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Discover the Best Hikes in Birmingham, Alabama
Where railroads ran and mines once burrowed into mountains, the healed landscape is repurposed for beautiful hiking and biking opportunities. New and expanding venues around the city provide more chances to get outside and to appreciate the labor and industry that built the city. Explore 35 of Birmingham’s best, five-star trails, divided into six distinct areas in and around the city.
With the expert guidance of local author Thomas M. Spencer, you’ll find yourself on an Appalachian mountain peak or on the banks of the Cahaba River, as it broadens to snake through the Coastal Plain. Visit old-growth forest in the Sipsey Wilderness, or hike down into the “Grand Canyon of the East” at Little River Canyon. Across this landscape, you’ll find a diversity of plant and animal species—some rare and endangered—rivaling those found anywhere else in North America.
Book Features:
- Descriptions of 35 five-star hiking trails for all levels and interests
- GPS-based trail maps, elevation profiles, and detailed directions to trailheads
- Insight into the history, flora, and fauna of the routes
- Ratings for scenery, difficulty, trail condition, solitude, and accessibility for children
Lace up, grab your pack, and hit the trail!
OVERVIEW MAP
OVERVIEW-MAP KEY
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PREFACE
HIKING RECOMMENDATIONS
INTRODUCTION
City Center
- Civil Rights Heritage Trail: Birmingham’s Walk to Freedom
- Oak Hill Cemetery
- Railroad Park
- Vulcan Trail–Southside Loop
Suburbs
- Aldridge Gardens
- Irondale Furnace & Mountain Brook Trails
- Shades Creek Greenway & Homewood Forest Preserve
- Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest
Moss Rock Preserve
- Moss Rock Preserve: Boulder Field
- Moss Rock Preserve: Boulder Gorge Loop
- Moss Rock Preserve: Waterfall Loop from Sulphur Springs Road
Oak Mountain State Park
- Oak Mountain State Park: King’s Chair Loop
- Oak Mountain State Park: Lake Tranquility Loop
- Oak Mountain State Park: Peavine Falls
- Oak Mountain State Park: Shackleford High Points Hike
Red Mountain Park
- Red Mountain Park: Birmingham Mineral Railroad Loop
- Red Mountain Park: Grace’s Gap
- Red Mountain Park: Mine History Hike
Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve
- Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve: Ridge & Valley Loop
- Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve: Tree House to Hawk’s View
- Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve: Wetlands Retreat
The Cahaba River & Points South
- Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge
- Perry Lakes Park & Barton’s Beach
- Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park
Cheaha & Points East
- Cheaha–Cave Creek–Pinhoti Trail Loop
- Cheaha State Park: Bald Rock & Pulpit Rock
- Chinnabee Silent Trail
- Flagg Mountain: The Southernmost Appalachian
- Pinhoti Trail: Lower Shoal Shelter Section
The Sipsey Wilderness & Points Northwest
- Big Tree Loop
- Hurricane Creek Park
- Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge
Little River Canyon & Points Northeast
- Little River Canyon National Preserve: Eberhart Trail
- Palisades Park & the Bridges of Blount County
- Turkey Creek Falls
APPENDIX A: SUGGESTED READING & REFERENCE
APPENDIX B: OUTDOOR RETAILERS
APPENDIX C: HIKING & OUTDOOR CLUBS
APPENDIX D: ADVOCACY & VOLUNTEER GROUPS
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MAP LEGEND