Dog walking in Fairfield

Midfield

The High Ore Line Trail runs through southern Fairfield, but the easiest parking is on Etheridge Drive in Midfield. This converted railway is now a paved and elevated 2.1-mile walking trail, smooth enough for wheelchairs, strollers, and pups with short legs or limited mobility. The High Ore Line offers some lovely views down at the creek and community below. If your long-legged pups need more of a challenge, you can add to your hike by veering off to enjoy the walking path around the pond at Midfield Park, where you'll also find restrooms and water fountains. The well-kept mid-century homes between the park and Midfield Elementary School make a pleasant setting for a walk, too.

Red Mountain

Fairfield is less than 7 miles from perhaps the most delightful doggy destination in all of Alabama. Red Mountain Park has everything a pup could dream of: miles of hiking trails, an epic off-leash dog park, and lots of other dogs. The 15 miles of hiking trails have three "treehouse" hangouts in the canopy that you reach via trailside boardwalks. Two city overlooks give you Birmingham's best skyline vistas. Whether or not they care about the view, the chance to throw down off-leash at Red Mountain's Remy's Dog Park will really get your pups excited. Remy's has three separate fenced areas that are lovingly maintained, making it one of the area's most popular dog parks. That's fangtastic news if your buddies love to make new friends!

Ensley

Just a few miles north of Fairfield, the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham is a great place to walk away your worries. Once an industrial center in its own right, Ensley was annexed into Birmingham in 1910 and now serves as a comfortable residential community. Ensley Park has a path that circles the athletic fields and connects the park to the public library. The paved path then veers off through fields and trees, leading to Avenue Q and a pocket park with lawns and benches on the corner of 20^th Street. The surrounding neighborhood is easy to navigate with its logical grid-pattern streets (pretty rare in the South). Though not affluent, the century-old homes and storefronts are attractive scenery for your fur-baby's exercise.

Glen Iris

The Glen Iris neighborhood of Birmingham is about 10 miles from Fairfield and home to another excellent off-leash play place. The Green Springs Dog Park at George Ward Park has three fenced areas for dogs of different sizes and temperament. There is plenty of shade, but BYO H2O: a watering station is not available. George Ward Park is also home to the western terminus of the newly-expanded Vulcan Trail, a 2.2-mile trek below the ridge of Red Mountain. Follow the Vulcan Trail all the way to Vulcan Park, home to the world's largest cast-iron statue. The 56-foot representation of the Roman god Vulcan might seem surprisingly pagan for Alabama, but it was created by an Italian sculptor as a tribute to Birmingham's iron-producing roots.