Rotary Trail

Rotary Trail was featured in a WVTM 13 news story highlighting the Rotary Club of Birmingham's centennial initiative to turn the abandoned railway cut into a vibrant urban park. Learn how the $3.5 million project has spurred over $79 in estimated economic impact and what's to come as the trail celebrates its 10th anniversary!

Birmingham’s Rotary Trail evolves from abandoned railroad to vibrant community space The Rotary Trail in downtown Birmingham, once a neglected railroad stretch, has become a thriving green corridor with plans for further expansion.

Ten years ago today, members of the Rotary Club of Birmingham, City of Birmingham officials and community partners gathered to dedicate Rotary Trail and to light the 46-foot “Rotary Trail in the Magic City” sign that marks the western entrance of the trail at 20th St. & 1st Ave. S. The $3.5-million project was made possible by Rotary's lead gift plus donations from the city, corporations and individuals. Freshwater Land Trust partnered with RCB to transform the long-abandoned railroad cut into a beautiful urban park, completing a key component of the Red Rock Trail System. Over the past decade, the trail has generated an estimated $74 million in economic impact to the surrounding area and spurred the development of additional trails and green spaces.
Learn more: https://www.birminghamrotary.org/rotary-trail

Members of the Rotary Club of Birmingham gathered with friends & guests for a celebration on Rotary Trail on April 24th. Attendees toasted the club's centennial gift to the Magic City with fantastic food, beverages, live music, tours of The Hardwick and more! Completed in 2015, the 3.5-million dollar Rotary Trail project transformed a vacant railroad cut into a landscaped four-block walking/running/biking pathway. RCB oversees the routine maintenance and upkeep of the trail through gifts to the RCB Foundation.
Learn more & view event photos here: https://www.birminghamrotary.org/news/rotary-trail-party-2025

Members of the Rotary & Rotaract Clubs of Birmingham gathered with family, friends and community members for the annual Rotary Trail Service Day on April 13th. Volunteers spread mulch, removed litter, pulled weeds and prepared the trail for thousands of visitors who flock to the trail each spring. Rotary Trail is RCB’s centennial gift to the Birmingham community. Completed in 2016, the 3.5-million-dollar project transformed a blighted abandoned railroad cut into a landscaped, four-block walking/running/biking pathway that connects Railroad Park and Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark along First Avenue South as an anchor element of the Jefferson County Redrock Trail System. The RCB Foundation supports the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of Rotary Trail in partnership with the City of Birmingham.
Learn more: https://buff.ly/91SZnn6

Rotarian Jane Reed Ross, Goodwyn Mills Cawood Principal, was featured in a Bham Now profile highlighting her contributions as a landscape architect to many of Birmingham's most impressive public green spaces, including Rotary Trail, The Sunrise Rotary Plaza and 18th Street in Downtown Homewood.
“Parks, trails and streetscapes are where all people come together and meet," Ross said. "It is where memories are created, photos are shot to mark special occasions and people form relationships to build community. Those activities inspire me to create beautiful spaces for people to engage and live healthy lifestyles.“

Happy Independence Day from the Rotary Club of Birmingham!

Rotary Club of Birmingham President Gordon Martin recently announced that Rotary Trail was selected to be featured as the first property on the board of the new Birmingham edition of Monopoly. The official Hasbro-licensed board game features other favorite landmarks such as Vulcan, the Birmingham Zoo, and the Birmingham Museum of Art.
The game was unveiled during an official launch event held at Vulcan Park & Museum on March 20, 2024. It will be available for purchase at various local retailers.

Thanks to the Rotarians and Rotaract Club of Birmingham members, family & friends who helped spread mulch, pull weeds, remove debris and beautify Rotary Trail this weekend! We enjoyed beautiful weather and engaged with many visitors walking, running and biking while preparing the trail for the spring!
Rotary Trail was the Rotary Club of Birmingham's centennial gift to the City of Birmingham. Learn more: https://buff.ly/3Cx6Zqr

Mitch Reid, Rotary Club of Birmingham member and Director of The Nature Conservancy for Alabama, recently penned a guest column for the Birmingham Business Journal entitled “Metro Area is Gifted with Nature’s Bounty.” He discussed Alabama's ranking as the fourth most biologically diverse state in the country and offered examples of investments in the community and the natural world such as the Rotary Club of Birmingham’s partnership with Freshwater Land Trust to gift the Rotary Trail to the city.
“I focus my work within the conservancy on promoting what we have here in Alabama,” Reid said. “We are starting to see Alabama rise to the level of places that frankly receive a whole lot more attention like Belize or the Seychelles or the Great Barrier Reef. And I think we deserve it.”

https://buff.ly/3K1HUuo

Birmingham + Rotary Trail + Monopoly = A Winning Combination!
Have you heard? Birmingham will be featured in an upcoming edition of Monopoly!
We need your help to ensure Rotary Trail makes the list of local landmarks included on the board! Send an email asking for Rotary Trail be included in Birmingham Monopoly now through August 21st: [email protected]