
Comments;
Trail surface conditions; excellent. The path is cement in Georgia and asphalt in Alabama for the entire length. It is well drained, smooth, wide, and in generally excellent repair. A few areas tree roots have encroached and damaged the asphalt path, but this is not currently an issue.
Signage & markers; very good over all. Markers are located every mile, however a recommended improvement would be to add distance values to cities, towns, trailheads, etc. As for signage there is very little. Interpretive plaques, historical markers, place names, availability and direction of restroom\food\lodging\police\medical signs, etc. could be added at appropriate sites.
Trail maintenance; very good to excellent. The trail right of way is clear and wide, free of encroaching brush and bordered by well kept grass. Some vistas could be improved by clearing underbrush which would allow viewing of surrounding area. Especially when approaching some road crossings is this true. I noticed virtually no litter. Trestles and bridges, while currently usable and safe, are showing typical wear and age. Hopefully a schedule of maintenance exists for these.
Amenities; average. While benches and rest stops are conveniently located and not too far apart, I think toilets or port-a-potties are needed trailside at appropriate locations.
Great job to those who created this trail!
A friend and I began our walk/hike at sunrise at the AL/GA state line. With 33 miles ahead of us an early start was necessary to allow enough time (10-11 hrs) to finish the trail before sunset that evening. The first several hours of the walk gave way to a landscape of beautiful autumn colors, bridges, and streams. Duggar Mtn also provided a beautiful backdrop for surrounding pastures, forests, and farmlands. As we continued on the path through the countryside the scenery began to change as the trail lead us through the small town of Piedmont where we were able to rest for a short while at the Eubanks Welcome Center. For the next several miles we continued to enjoy the beauty of the trail. Entering Jacksonville the trail lead us through the campus of Jacksonville State University and near a old train depot. With the sun beginning to set we finally made our way to the trail end in Weaver where friends and family greeted us with a celebratory bottle of champagne to commemorate a successful adventure.
Started at the Chief Ladiga trailhead at Michael Tucker Park in Weaver / Anniston. As someone else mentioned, plenty of parking and clean, open bathroom facilities. Every bit of this trail is well marked and very well maintained. The buckles or bumps in the trail were marked with white paint.
Took the recumbent trike since this was a paved trail. And, while I wasn't planning to ride all the way to the AL/GA border and the link with the Silver Comet, the trail, weather conditions, mix of shade and sun, I found myself just going... and going... One of the other bikers at the start told me it was a flat ride (relatively), he wasn't kidding. All the elevation changes are gradual, long sight lines, no blind curves, so made for as easy or fast as you like.
Trail was never crowded, bikes, a few hikers/walkers and a single skateboarder (near the college in Jacksonville). Saw flock of wild turkeys, some squirrels and one rabbit. Plenty of birds, dragonflies and butterflies
I hadn't planned on the full out and back, but with Piedmont right in the middle of the out and the back, was able to restock water as needed. Lunch along the trail was as peaceful as could be.
Anyone of any ability could ride as much or as little of this trail as they like. Multiple places along the trail to park, all the road crossings are clearly marked and only one listed as "caution". Plenty of shade, especially in morning or late afternoon. All the bridges are in excellent shape.
Quite a gem.
I started my ride at the trailhead in Anniston, a really good spot to begin the ride: a large parking-area directly on the trail, a lovely and well-kept park, and, what was a total surprise to my wife and me, it not only has public restrooms, but also showers, not locked but open for everyone, and with HOT water at that, and everything perfectly clean! We were enthusiastic! Considering the hot showers there, it might also be a very good end of a ride, of course.
In Jacksonville the former railway depot now is a well-maintained rest stop, with absolutely clean facilities. Water is also available there. And don’t forget to sign the guestbook for the trail.
The end, the spot where it connects with the Silver Comet Trail that is, has a nice rest area with benches and a Porta Potty which, after a 33-mile ride, might come in handy.
When I rode the Chief Ladiga Trail on May 19 this year, it was an absolutely fantastic day. It was quite warm, and the humidity wasn't half bad, but as the trail quite often lead under the thick leafy canopy of the trees and as I had the airflow around me, it certainly was bearable. The air was gorgeously fresh, and smelled of every possible tree, shrub, and herb, and I kept thinking that here even the air one breathes was green. I didn't see any larger wildlife, but an abundance of squirrels and chipmunks. The small towns I passed through were some nice distraction – not that I had needed one as the trail showed enough variety: sometimes leading through open meadow, sometimes through green tunnels in a manner of speaking, and later with the wooded hills of Alabama in the background, with a blue sky and fluffy white clouds above. And in between again and again the green wetlands of a slowly meandering gurgling creek.
Finally, a remark about the state of the trail: absolutely fantastic – smooth asphalt from beginning to end [I could easily have ridden my road bike instead of the more cross-country-suitable Salsa Fargo], and if there was a slight dent in it, from a root that was pushing the asphalt up, that was marked with white paint, even if it was just half an inch up. The people who first created that path and now maintain it in such a perfect condition deserve a lot of praise and a heartfelt "thank you".
The third trail of our trip from Fl to Ms and Al. We had rode this trail before it was paved and didn't remember how long ago it was, the host at the Eubanks Center in Piedmont told us it has been paved for over 20 years. Piedmont is the heart of this trail. The round trip to Georgia's Silver Comet was the best part. There are views of the mountains to the sides of the trail. The state border has a nice rest area and great signage. As we went through Jacksonville there was trucks and equipment on the trail, they were cleaning up damage from the April tornado. On both sides of the trail you could see the destroyed buildings. The Jacksonville Train Depot was a high point, we used it for our last day start and end point. Then just down the street we found Struts where we celebrated completing our trails with great wings and beer. We would return to this trail.
This trail has saved my life. literally, the chief means to controlling diabetes. The beauty of the land, the great places you pass through, the folks you meet, the welcome centers and facilities along the way are outstanding, with the one in Piedmont giving out free snacks to bikers and hikers. I can't say enough about the entire 95 miles of trails, from Anniston, AL to the Atlanta, GA area. Be conscious of the bumps caused by tree roots, they can throw you at speed above 15 MPH (trail designated maximum speed). Don't forget to sound off when passing others on the trail, it is just being a good neighbor.
Gorgeous views and smooth, steady asphalt. What more could you ask for?
This trail was easily the most welcome surprise I found after enrolling at Jacksonville State University. Paved and flat, it's a perfect trail for beginners (like yours truly) but the sheer length of the trail opens it up to experienced wayfarers as well. It's a beautiful, tree-lined experience with plenty of shade for extended trips. My usual routes are from the Jacksonville train station to Alexandria-Jacksonville hwy and from Park Place Apartments to Germania Springs Park, alternating which one I do each day. Both are just over 3 miles round-trip. The trail is lively -- so lively, in fact, that I've never gona down it without meeting at least 3 others. If you prefer your walk in solitude, then this trail is not what you're looking for. Otherwise, I believe everyone should give Ladiga a shot! Also, if you wish to go further, the trail becomes the Silver Comet Trail at the state line, extending on into Georgia.
We parked at Esom Hill, close to the GA/AL border. We rode the Comet east to Cedartown mi53 (see my reviews of other sections of Comet), then turned around and rode west to Borden Springs. 27mi roundtrip. Trail is concrete in GA, then turns to asphalt in AL, but both well maintained. It runs through the woods almost the whole way. Shaded, but no scenery but trees. No facilities either. It is a rail-trail, and you think its flat, but its not. Esom Hill is the crest, and its down hill both ways from there - about 100ft elevation change on both sides. But its gradual, so its very doable. But you will notice the difference one direction over the other. Will return to do final west section.
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