Running trails in Birmingham, AL
Birmingham has 31 trails in the directory — 8 paved and 4 on crushed gravel or dirt, 1 boardwalk, 3 loops that return to the trailhead, 6 with a stated distance, 7 shaded, and 3 open 24 hours. 23 of them post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 12,264 Google reviews. Filter by surface, loop, distance, shade or lighting to get to the run you're actually planning — no made-up difficulty score, just the facts you'd check before driving out.
Railroad Park Foundation
4.7 ★★★★★ 4,230 reviews
Acres of downtown green space for family activities, jogging & concerts, with a skate park & cafe.
Red Mountain Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,787 reviews
1,500-acre park with 15 miles of scenic trails, historic mines, zip lines, tree house & a dog park.
Avondale Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 1,528 reviews
This 37-acre tree-filled park features a lake, an amphitheater, baseball diamonds & more.
Ruffner Mountain
4.7 ★★★★★ 1,306 reviews
1,038-acre preserve with hiking trails, old mining sites, a modern nature center & rustic pavilion.
Heardmont Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 762 reviews
Scenic park with a football stadium, baseball & soccer fields, trails, a senior center & more.
Black Creek Park's Rails to Trails
4.7 ★★★★★ 438 reviews
Park and trail system featuring playgrounds and softball fields, as well as picnic tables and benches.
Jemison Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 409 reviews
Park featuring a baseball field and walking/jogging trails, plus picnic tables.
Rotary Trail Birmingham
4.7 ★★★★★ 186 reviews
Park with a picnic area, solar-powered phone-charging station, and short trail that's popular for walking.
Tom Bradford Park
4.1 ★★★★☆ 211 reviews
Public park offering facilities for baseball, tennis, and soccer, as well as a playground.
Caldwell Park
4.5 ★★★★★ 191 reviews
Park featuring picnic tables, cobblestone and paved paths, and freely roaming cats.
Cahaba River Trail & Canoe drop
4.7 ★★★★★ 164 reviews
Peaceful riverside area featuring a partially paved hiking trail, swimming holes and rope swings.
North Trailhead
4.9 ★★★★★ 108 reviews
Hiking area featuring varied trails leading to a popular scenic overlook.
Jefferson State Community Park
4.3 ★★★★☆ 113 reviews
Clean park featuring a playground, a swing set and a baseball field plus picnic areas.
Dunnavant Valley Greenway
4.7 ★★★★★ 102 reviews
Easy but steep in places, 1.8-mile hike featuring trees, streams, and waterfalls.
Grace's Gap at Red Mountain Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 85 reviews
Park featuring hiking trails, a tree house, and zip line, plus picnic areas.
Hoover Inverness Nature Park & Trails
4.4 ★★★★☆ 89 reviews
Large park with paved hiking paths, disc golf courses, hills and woods.
West End Walking Trail
4.4 ★★★★☆ 83 reviews
City park that's good for kids and offers opportunities for exercise.
Moss Rock Waterfalls
4.7 ★★★★★ 48 reviews
Park featuring a cascading waterfall hiking trails and rock formations along a creek.
Ruffner Mountain Eastern Trailhead
4.9 ★★★★★ 43 reviews
Kid-friendly hiking area featuring a mix of well-marked trails.
Wildwood Preserve
4.4 ★★★★☆ 23 reviews
Nature Trail(0.6 miles) (part of Jemison Park)
5 ★★★★★ 1 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Birmingham
- Match the surface to your legs. Birmingham gives you a choice: 8 paved, 5 mixed, 2 crushed gravel, 2 natural surface, and 1 boardwalk. Asphalt and concrete are fast, predictable and runnable year-round but the least forgiving; crushed limestone and dirt take the sting out of high mileage; boardwalk is flat and scenic but slick in the wet. If your shins or knees are complaining, the fix that actually works is varying the surface you run on rather than chasing one "best" one. More paved trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 3 trails here are loops, so you finish back at the car with no backtracking — the easiest way to run a set distance without thinking about it. On an out-and-back you turn round at half your target distance, which makes any trail fit any run. The longest stated distance in Birmingham is Maggie's Glen at 100 mi. 3 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 3 trails in Birmingham are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 23 of the 31 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 5 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 20 have trailhead parking, 14 have restrooms, and 5 have a water fountain in Birmingham. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 7 shaded, 5 with mile markers, 7 that runners describe as quiet, 13 dog-friendly, and 11 smooth and wide enough for a stroller or a wheelchair. Busy or quiet isn't a good-or-bad thing here: a busy path is the safer choice for a solo run at dawn, a quiet one is better for intervals.
More on all of this in the trail-running guides.
Browse Birmingham trails by type
- Paved trails
- Mixed trails
- Crushed gravel trails
- Natural surface trails
- Boardwalk trails
- Loop trails
- Long-run trails (5+ mi)
- Shaded trails
- Lit for early & night runs
- Flat & fast
- Hilly trails
- Scenic trails
- Trails with restrooms
- Trails with water fountains
- Trailhead parking
- Trails with mile markers
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near Birmingham
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.