Flora Johnston Nature Park
Managed by Birmingham Park and Recreation Board
53 acres0.5 mi of trail
Flora Johnston Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Rivers Langley; SaveRivers · CC BY-SA 3.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Irondale
Irondale has 246 acres of parks, 18 for every 1,000 residents
The biggest trail networks: Flora Johnston Nature Park (0.5 mi). 8.2 miles of mapped trail cross Irondale, 0.5 per square mile of land. 1% of Irondale’s land is conserved, about 112 acres.
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns · #39 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Conserved land
1%
112 acres · of 17.3 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
0.5 per sq mi of land
Park land
246 ac
18 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
51%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.6 mi
1.6 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
5
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Irondale have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Irondale is ahead of 46% of U.S. towns, #39 of 187 in Alabama. Park acres per resident hold the grade up; conserved land pulls it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Irondale’s overall grade.
Conserved land1% of the land · typical AL town 1% · U.S. 4%CTrails0.5 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · AL 0.1 · U.S. 0.4BPark land18 acres of park per 1,000 residents (246 acres) · AL 8 · U.S. 13BParks close to home51% of residents within a half mile of a park · AL 36% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 46%
LessMore
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 80%
Few Alabama towns conserve much land (a typical one, 1%; the U.S., 4%), so Irondale’s 1% is ahead of 53% of Alabama towns, while its trails per square mile lead 83% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Flora Johnston Nature Park, with 0.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Ruffner Mountain
Nature preserve
141 acres0.3 mi of trail
Ridge and Valley TrailPossum Loop Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Beacon Park
Park
8 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
112 conserved acres
1% of Irondale’s land. Who manages Irondale’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city49 ac
State natural resources38 ac
Private owners24 ac
Local Park · 49 acResource Management Area · 38 acPrivate Conservation · 24 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| State-owned Submerged Lands Resource Management Area | State natural resources | 38 | Open |
| Ellard Park Local Park | Town or city | 28 | Open |
| Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve Private Conservation | Private owners | 24 | Open |
| Ruffner Park Local Park | Town or city | 12 | Open |
| Beacon Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Grants Mill Station Dog Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
1 places to go in Irondale
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Picnic areas in Irondale
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
3 named trails and 5 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 0.8 mi
Flora Johnston Trail0.5 mi
Ridge and Valley Trail0.2 mi
Possum Loop Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.6 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.6 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
Courts & fields
11Tennis
9Baseball
4Tracks
2Football
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Irondale: April and May
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.2 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 54 | 59 | 67 | 75 | 82 | 88 | 91 | 90 | 86 | 76 | 65 | 57 |
| Rain (in) | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 5.2 |
October is the driest month (3.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 91 °F). 5.6 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 91 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Irondale →
Next door
Irondale and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irondale | 1% | 0.5 | 18 | 51% | B− |
| Birmingham | 4% | 0.5 | 22 | 77% | B+ |
| Trussville | 1% | 0.1 | 11 | 26% | C− |
| Leeds | 1% | 0.1 | 7 | 30% | C− |
| Vestavia Hills | 1% | 0.2 | 4 | 39% | C |
| Mountain Brook | 1% | 0.9 | 6 | 74% | B− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Irondale
Where can I hike in Irondale?
The longest trail networks: Flora Johnston Nature Park, 0.5 miles; Ruffner Mountain, 0.3 miles; Beacon Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Irondale is conserved land?
1% of its land, against a typical 1% for an Alabama town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Irondale’s trails?
Flora Johnston Nature Park and Ruffner Mountain don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Irondale?
1.6 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.6 of painted or protected lanes.
Is there public land near Irondale?
9,368 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Irondale or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 284 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Irondale have?
Ahead of 46% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #39 of 187 in Alabama. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Irondale neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →