The Mountain Brook Parks and Recreation Department oversees the maintenance of eleven city parks and trails, over one hundred and seven parcels of right-of-way property, as well as the sports fields at all the schools and Jewish Community Center. The department's office and maintenance facility is located beside Mountain Brook High School.
Mission statement:
To responsibly manage Mountain Brook’s natural resources and recreational facilities in order to enrich the quality of life of our residents and visitors.
Vision Statement:
As a result of the efforts of the staff of the Parks and Recreation Department, Mountain Brook residents and visitors will enjoy the finest park system and recreational facilities in the Birmingham area and in the State of Alabama.
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Parks and Recreation Projects for 2026:
Alabama Veteran's Memorial Improvements: We want to pave some of the walkways, add handrails along the trail, add a security gate and cameras, and enhance the landscaping. We are working on a master plan for other amenities such as hiking and biking trails.
Overton Park Master Plan: Now that the new Fire Station 2 is open, the old location will become part of Overton Park. The Park Board is working on a master plan to update the entire park.
Canterbury Park: We have been continuously adding improvements to the park after finishing a master plan for it a couple of years ago. We just added a new walkway through the park and this year we will add a new park sign and drinking fountain.
Cahaba River Walk Dog Park: We will expand the dog park some and experiment with some hybrid turf to help with erosion that is happening. We are planning to move the swings to a new location.
MBHS Tennis: We will work with the BOE to make cosmetic improvements to the restrooms at the tennis facility. This will include new lights, doors, and paint.
What's New With Our Parks:
The new bridge in Jemison Park is open.
Thanks to the generous donations that the Friends of Jemison Park received, a new bridge has been built over Shades Creek to connect the new gravel Chief's Trail back to the paved Jemison Trail so it will make a complete loop that is approximately a mile long.
Newly Renovated Jemison Trail:
The City of Mountain Brook, the Friends of Jemison Park, and many donors have put over $2.7 million into making this trail better overall for everyone. We are so excited about the new and improved trail!
Renovations of the Jemison Trail include:
Changed the 5' concrete trail to a 9' wide asphalt trail. This makes it much more comfortable to walk with friends and pass other groups.
Rerouted the trail in some areas to take advantage of better views of the creek and less flooding. It also moved it further away from the traffic and sewer lids.
Additional parking has been added along the parkway with some designated handicap spaces and paved access to the trail.
A new picnic/leisure area.
Disturbed areas have been planted with native plants to create pollinator meadows.
Benches have been painted black for an updated look and have been placed in approximately the same or equivalent locations.
A new gravel trail, called Chief's Trail, on the far side of the park gives a different view of Shades Creek while meandering through native woods that have not been visited in decades.
The City of Mountain Brook would like to thank the following groups for their help in making the park what it is today!
Friends of Jemison Park Nimrod Long and Associates CS Beatty Construction
Landscape Services Iron City Stone Glenn Paving
Schoel Engineering Company Wilbanks Engineering
AND ALL THE WONDERFUL DONORS!!!!
Alabama Veteran's Memorial
In November 2023 the Alabama Veteran’s Memorial Foundation graciously donated the Alabama Veteran’s Memorial Park to the City of Mountain Brook. This park, located off of the Liberty Parkway exit of I-459, is home to a beautiful and humbling memorial honoring our fallen heros and a majestically large American Flag that can be seen for miles from I-459. The 22 acre wooded property has potential for some additional passive recreational opportunities as well. We are excited to work with the Foundation to continue their patriotic traditions and grow this into one of our premier parks.
To learn more about the park, please visit the Alabama Veteran's Memorial website: https://www.alabamaveterans.org/
Each Memorial Day and Veteran's Day a special ceremony is held to honor all veterans and to reveal newly installed engraved bricks under the flag. If you would like to purchase a brick, please visit the Alabama Veteran's Memorial link above.
The Memorial Day ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 1:30pm.
The Veteran's Day ceremony will be held on Sunday, November TBA, 2025 at 1:30 pm.
Robot Mowers
Mountain Brook Parks and Recreation is trying out new robot mowers on the field at Crestline Elementary and Cherokee Bend Elementary. The mowers are very similar to the Roomba vacuums that are now common in most households. The mowers are battery operated and makes virtually no noise, which fits in perfectly with the City’s initiative to reduce noise pollution. It will be docked at their charging stations during the day and will be programmed to deploy at night to cut the grass when no one should be on the field. It operates by GPS and we have programmed its boundaries. It will cut in straight lines and work its way across the field, getting as much done in the time period allotted. If it doesn’t finish, it will pick up where it left off the next time it deploys and then start in a new direction with the lines.
Our hope is that the mowers will keep up with the demands of the growing grass and keep a consistent finished look to the field. This will keep us from having to inconvenience the PE classes with our large red mowers on the fields during school hours and we can focus on other details of the field. Other benefits include less compaction because this mower is lighter. It will be able to mow when the fields are too soft for regular mowers and it will also reduce our needs for aeration and chemicals. It will be able to mow more frequently which should help with some weed control and prevent clumping of the grass clippings too. We are hoping this leads to a healthier more beautiful field for schools and sports while reducing our costs of maintenance.
We encourage people to look at the mower and watch it run, but please do not touch it. Messing with it can set off alarms and/or alter the programming and prevent it from being successful.
Mountain Brook Jr. High Field Improvements:
The construction of the new artificial turf field, restrooms, and 4 new tennis courts is now complete.
Please follow the same rules that apply to all the school fields/facilities. The two main points are that they are closed to the pubic during school hours and no pets are allowed at any time except for trained service animals.
The tennis courts are generally open to the public from 7am-9pm, except when school is in session.
Please report any issues with the field or restrooms to Parks and Recreation at 205-802-3877 or minesl@mtnbrook.org.
Any groups wishing to use the field after school hours need to contact Shanda Williams at 205-802-3879 or williamssh@mtnbrook.org.
4 Pickleball courts and a public restroom are open by Crestline Elementary field!
The courts are first come first served, but we ask that you limit your time to 1-1.5 hours if others are waiting. A paddle holder has been placed outside each court to hold your place in line. People wishing to play basketball will need to follow the same rules for the outside courts. We are checking on an online reservation system.
Lights can be turned on with a button by one of the pickleball gates. They will stay on for about 30 minutes and the button will need to be pushed again. However, at 9pm the lights will turn off and stay off.
The family restroom should be open to the public until 9pm.
Courts and restrooms are open from 7am-9pm daily except for during school (M-F:7am-3pm).
Pickleball court lines have been painted on the 2 tennis courts at Overton Park. These courts are not lighted and are open to the public from 7am-sunset.
Changes to the Dog Ordinance
For the safety and wellbeing of the children and general public that use our playgrounds and fields, no dogs are allowed at those facilities.
After much discussion over multiple council meetings that included input from the police, school officials, the Park and Rec Board, the sports groups, and dog owners, the city council approved changes to the “dog ordinance” to include banning dogs from all sports fields and parks with playgrounds. Fines may be imposed for violations.
Dogs are still welcome on our trails and can be off leash at any of the three dog parks in Mountain Brook. They are located at Cahaba River Walk (3503 Overton Road), by Mountain Brook Elementary field (3041 Cahaba Road), and by the Lane Parke Apartments. We are working to improve these areas and create more community spaces for dogs.
You may read the updated ordinance in the attachment at the bottom of this page labeled Updated Dog Ordinance 2022.
Doo Your Part! Dog waste continues to be an issue along our trails. Disposable bags are provided at all of our trails for easy access. Please pick up behind your pet so it does not ruin a good experience for someone else.
These are links to articles about our dog parks:
http://bhampets.com/2019/08/30/the-metro-areas-newest-dog-park-opens-in-mountain-brook/
https://bhamnow.com/2022/01/04/mountain-brook-is-adding-a-new-dog-park/
https://abc3340.com/news/local/new-dog-park-opening-in-mountain-brook
Going Green! Mountain Brook is the first city in Alabama and the Southeast to have certified Green Zones. We worked with the American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA) and Quiet Communities to declare Overton Park and the Villages Green Zones. This means the city will use battery powered equipment instead of hand held two stroke gas engines in these areas for normal maintenance. Battery powered equipment is quieter and healthier for the users, environment, and community as a whole.
Here are some related articles:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2021/06/30/electric-lawn-care/
https://south.prolandscaperusa.com/environment/ditching-gas-powered-tools/
https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2021/06/mountain-brook-trading-gas-tools-for-battery-power.html
Cahaba River Walk was dedicated as an official Cahaba Blueway access point on April 17, 2019. Our park met their criteria for a safe site to enter the water. The Cahaba Blueway is a program designed to educate the public on safe practices to use in and around the Cahaba River. They have mapped over 200 miles and have 15 points currently designated as safe sites. They have identified several more that they will assist in making them safe. You can visit their website at www.cahabablueway.org for more information on each site, current water quality, and other useful information.
FOX 6 story: http://www.wbrc.com/video/2019/04/17/cahaba-blueway-access-points-dedicated/
AEDs have been placed at our parks, trails, and sports fields. Please look for them when visiting the parks and trails so you are familiar with their locations. If you see any issues with them, please report it to Parks and Recreation at 205-802-3877.
The City is continuing it's plan to install WiFi in its parks. Click the button below for status updates and WiFi locations and maps.
