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Print Friendly MapThe Horse Creek Trail spans just over two-and-a-half paved miles between Dora and Sumiton, two small communities northwest of Birmingham. As the trail was built on a former railroad bed, it's a flat, easy walk or bike ride. It follows the route of the Kansas City, Memphis, and Birmingham Railroad, which came here in 1886.
The trail begins across the street from Dora's T.S. Boyd Elementary School and is soon lined by trees to either side. Along the way, it passes by residential neighborhoods and the Horse Creek Golf Course. From the trail's end at Highway 78, travelers can connect to the short, paved Sumiton Trail, which leads into the city, ending at Sumiton's City Hall on College Street.
Parking is available at T.S. Boyd Elementary School (23 Austin Circle Drive) and near the Horse Creek Golf Course (1745 Hwy 78, off of Corridor X). Parking is also available near the intersection of Bryan Cutoff Road and Crest Drive and where Sellars Road crosses the trail.
Took the whole family, I rode my bike and my wife walked with the dog and the baby.
Great place to walk or ride your bike.
Beautiful little rail-to-trail. Connects with Sumiton trail. Peaceful ride.
Great multi-use Trail! Love the benches along the way and the trail was nice and clear with beautiful surrounding woods. We saw a few others out on bikes and walking, but not very crowded at all. Me and my brother went on in-line skates and my mom biked.
Fun trail for riding a OneWheel.
This was our first time biking on a trail (we’ve walked several). It’s a Saturday in August and there was lots of foliage to provide shade. Pretty flowers, charming benches and lots to see. The chickens tried to take over the path, but we prevailed. The golf course has a tall fence to protect people on the trail. Walkers and joggers were super polite and friendly about moving when we came through and everyone social distanced. It was a great ride to build my confidence.
We walked this trail for the first time this morning. There were only a few shady spots, so definitely wear sunscreen. Very rural feeling. We even saw roosters in one yard along the trail. (Passes behind a couple of homes with Rebel flags, just as a note.) I recommend parking at the golf course end. There’s a convenience store there, as well. The school felt remote. Overall, this trail is easy and pretty well maintained. Lots of birds, butterflies, and even saw a non-venomous snake.
Sumiton plus Horse Creek trail 4.2 miles. Nice ride, easy down and back on a beautiful day. Great warm up preparing for a longer trip. Scenery is very nice in March! Drove from Birmingham just to explore.
This was a fun little trail to ride our bikes on. We just wanted a casual ride and that’s what we got! It is paved, flat, and shaded in some areas. There are shaded benches along the path which was nice. There are a few locations where the trail does cross over a back country road, so just be aware when you come to those. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed my ride and will be back as soon as I can!
The trail is completely asphalt. It now runs from TS Boyd Elementary School all the way to Bevill State Community College. It is an excellent rail Trail--I ride it on a daily basis. Very Very nice!
nice biking trail, watch out in the 2nd residential area there are some dogs that get close to you but never had one to come after me
We took a ride from Bham up Old Hwy 78 W to reach this trail. One end of the trail is accessible from Old Hwy 78W behind a Jet-Pep next to Horse Creek Golf. The other end is down Sharon Blvd towards Dora in the TS Boyd Elementary School Parking lot. The trail is wonderfully maintained. There are kiosks along the route for sitting with bike racks. We saw deer along the route grazing. The trail begs to be extended. Families walking the trail were friendly! On our return back to Bham we did our own grazing at Lee's Family Restaurant. Wonderful food!
Pleasant ride thru the rolling hills of the countryside. Easy access to Dora from new Interstate 22. Poor signage to trailhead, had to ask locals for directions. Short ride that ends too soon, has the potential to be extended.
I ride here usually daily. It's quite and rather secluded. A few pesky dogs may try to bark and simulate biting at you but they not of any danger. The walkers and joggers mostly stay in the their appropriate lane but some of them want to go the wrong direction or walk and jog on the line of the trail and other groups take the complete trail and pay little attention to a bicyclist. I usually holler at them and tell them on their left. The ones that ignore I scream they need to stay in their lane. Walkers and joggers have just as much responsibility as bicyclists to be aware of their surroundings and be on the look out to get out of the way of bicyclists in the passing lane. It's and age old problem that will never be resolved. You just can't fix stupid. BUT I love the trail. It's great.
This was our first time riding Horse Creek and we were very impressed. We parked at the Golf Course side (Horse Creek Golf Course). There is a small parking area very close to the trail right behind the convenience store. There are more than enough covered resting areas with bike raks. There are slight hills but nothing that a couple of high-gear notches can't fix. We did not experience any dogs but the trail had plenty of fresh racoon feeses. The trail started out with a quick passby of the driving range. There's a large net to keep everyone safe. The trail was very well maintained with freshly cut grass. Towards the end, close to the school, there was some lose sand, again, nothing unsafe. We will certainly visit this trail as it is close to the house. I hope enough funding can come in to help extend it out further if possible.
This is a nice trail. Looks like it could easily be extended into Sumiton, which would make it better. Also it could use more signs to direct motorists to parking areas.
Took this trail with my two kids last weekend. It was a great time, clean and the grade was just right for us. Would recommend it for those looking for a quiet ride for anyone.
My family gave it an average rating of 3. The paved trail is 2.5 miles the unpaved part starts at the trail head under the viaduct. Didn't take that trail, it was real grown up. The scenary is okay, but again not as good as Chief Ladiga. Starting out is mostly down hill, coming back is a fairly good hill. All in All a prettty good trail. We will do it again I am sure.
When I rode this trail I didn't see any unpaved area of the trail west of US Hwy 78 per the description of the trail (unless it is referring to the road bed on the east side of the highway going back towards Sumiton.
The trail is in excellent shape and easy to ride.
I love this trail...it provides just enough flat and incline, (well, it will be perfect after I build up to Getting the Trikke up inclines!!) and has very beautiful scenery.
I did have a problem that needs to be addressed, however. Because this trail goes through areas where people do live, I had an issue with a group of dogs chasing me. I saw people with small children and babies on this trail, and more elderly people than young in total, and it's scary thinking about these dogs coming after these folks. I was on my Trikke and just kept moving, but did have one of the dogs on my heels for a bit. There is no way to tell if this dog would have bitten me if it could have...so to advertise this place as a safe place to bring families and children to ride or walk...the issue of these loose dogs running around on the trail needs to be addressed.
I'll be going back because the trail is just too cool to not ride again...because I'm on a Trikke and not a bike, to me it was not too short at all. I thought the length was just right, but perhaps later as my riding abilities progress and I want to go further, I agree with the other poster who said to just ride it again! That's what my plan is for future rides. I've submitted photos, they should show up after the approval process.
Chris in 'Bama
This is a very nice short trail for bikes as well as walkers and joggers. Good layout with scenery and rest points, also ties in with Dora Park. My hope is that the Cities of this community can collaborate to expand the trail, especially beyond Hwy 78 into Sumiton and beyond for more users to easily access. Great potential.
One of the best kept secrets in Birmingham
This is a very short trail. I rode this trail last weekend, it is a very nice trail. However, very short for a workout bike ride.
"I've been to this trail several times since it is near my home. It is a very nice paved trail, although at only 2-1/2 to 3 miles long, it is a bit short. You do have to watch out for walkers though, as occassionally groups of them don't hear you coming. A bell is a good thing to have here. Most of the trail is inclined, not too bad for a moderate to experienced biker, but for a beginner the ride back up will be a little tough. It only takes a few rides to get use to it though. All in all a good leisurely trail to ride."
"With the emphasis on ""little"" as in short. I wish it were longer, it is so nice. At about two and one-half miles of paved trail (as measured by the trip meter on my bike) it doesn't seem like it would be worth the effort to load up a bike and make a trip across town and then some as I did. But one doesn't have to stop with just one round trip, does one? Make one circuit a warm-up, the second one for some speed and a third for cool-down, and you've done about fifteen miles. You've had a nice workout in beautiful surroundings with no cars or snapping dogs to dodge. In fact all I had to dodge were rabbits, chip monks and deer."
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