Red Mountain Park

Review: The trails are alright. The location is the best part about it. You are driving through downtown Birmingham, take a few turns and within 15 minutes you are in a beautiful park. I have only been out here to ride a handful of times but have been running a few time as well. I enjoyed the ride for the most part. I naturally compare it to Oak Mtn, the other trail in the area. If given the choice with enough time etc. I will choose oak mtn every time. But when I only have a short time to get out and ride, Red Mtn isn't too bad. The trails didn't have much flow but were still alright. There are some fun short climbs but nothing too bad.

All in all, the trail is worth the ride if you are already in the area but not exactly worth a special trip.

Similar Trail: DeSoto State Park

Review: These are some great trails that provide a legitimate alternative to the more established mtn bike trails in the area. Lots of hikers and trail runners on the weekend's, so stay mindful. Also lots of interesting scenery, both historic and natural. There is more trail out here than stated above, I believe my gps has tracked about 10-12 miles of unique trail. I easily hit 20 miles riding my favorites in both directions. The trails can basically be divided into the inner trails and the perimeter trails. The perimeter trails, including the BMRR South, BMRR North, and the TCI connector trails are all double track with some gravel mixed in, pretty fast and great for beginners, with some short climbs thrown in to help you get your fitness built up, and some fun descents to make the climbs worthwhile. I liked going clockwise on these perimeter trails. The inner trails, including the Smythe, Songo, Ike Maston and the 2 North west sections of the Redding Iskooda trail, are much more technical single track and should be challenging for the more advanced mtb rider. The Ike Maston Trail is especially tough, it is steep in both directions and ton's of fun, but only if you're like me and expect to get tossed off your bike a few times every ride! We rode it for 2 or 3 miles, and thought we ride 5 or 6!! The Smythe trail is an awesomely fun little downhill when taken from the top.... if you can navigate the rocky first section and some tricky switchbacks. My favorite part of the trail is the out and back to Grace's Gap overlook, via the last section of the Redding Iskooda trail. Its fast and well packed, with a few technical rock climbs and some really fun off camber root sections that make it a little more intense then the other wider sections of the trail system. Great job to the folks working on this, here is a link to the latest trail map I could find online, but they are already working some new sections of trail that aren't listed here--

http://www.redmountainpark.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/FFinalKIOSKmapwithdistances_edited-1.jpg

Similar Trail: Tannehill State Park

Review: Traik is still closed as of 1/15/12. Posted no tresspassing and that park is closed to the public while under construction.

Review: Small loop but "Friends of Red Mountain" are building more every month and the ywill have a full network set up during the next 12 months.

Similar Trail: Oak Mountain, Sylaward at Lake Howard, Lake Lurleene