The Best Hikes In Birmingham: National Take A Hike Day

BIRMINGHAM, AL - November 17 is National Take A Hike Day, if you didn't already know. And the Birmingham metro area has plenty of trails and parks where anyone can get in a good and scenic hike. Whether it for exercise, peace, photo opportunities or just an overall need to get outdoors, hiking has increased in popularity in the area over the last decade, and much of that popularity is due to new parks being developed and people re-discovering existing trails.

Hiking can burn between 400-550 calories per hour, and can be done at one's own pace. Experts do suggest wearing durable shoes and bringing along water on your hike.

Patch looked at public ratings sites and outdoor publications' rankings to get a top 5 list of the best hiking spots in the Birmingham metro. All of these hikes are within 20 miles of the city center.

Ruffner Mountain (1214 81st St S, Birmingham): Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve is a 1,040 acre nature preserve located in the eastern portion of Jefferson County. The Ruffner Mountain area was home to iron ore mines and stone quarries, supplying the area's steel mills. The preserve contains more than 14 miles of hiking trails.

Red Mountain Park (2011 Frankfurt Dr., Birmingham): Red Mountain Park is a 1,500-acre park with 15 miles of scenic trails, historic mines, zip lines, tree house and a dog park. The last active ore mine on Red Mountain Park property closed in 1962 and remained untouched for nearly 50 years until the development of Red Mountain Park. The Park is covered with the remnants and artifacts of a remarkable mining history that can be seen along most of the trails and attractions.

Oak Mountain State Park (200 Terrace Dr., Pelham): Oak Mountain State Park has approximately 25 miles of hiking trails that people enjoy on a daily basis. There are six designated trails of varying length and difficulty, and here are several connector trails so that you may make loops so that you don't have to walk the whole length of trail if you don't want or to give you a different route on the way back. Oak Mountain is home to abundant wildlife and vegetation.

Dunnavant Valley Greenway Trail (1150-1152 Dunnavant Valley Rd, Birmingham): The Greenway travels alongside Yellow Leak Creek and has two trailheads – one on Dunnavant Valley Road/Hwy 41, and one behind the Sports Blast soccer fields. The Dunnavant Valley Greenway Walking Trail is the perfect opportunity to take in the natural beauty of Shoal Creek’s surrounding area. The trail itself is a relatively easy and mostly flat. At only three and a half miles round trip, it’s the perfect afternoon getaway – ideal for families, hikers, and joggers.

Moss Rock Preserve (617 Preserve Way, Hoover): Hiking trails run through this wooded, 349-acre nature preserve with streams and climbable boulders. Moss Rock currently contains about 12 miles of hiking trails, including single-track, old roads, drains and utility easements. Most of this trail system was built by volunteers and is now maintained by volunteers and City staff. With the exception of the power line trail, all designated trails in Moss Rock are color-coded (painted) either white, blue, red or orange.

Photo by Todd Russell, used with permission