We are lucky in the South Birmingham area to have so many great playgrounds and parks to explore. From swings to slides, to climbing walls and water features, South Birmingham's parks and playgrounds keep my kids active, are a great place to meet old friends (and make new! friends), and they're FREE!
I often get asked what our favorite playgrounds are, so I thought I'd share here with you my family's picks for our favorite playgrounds and parks to visit in the South Birmingham area. Then we posed the question back to the Macaroni Kid South Birmingham community on Facebook, asking which parks and playgrounds are YOUR favorites (click HERE to see the thread)! We wish we could feature them all, but here are five favorites.
Explore Playground and Splash Pad
100 Ben Chapman Dr.
Hoover, AL
What's to love about Explore Playground and Splash Pad:
This brand new, universally inclusive playground and splash pad just opened in May. It has play structures designed for the 2-5 year and 6-12 year age groups and has been designed to meet the needs of all people, including those with disabilities and mobility issues. The splash pad has also been designed to be universally inclusive.
Orr Park
Park Drive
Montevallo, AL
What's to love about Orr Park:
Orr Park is our family's current favorite. It features a large, partially shaded playground, paved trails that are bike/scoot/stroller-able, a creek with bridges for tossing stones or playing "pooh sticks," a large, open field perfect for flying a kite or tossing a frisbee, several picnic pavilions, and a bathroom. The best thing about this park is "Tinglewood," a fantastical forest of carved sculptures made from the dead cedar trees by local artist, Tim Tingle.
Wildflower Park
2000 Wildflower Drive
Hoover, AL
What's to love about Wildflower Park:
This hidden gem is located within the Wildflower Subdivision, near Riverchase. We first discovered this park while house hunting a few years ago. We loved it so much, we were extremely tempted to buy a house just down the street, imagining how awesome it would be to have such a great park so close by. There are two shady playgrounds, a basketball court, walking track surrounding an athletic field, and a restroom.
Heardmont Park
5458 Cahaba Valley Road
Birmingham, AL 35242
What's to love about Heardmont Park:
My guys call this the "rock park." It has a great playground, but my kids spend very little time playing on it. That's because there is such a wonderful natural playground right next to the manmade one. And my guys will always choose clambering over rocky outcroppings over manmade structures. There are also paved trails, a creek with fun bridges, a bathroom, and even a covered porch area with rocking chairs for mamas who have children that can play with less supervision. I love rocking and chatting with friends, while the guys ride bikes or play in the park.
Wald Park
1973 Merryvale Rd
Vestavia Hills, Al
What's to love about Wald Park:
This park was brought to our attention by one of our Facebook fans. The castle themed playground has towers and fun details like a climbing wall painted to look like mountains. It looks like a ton of fun and there is a pool here too.
Hope this list of five fun playgrounds and parks in the South Birmingham area helps you find -- or rediscover! -- some fun places for your family to explore this summer. Now get those kids out to play!
For more parks, splash pads and other ideas, check out our 92 Things to Do With Kids in Birmingham Guide
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Macaroni Kid South Birmingham is a free weekly e-newsletter and website focused on fun family events and things to do with kids in the South Birmingham region. We gather together all kinds of local family events and activities each week, and add useful information about classes, family-focused businesses, book and product reviews, recipes, crafts, school and camp guides and more. We proudly serve families in downtown Birmingham, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover, Pelham, the Oak Mountain and 280 area, Helena and Alabaster.
