Have you been to Red Mountain Park? Wow what an amazing place this is! As a lifelong resident of Birmingham I have
to say this is a great addition to the city.
I was one of the lucky people who got to be one of the first runners at
the park during the Birmingham Track Club’s Resolution Run back in December 2011. I have worked near Red Mountain Park for over
twenty years and never knew this area existed.
My first run at the park was very disorienting. I had no idea where I was going there were no
markers and the trails were somewhat primitive.
I went with the 10 mile group and tried to hang on. This was also one of my first experiences
with trail running. I knew this place
was special when I came to the first clearing and saw what appeared to be the
remnants of a significant structure (the background picture on this blog page). The next leg of the run included running up a
significant hill. All I could see were
the television towers ahead. I never
thought you could actually go up all the way to the top of where these massive
structures are. As you could imagine the
views were amazing. We then traversed
through a more primitive trail. Along
the way you see remnants of buildings, various cables and rail lines. We approached another clearing that is known
as Grace’s Gap Overlook. What an amazing
perspective of the city. On one side you
see the downtown area and on the other side you see Shades Mountain. Here
is a picture of the downtown side.
Since my 2011 run, I have frequented the park sporadically. This past weekend I went there for a 7.5 mile
run. I ran a similar path to what I
have done before but mixed in one of the more complex trails. I would not recommend one of these trails the
first time out. They are clearly marked
as being a more challenging trail.
However, once you get your bearings in the park I would recommend taking
this route. It is hilly, rocky and there
are plenty of roots to trip over but it’s a great run. The transformation of the park from my first
run in 2011 is amazing. The trails are
well marked. There are maps along the
way. There is the zip line area. There are various stops along the way with
markers that give you some insight on everything that occurred in this area
back when Birmingham was a steel town. Yes
there are mines throughout the entire park.
One area along the trail has a blocked off waist high fence. I had never noticed this before and stopped
my run to investigate. This was one of
the openings or vents to the mine. As I
leaned over the fence I felt a very cool breeze coming from the vent. I thought how great is this? An air conditioning pit stop on a warm summer
day!
Here are two links to some of the background of this area and
the location of the park.
One last word of advice, parking is not the greatest. A lot of people park on the side of the
road. This is a somewhat busy road so be
careful as you enter or exit your car. I
usually park at a vacant office building about 100 feet from the entrance to
the park. It’s a little more of a hike
to the entrance but it keeps your car off the road.
Happy Running!
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