Naked in Birmingham

It’s not what you think. Eric and I didn’t join a nudist colony and I didn’t streak through the forest in my birthday suit (too many bugs). But we DID spend a relaxing week in Birmingham, where we stripped away our busy lives and communed with nature.

In my mind, Birmingham Alabama has always been a place you drive through to get to the mountains of Tennessee or Georgia. Or the place to visit if you want some Civil Rights History lessons. I never considered it for a hiking destination, but guess what?  It’s a GREAT place if you want to walk a different trail every day but still enjoy city amenities. Whether you’re into trail running, mountain biking, or a good brisk walk, Birmingham has an abundance of options and all within 30 minutes or less from city limits. So let’s start with my top choices…

Oak Mountain State Park

These are the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, not as lush as you see further east but you still get the dogwoods and rhododendron so Spring is definitely an ideal time to go.  Oak Mountain is only 20 miles south of Birmingham and besides the 50 miles of trails, this park includes a golf course, archery range, BMX course, horseback riding, boat rentals and more.  The trails are a mixture of easy and flat or steep and rocky, so there’s something for everyone.  We hiked two portions of the park: Kings Chair Loop (North Trailhead, south on Blue trail, return north on Red trail via Red-Blue connector south) and Peavine Loop (Peavine Falls Trailhead, White and Blue trails via White-Blue connector). The north route was a good workout, with lots of roots and rocks and elevation changes. There’s an overlook area just before Kings Chair that had good rocks for sitting and shade — ideal picnic spot. The Peavine route was fairly easy except for the spur trails. We tried the Falls Overlook trail but turned around once we glimpsed how steep it was — would NOT attempt it unless you have very strong knees and hiking poles.

TIP: Skip the $1 map when you pay your entry fee — there are detailed maps posted at each trailhead & you can take a photo with your phone.

Kings Chair Overlook

fairy house

dogwoods

Falls Overlook

We hiked 7.5 miles in Oak Mountain and could have done more, but my poor feet couldn’t hack it…despite the lovely nap I took in the back of my new Subaru.

Moss Rock Preserve

This was my favorite place in Birmingham. It’s much smaller than the state park, but it was just a few miles down the road from where we stayed in Hoover. And by the way, Hoover is also my favorite neighborhood in the Birmingham area (especially along Shades Crest Road). I LOVE greenspaces within a city that trick you into thinking you’re in a remote forest. Moss Rock Preserve does that, and it does so with waterfalls and huge rock formations. The trails meander all over the place so it’s easy to walk as little or as long as you like. And when you get hungry, just cross the road from the Boulder Field parking lot and get some wood-fired pizza from Vecchia Pizzeria & Mercato (where you can also learn to speak Italian).

I mentioned how much I loved Hoover, and this is another reason why. The view from our AirBnB balcony overlooked a nature preserve. We even saw our first marmot up close and I’m ashamed to say I didn’t get a photo. We were sitting on the couch when this creature appeared in the patio door. Instead of grabbing my phone, I freaked out & startled him away. In my defense, he was filthy and covered by a thick swarm of buzzing insects — so yes, this city girl was disgusted. But at least I appreciated the gorgeous sunsets!

Red Mountain Park

Like Moss Rock, Red Mountain Park is free and within city limits. It’s built around an old mining area and is a beautiful example of a community-building project that everyone can enjoy. As we drove up to the park’s Venice Road entry point, we could see the old mining houses and the poverty that still exists in Birmingham. Like the area, the trail began quite ugly and uninspiring but once we got to the heart of the woods it opened up beautifully. The EBSCO overlook was very peaceful, with an expansive city viewscape and giant adirondack chairs. There was a young couple sunbathing in one of the chairs and blowing bubbles. I told Eric “if this were in Germany, this place would be covered by naked sunbathers.” And I’d probably join in, because it felt like that kind of place where you should strip down to your basic humanity.

Vulcan Walking Trail

The Vulcan trail is a 2mi (one way) city walk that starts at the Vulcan Park & Museum, where you can see the giant bare-assed statue of Birmingham’s mascot. Vulcan was the Roman god of fire and blacksmithing, which is why he was chosen for a city rooted in the iron industry.

I wouldn’t say it’s a pretty walk, but it’s worth it for the views of downtown Birmingham and for people watching. If you want to feel like a local, walk or run this path and bring a picnic lunch to eat at the green space in front of the museum. Earlier that morning, we picked up fresh sourdough bread & pastries from Bandit Patisserie and snacked on that after our walk.

Vulcan Trail

View of downtown

Vulcan Center

Bandit pastries

There’s one last good hiking/trail running option that we didn’t try but was on my list. The Cahaba River Park, which is shared with mountain bikers, has several miles of trails and is only about 40min from Hoover.

Besides plenty of walking opportunities, Birmingham has an AMAZING food scene! This was primarily a hiking trip for us, so we didn’t get to sample the nicer restaurants as we chose to cook ourselves. Let me correct that: ERIC cooked, I just went along and ate whatever he fixed. 😉  We did get to try Birmingham ribs at Dreamland BBQ (loved the sauce but the ribs weren’t fall-off-the-bone like we’re used to). Maybe the cook just had a bad day, because this place was highly recommended and had a great atmosphere. We LOVED the food at Kale Me Crazy, it’s always a delight to find healthy food that actually excites our palette. Since we ate so healthy, we deserved sweets so we picked up an assortment from the Cookie Fix. I do believe we found cookies that were either as good as or surpass Eric’s cookies. Their White Trash and Triple Chocolate were heavenly!

Super Matcha

Kale Me Crazy

Cookie Fix

Dreamland BBQ

That wraps up our short jaunt to Birmingham. It’s a great place if you live in Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama and you want that perfect balance of activities: hiking/running, dining, shopping, historic sites. They have it all.