Celebrate Trails Day highlights the impact and importance of Alabama’s trails
Cyclists from across the region set out at Hugh Kaul Trail at Pepper Place for an 8-mile bike ride in honor or Celebrate Trails Day. (Javacia Harris Bowser / Alabama News Center)
Local officials, community leaders and cycling enthusiasts from across the region gathered at Birmingham’s Pepper Place Market on Saturday, April 26, for Celebrate Trails Day and to mark Birmingham’s momentum in building a world-class trail network that could boost economic opportunities and community connections.
“As a city administration, we believe in connectivity,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. “Back in 2018, we started this Complete Streets ordinance, and the whole idea was to be intentional about our public spaces. We believe in biking. We want to promote walking. And that’s not just for wellbeing, but it connects the community.”
The gathering kicked off an 8-mile bike ride exploring parts of the Red Rock Trail System, which concluded a 100-mile tour of northern Alabama’s best trails and developing trail networks. The three-day bicycle tour began in Cedartown, Georgia, crossing the state line into Alabama and the Talladega National Forest, traveling the famous Silver Comet–Chief Ladiga trail corridor into historic Anniston. The second day centered on the greater Huntsville region and an exploration of the developing Singing River Trail system. The tour concluded in Birmingham to explore the trails that weave throughout the city and the surrounding county as part of the Red Rock Trail system.
“We decided to end in Birmingham because Celebrate Trails Day has become a fixture in this city,” said Brandi Horton, vice president of communications for Rails to Trails Conservancy. “It is such an example for the whole country of what is possible when the trail intersects redevelopment and intersects the places where people want to go. The joy that is here today is just so apparent and contagious. And when you have that kind of joy, that’s where real impact and change happen.”
Valerie Thomas, right, and her daughter Meghan Venable-Thomas were excited to join the fun for Celebrate Trails Day. (Javacia Harris Bowser / Alabama News Center)
Hosted on the fourth Saturday of April, Celebrate Trails Day is an annual spring celebration of America’s trails that was launched by Rails to Trails Conservancy in 2013. (Rails to Trails is a national nonprofit committed to transforming former rail lines into vibrant trails that connect people and places.) The Birmingham event was one of more than 200 celebrations across the country. For the third year, Birmingham’s Celebrate Trails Day event was hosted at Pepper Place Farmers Market.
“The Market is about public health,” said Cathy Sloss Jones, founder of the Market at Pepper Place and board member for Rails to Trails Conservancy. “It’s about us becoming healthier, eating locally, eating seasonally. But it’s not just food; it’s also exercise. It’s mind, body, spirit. We’re trying to promote all of those things, so Celebrate Trails Day is a natural fit for us.”
Saturday’s event was also an official activity of Alabama Tourism’s Year of Alabama Trails campaign – which will be celebrated for two years to highlight the wide range of trails winding through Alabama’s mountains, forests, rivers and coastlines. Celebrate Trails Day was a special day for Birmingham in particular, said Lee Sentell, director of the Alabama Tourism Department.
“It puts a big spotlight on Birmingham and the state of Alabama, because a lot of people who are here have come from out of state to participate in what’s happening here this weekend,” he said. “I’ve talked to people from six different states just over the last hour.”
Saturday’s event brought cyclists from Georgia, Tennessee and Indiana – just to name a few of the areas represented.
Alabama’s trails — the vision and the impact
Outdoor recreation generates $6.6 billion each year in Alabama, fueling local businesses and rural economies. A 2021 report by the Hoover Institution found that one of the best ways for Alabama to attract highly skilled workers is to have vast outdoor recreation offerings. That means Alabama’s trails system is not only good for Alabamians’ health and good for connectivity and community but is also good for business as these offerings help to retain and bring in talent that will aid Alabama in becoming a national leader in scientific and technological innovation.
Furthermore, trails matter in Alabama because they can help connect urban neighborhoods to nature, schools, jobs and businesses through safe, accessible greenways. That’s the vision for the Red Rock Trail System in Jefferson County. The master plan for the system proposes 750 miles of multi-use trails, parks, bike lanes and sidewalks. Once completed, the trail system will consist of the following corridors: Jones Valley and Valley Creek, Village Creek, Five Mile Creek, Shades Creek, Cahaba River and Turkey Creek. The vision is for every trail within each corridor to be connected. Nearly 130 miles of trails are complete, including popular paths such as the Rotary Trail, Railroad Park Trail, Five Mile Creek Greenway and Shades Creek Greenway.
The Birmingham Civil Rights Crossroads project will also be part of the Red Rock Trail System. This project, headed by the City of Birmingham Department of Transportation, will create a 3.16-mile urban trail network that reconnects the historically significant Graymont and Smithfield neighborhoods with downtown Birmingham and the Civil Rights District. The goal is to convert car-centric streets into “Complete Streets” with dedicated spaces for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users. Representatives and volunteers with the Birmingham Civil Rights Crossroads project also attended Celebrate Trails Day.
“I’m excited about this project because it cuts through the core of our downtown on the north side, and for many years, we have been one of the most auto-dominated places in the country, and this project helps us carve out a path through one of the most culturally significant places in our city,” said James Fowler, director of Birmingham’s Department of Transportation. “It’s a great starting point for reshaping how we move in Birmingham.”
In remarks to the crowd gathered at Pepper Place Market on Saturday morning, Woodfin said that while he’s excited that a robust trail system can boost commercial and residential development, he believes it can do much more.
“I had a team member out here this morning who told me, in the world where there’s so much hate right now, it is impossible to have that type of energy on the trail,” Woodfin said. “It’s not just about connectivity; we’re promoting community.”
In her remarks to the crowd, Horton stressed that Alabama trails aren’t simply for people who can enjoy them today.
“This is an investment in our future,” she said, “in the generations that we’re going to leave this behind for.”
Horton sees a bright future for Alabama trails.
“I’m here to say that Alabama is the next trail destination and hub of the Southeast,” she said. “I can’t wait to come back to Alabama next time and see more trails, more connections and more days like this. These are the spaces, these are the moments that make America great.”
