There are two different ways to explore Jefferson: trails through parks and nature preserves, and places that focus on art, civil rights history, and the history of the region. Nature offerings range from a trail system spanning the entire county to individual trails; the cultural side centers on collections, historic sites, and metal art.
Trails through Parks and Natural Areas
The Red Rock Trail System is a network of trails, parks, and infrastructure for complete street connections throughout Jefferson County, Alabama. Red Mountain Park gives a sense of scale at an individual park: the site covers more than 1,500 acres and offers more than 18 miles of hiking and biking trails. Together, the countywide network and the trails in a single park offer different ways to experience the landscape.
Ruffner Mountain is a 1,038-acre nature preserve. Its trails range from easy to moderate and pass through southern upland forests. Its diverse plant and animal life includes both resident and migratory birds. Smaller tributaries in Jefferson County’s river system also offer scenic views and opportunities for recreation.
At Turkey Creek, the Boy Scout Trail follows the banks from the Falls to Vermilion Run. The Hanby Hollow Trail is one of the five trails in Turkey Creek Nature Preserve. The Highland Trail is short, paved, and follows the preserve’s upland ridge. To include a loop, visitors can connect the Thompson Trace Trail with Hanby Hollow. The Narrows Ridge Loop Trail is open to mountain bikers and hikers. The routes, surfaces, and permitted activities set out concrete differences among these trails.
Art, Civil Rights History, and the Region’s Past
The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church was organized as the First Colored Baptist Church of Birmingham in 1873 and was the first Black church in Birmingham. Historic Kelly Ingram Park was the site of civil rights rallies, demonstrations, and confrontations in the 1960s. A free mobile tour explores the historical significance of the individual sculptures; it is available to anyone with a mobile phone.
The Birmingham Museum of Art houses more than 29,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and works of decorative art. The collection spans antiquity to the present, offering a broad sweep of time within a single museum. The Bessemer Hall of History has a stronger focus on regional history: housed in a renovated Southern Railway depot, it documents the history of Bessemer, Jefferson County, and Alabama. The Hall of History is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
At Sloss Furnaces, four metal artists teach classes in iron casting and metal fabrication. Here, the focus is not only on viewing art but also on teaching specific craft skills.
More Experiences with a Focus of Their Own
The Back Yard at Oxmoor Valley is a nine-hole par-3 golf course that can only be played on foot. The Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, next to Barber Motorsports Park, offers a different connection to motorsports; the racetrack is 2.3 miles long. The golf course and museum appeal to clearly distinct interests, while the other places round out the selection with nature trails, art collections, and history.
Explore Jefferson according to the topics that interest you most: from hiking and biking trails and individual trail routes to historic sites, museum collections, and metal art.
Discover more destinations: Birmingham, Trussville, Bessemer, Fultondale, Hoover, Leeds, Irondale, Clay, Vestavia Hills, Gardendale.
For the main travel overview: Alabama.
