MAY 7, SUNDAY, Meet 1:45 p.m.
Southeastern Outings Weekday Hike
Where: High Ore Line Trail in Birmingham and Midfield, Alabama
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Details: This will be Southeastern Outings fourth hike on this relatively new in-city trail. The hike, which is rated easy, will be 3 miles long with very little change in elevation.
Birmingham’s three-mile High Ore Line Trail is now complete and open to the public. We will start our hike on the High Ore Line Trail from the Jefferson County Western Health Center in Midfield and hike along an old railroad line to Red Mountain Park’s new entrance and parking lot on Venice Road. The trail is mostly flat and off road and provides an accessible place to walk in Greater Birmingham’s outdoors.
In 2012, the City of Birmingham won a competitive Department of Transportation TIGER grant for $10,000,000 in order to develop active transportation routes in Birmingham. With this funding, the City of Birmingham, Freshwater Land Trust, Jefferson County Health Department, and many partners have built 14 trail miles throughout Birmingham. The first two miles of the High Ore Line Trail opened in 2016. With its third and final mile complete, High Ore Line now connects Red Mountain Park to Jefferson County’s growing Red Rock Trail System. “We are thrilled to open this new portion of High Ore Line and hope it will continue to be a valuable asset to the community,” said Carolyn Buck, Freshwater Land Trust Red Rock Trail Director. “With each trail opening, we are one step closer to our goal of building and connecting 750 miles of trails in Jefferson County.”
“We are excited to celebrate this long-anticipated connection to Red Mountain Park as it creates more opportunities for more communities in Birmingham to engage in outdoor recreation and learn about our shared history,” said T.C. McLemore, Red Mountain Park Executive Director.
In Midfield, an industrial suburb of Birmingham near the towering U.S. Steel plant, a railroad track once sliced through the air, an elevated track running ore and coal from the mines at Red Mountain to the steel works at Fairfield. Today, decades after the railroad went out of operation, the elevated track has a new lease on life: a green one.
Spanning three miles from Midfield to Venice Road at the base of Red Mountain, the High Ore Line Trail now occupies the raised railroad line as one of the newest additions to the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System. Connecting neighborhoods in west Birmingham to Midfield, the trail passes its visitors over Valley Creek with a glimpse in the distance of Red Mountain Park – to which the trail is now connected. It is a space of recreation and peace, a place where a simple stroll can become a scenic experience blending the urban industrial suburbs with natural, preserved greenspace.
As greenspaces around Birmingham help the Magic City make a resurgence, the High Ore Line Trail is a project that makes sure the western neighborhoods of Birmingham get their own piece of the puzzle.
Please bring water to drink and comfortable footwear suitable for walking three miles. We expect to complete the hike about lunch time. For those who would like to enjoy lunch with their fellow hikers, you may join the group for lunch at the Subway sandwich restaurant on Lakeshore Parkway on the way back. Please meet 1:45 p.m. at the new Jones Valley parking lot for Red Mountain Park, 2109 Venice Road, Birmingham, Alabama. We plan to depart from there at 2:00 p.m.
Information and Trip Leader: Dan Frederick, email southeasternoutings@gmail.com or telephone 205-631-4680.
MAY 13, SATURDAY, Meet 10:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Dayhike, Richard Martin Trail (previously named Limestone Rail Trail), Elkmont, Alabama
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Details: This trail is located in extreme North Alabama just to the west of I-65 and a few miles south of the Tennessee-Alabama border. The hike is rated easy. We will hike a total of 5.3 miles. There is much lovely scenery along the path that was once a part of the Tennessee and Alabama Central Railroad.
Walk on one of Alabama’s rails-to-trails conversion routes on an old railroad right of way. This smooth trail is wide and level. No hills on this trail. On this particular hike you will be walking on a scenic trail which goes through fields, near houses and through the woods. The trail winds through wetlands with wildlife and a great variety of birds. On the trail you will pass the site of the Civil War Battle of Sulphur Creek Trestle.
Please bring your picnic lunch and drink with you.
Well-behaved, carefully supervised children age 8 and over able to walk 6 miles without complaining are welcome.
Absolutely delicious optional dinner afterwards at Terranova’s Restaurant in Athens, Alabama.
Please meet 10:45 a.m. at the Hayden/Corner Park and Ride. We plan to depart from there at 11:00 a.m.
Info. and Trip Leader: Dan Frederick, email southeasternoutings@gmail.com, telephone 205-631-4680
MAY 20, SATURDAY, 9:45 a.m.
Southeastern Outings Cahaba Lily Walk, Hargrove Shoals along the Cahaba River in Bibb County
Details: Please come with us to see the largest display of blooming Cahaba lilies in the world, acres and acres of them spread out over the water in the river. These lilies are a sight to behold! In places, it often looks like it has snowed on the river in May.
Over seven miles of the Cahaba River lie within the Refuge boundary. The rolling uplands surrounding the river are forested with mountain longleaf and loblolly pines. Mixed upland hardwood species line ravines and the river's edge.
The largest known stand of the imperiled shoals lily (known locally as the Cahaba lily) also occurs within the Refuge. During May and June, this beautiful plant blooms, and people come from across the region to view this magnificent display of nature.
Well-behaved, properly supervised children age 7 and over welcome.
The hike is about five miles round trip.
Rated easy. Wear sturdy footwear you don’t mind getting wet and dirty. Old sneakers work well. You’ll want to put on your river shoes so you can walk out into the shallow parts of the river to stroll through and touch the lilies which grow only in the water. Bare feet, flip-flops, slip-ons and thin-soled “beach shoes” are not acceptable!! You may wear your sturdy river shoes for the entire trip if you like. Please bring picnic lunch and your drink. Hiking poles are strongly recommended to provide additional stability when wading in the river.
Please meet at 9:45 a.m. at the McDonald’s Galleria. We plan to depart from there at 10:00 a.m.
Info. and hike leader: Dan Frederick, 205/631-4680 or seoutings@bellsouth.net
MAY 27, SATURDAY, Picnic at 7:30 p.m. Concert begins at 8:00 p.m.
FREE Alabama Symphony Orchestra (ASO) Concert
Where: Railroad Park situated along 1st Avenue South, between 14th and 18th Streets South in downtown Birmingham
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Details: Thanks to the generous support of sponsors, the ASO is excited to play a free series of concerts in Birmingham's Railroad Park! Enjoy music under the stars with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra. The musical compositions to be played on this Saturday evening program will be announced at a later date.
Please join us for this special concert which promises to yield a great evening of fun. Relax on the lawn with your blanket or lawn chair. If you’d like to eat with us, please bring your picnic (no glass or alcohol allowed) to enjoy at 7:30 p.m. Concert itself begins at 8:00 p.m.
To find the group, please look for the Southeastern Outings people near the walkway on the railroad side (far side of park away from 1st Avenue South) of the park. You are welcome to bring as many friends and family members as you wish. Admission: FREE
More Info: Please call the ASO office, 205/251-6929 or Dan Frederick, 205/631-4680.
