The 4.8-mile trail features a running/walking cross-country course and boardwalk winding through an open field, wetland, and woodlands in the City of Hoover’s newest and largest park.
Designated in 2010
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in the NRT Database
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Veterans Park Trail (VPT) is a five-mile (8K) compacted crushed stone trail located in Veterans Park, an eighty-two acre site that is the City of Hoover’s newest and largest park. The trail, constructed and maintained by the City of Hoover (pop. approx. 70,000), is open to the public year round at no charge.
The trail directly accesses a middle school, high school, community college, two small lakes, two playgrounds and is a short drive (1 mile) from single-family neighborhoods.
VPT has many special and unique features. The multi-use nature, running, and boardwalk trail winds though diverse open fields, wetlands and forested areas. The trail provides many opportunities for individual fitness programs for all ages and is used as a cross-country running course that hosts major cross-country events in the Southeast.
The trail was designed with a connector tunnel so that people can use the full length of the trail without having to cross a public road. The location of the trail and its multiple uses attracts daily users and tens of thousands of visitors every year participating in various events at the park.
There are many amenities along the trail such as parking, restrooms, water fountains, picnic table, trail benches, and trash receptacles with disposable pet waste bags. Recreational activities include such things as picnicking, beach volleyball, fishing, and open field play.
A main feature of the trail is that it serves as access to the major areas of the park:
• The trail provides access to a large veterans memorial, which is the focal point of the park. This monument, dedicated in 2007, memorializes those who have served in each branch of the United States Armed Forces.
• The main trailhead is located at the parking lot adjacent to the main pavilion. Trail leads to a large grassy area that provides direct access to a two-acre lake and pier. This area, which includes two pavilions, picnic tables, and benches, accommodates individuals, families and large groups especially on evenings and weekends.
• The trail provides access to four beach volleyball courts and two children’s playgrounds.
Three different level schools are adjacent to an access the trail: Spain Park Middle School, Spain Park High School, and Jefferson State Community College. All three schools are connected to various parts of the trail by sidewalks, a wooden pedestrian bridge or a tunnel. A wooden pedestrian bridge, crossing a small creek, provides trail access from the high school parking lot to the north of the park. The under road tunnel provides access to the east side of the trail from the Community College and provides for continuous use of the entire trail system without the conflict of maneuvering traffic.
Another feature of the trail is its connectivity to the surrounding area and future greenway. The Trail will connect to a proposed 4-mile greenway that winds along Valleydale Road and through a nearby planned unit development (PUD). The greenway is in the design development phase with construction of Phase 1 expected to begin in 2010.
The City of Hoover hosts a variety of community, charity and sports events at the Trail.
Recognizing the potential environmental and educational benefits of the trail, the City engaged the design services of landscape architects Macknally Ross Land Design to develop an Environmental Restoration and Trails Plan. A hidden gem of Veteran’s Park is its natural amenities such as the wetlands, water bodies, streams and forested areas. All of this is readily available to park visitors and adjacent schools.
These plans include an analysis of existing flora and fauna, hydrology, and topography. The plans provide management objectives for lake-edge vegetation and educational components associated with the area. Accessibility is also part of the plan for this area. Design development phases of the plan will include other aspects of accessibility, wildlife interpretations and other educational components. Although, not fully accessible, plans for more accessible trails are considered. Access to these amenities opens the park to an entire new group of users.
The variety of recreational experiences in a system of loop trails along with the educational component of environment restoration and wetlands area provide unique experiences for the surrounding schools and casual passers-by.
City of Hoover, 100 Municipal Drive, Hoover, Alabama 35216 - (205) 444-7500
http://www.hooveral.org
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