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Print Friendly MapThe Five Mile Creek Greenway which will eventually extend over 27 miles through Central Alabama, connecting the communities of Graysville, Brookside, Gardendale, Fultondale, Tarrant and Center Point.
A significant step in making this vision a reality was achieved in 2018, the Five Mile Creek District purchased 16.5 miles of rail corridor from CSX Transportation. At present, 5.5 miles of that corridor have been completed and are open to the public. The first three miles of these stretch between Black Creek Park in Fultondale and Shady Grove Road in Gardendale. Beautiful trees and a creek greet visitors to the trail. Users can also treat themselves to various amenities at the park. Baseball and softball lovers can hit the batting cages. There's a playground for the kids and a dog park for your four-legged furry friends.
In summer of 2019, a 2-mile extension opened in Gardendale, from the trail’s previous stopping point at Shady Grove Road to Jew Hollow Road. This section is flat with shaded portions, and inviting for walkers, runners and cyclists. Bring the whole family and enjoy this fantastic trail.
If you are approaching the trail by car, you can park at the eastern end, at Black Creek Park in Fultondale (777 Yarborough Rd), and then ride, run or walk the 11-mile round trip.
This is a great trail! It is actually about 6 miles to end and 6 miles back. It is very wooded with nice views of the creek. There were just the right amount of people on the trail, you had a lot of alone time but also felt safe in that other bikers, runners or walkers were not too far away. We parked at the Fultondale end. Great parking and again a safe place to leave the car.
My husband and I parked at the park off of Yarbrough Road. The trail was easy to access. The trail was crushed gravel and well maintained. We enjoyed the shade and those few short sunny sections. We passed under Hwy 31 and I65. Several places to stop along the way. The end of the trail is not marked thus initially thought it was another road to cross. Other roads we crossed were well marked and traffic was not bad. We have Lectric brand ebikes but rarely used the pedal assist. When we did turn on the assist, we only needed #1. We are both 'senior' citizens. We will definitely ride this one again.
First time on the trail. My wife and I enjoyed the trail. Started on the Watson end and went all the way to black creek park. 10 mile round trip. We’re getting use to our Lectric bicycles.
The trail is shady and has very slight inclines and declines. The scenery is nice, and there are random benches to rest on.
Good length shaded and flat. Perfect. Wish Birmingham could make more of these trails.
This is a great, flat, mostly shady trail, and way less busy than Red Mountain or Vulcan on the weekends. The whole family had fun. Dad pulled our 4 year old in the bike trailer, our 12 year old thought it was great, and I loved it. Highly recommend. About 10-11 miles round trip, and there’s a playground near the start of the trail, too.
Great trail - flat, shaded, easy-to-ride. Tiny gravel that is very navigable on most bikes. I rode my mountain bike and it was awesome!
First time to bike this trail. This was only my second time to ride this year. Not a bad trail. Mostly flat. A couple of very tiny inclines. Humidity was very high today so not the best but the shaded trail helps a little. Make sure you have plenty of water to carry with you. Pretty active trail. Walkers and bikers but mostly bikers. If it were asphalt I would give it 5 stars. First time to ride gravel trail. Personally, I like paved trails
Great for beginners and no big hills throughout the whole trail. Great shaded areas, great stopping points with benches, awesome width for riding side-by-side or in a group, gravel is packed tightly which makes the ride easier, and easily seen mile marker displays! Highly recommend this trail!!
After a long recovery from an accident, I found my legs would work to peddle, even though walking was difficult. 3 mos later, I’m biking about 6 miles of steep hills at the Trussville Sports Complex area and neighborhoods on a Trek Verve+2 E-bike. The Creek Trail was my first dirt to try. It is an easy trail, shaded throughout, well maintained surface, no elevation changes, no curves. Parking at Black Creek Park is safe. Creek Park is ample and
I live this trail. Recently, a two mile extension opened. I haven't been able to rid it yet but thought everyone would appreciate an update. Here is a link to the news article about the opening and plans for future extensions and connections with other trails in Jefferson County: https://bhamnow.com/2019/06/13/get-your-walking-shoes-ready-five-mile-creek-adds-two-miles-of-trail-in-gardendale-with-plans-to-become-the-longest-trail-in-central-al
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
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