Places to run in North Alabama

This morning I was thinking about the different places to run in North Alabama. I'm a creature of habit, so my very favorite place to run is just right out my door at home. Huntsville, AL is beautiful and we have amazing greenways and trails that are great to explore! Today, I'm going to go check out a new area in Hays Farm, which is less than 3 miles from the store. This greenway is part of the Singing River Trail. It's gorgeous and right in the middle of town. More to come on this but save the date September 9th!

It you are looking for some new places to explore close to home here are a few suggestions:

Monte Sano State Park. There are great trails and have lots of shade which is great this time of year. The white trail is pretty easy. This is where I like to run! I also like cruising down closed bankhead. If you're more adventurous you can hit some very technical trails off Oakpark or Water Line. Watch out for snakes!

If you enjoy a nice hilly road course check out the Panarama Loop from Monte Sano Elementary. This might be my favorite! You can park at the school next to the Fire Station. Turn left out of the school, make the first left on Panorama, make the loop around back to Monte Sano Blvd, head to the state park down old bank head, and repeat. This can be 7 miles or 10 miles.

Huntsville has lots of greenways which offer magnificent shade and some bathrooms. Hays Nature Perserve in Hampton Cove has 10 miles of trails and greenway. The Running of the Bulls 5K is on this greenway, hint, hint. There is also Eastern Bypass extension where you can add more miles but there is less shade. Aldridge Creek Greenway is in South Huntsville and goes all the way to Ditto Landing. In Madison, you have the Bradford Greenway with lots of shade.

If you want to take a road trip you can visit Decatur's, Point Mallard Trail. It's nice, flat, and runs along the Tennessee River. In Elkmont, there is the Richard Martin Trail with 10.8 miles of easy trails. This is a great place to get a long run in! Jamie's favorite place to run is at Duck River in Cullman. I really enjoy a trip to the Guntersville Greenway. You can run and then grab breakfast or lunch at City Harbor.

I'm going to add my favorite places to run to www.fleetfeethuntsville.com soon! Be on the lookout!

Keep Moving,
Suzanne

After sending out the information above I recieved several request for more places to run in Madison.  So here is what I got:

At the Fleet Feet Madison our team really likes to run on the Greenways, Indian Creek (3 miles), Mill Creek (3 miles) and Bradford Creek (2.24 miles) mostly because that are flat and shaded. Helen claims is 20 degrees cooler.

The neighborhood just behind Fleet Feet doesn't have much traffic and is rolling hills with shade.

Rainbow Mountain neighborhood has some good climbs, the toughest in Madison.  This is a 1.5 mile loop sounds short but tough. Here is a little video of Rainbow Mountain

For more hills you can hit Clift's Cove and Stoneridge Neighborhoods.  

Dublin Park Walking Path - Located in Dublin Park, this slightly-ascending paved half-mile path runs along the park border and among the soccer fields. Features include a giant hillside oak tree and the Madison River of Hope near the outdoor pool.