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to highlight Birmingham s development at the crossing of two railroad lines.  The park runs along a railroad corridor at First Avenue South from 14th to 18th Streets and includes a lake, a natural amphitheater and several playgrounds.  Ten acres of open lawn provide a strolling garden landscaped to bloom with various perennials throughout the year.  The park is an essential piece of a long-term plan that will give Birmingham the greatest amount of green space per capita of anywhere in the country.

RED MOUNTAIN PARK With 1,200 acres, Red Mountain Park is one of the largest urban parks in America. The park has more than 10 miles of trails and a universal- access zip line canopy tour. The Hugh Kaul Beanstalk Forest is a treetop challenge course with 20 ropes course obstacles, including bridges, tightropes and zip lines. Remy s Dog Park is designed with three designated fenced- in areas, each with ample running space for large, small and special needs dogs. The Kaul Adventure Tower is an 80-foot-tall climbing tower with eight climbing lanes, two rappelling lanes, a 72-foot climbing wall and a mega zip line 1,300 feet long. The entrance to the park

is just off Lakeshore Parkway at the end of Frankfurt Drive. FOR MORE INFORMATION: redmountainpark.org

RUFFNER MOUNTAIN NATURE PRESERVE Eleven miles of nature trails, ranging from easy to arduous, route visitors through this thousand-acre park. Hawk s View Overlook is a moderate, three-mile, round-trip hike with a challenging incline. Along the way you ll reach Cambrian Overlook and proceed with a switchback climb to a stunning vista of downtown Birmingham. The new Visitors Center offers lessons in nature and the environment and has exhibits including raptors, turtles and other native Alabama wildlife. The Visitor Center is open Tuesday Saturday, 9am 5pm; Sunday, 1pm 5pm. Hiking trails are open daily, dawn to dusk. Donations welcome. 1214 81st Street South. FOR MORE INFORMATION: 205-833-8264 or ruffnermountain.org. GETTING THERE: The center is at 1214 81st St. South in Birmingham s East Lake area.

STEELE S HORSE PENS 40 Horse Pens 40 is a 120-acre nature park atop

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