Registration for this hike is closed. See you next time!

Join Gary Bostany on a hike at Ruffner Mountain while learning the history and its early beginnings. View some of the mining relics, iron-ore crushers and discover their purpose.

Learn about the extended railroad system “the old mineral railroad” that serviced Ruffner and the rest of Red Mountain. Ruffner Mountain was once home to the Sloss-Sheffield Mines where iron-ore and limestone were extracted and sent to the blast furnaces at Sloss.

Discover Ruffner’s role in the mining heyday of Birmingham while exploring these sites and artifacts up close. The hike is approximately 3 miles total, usually about 3 hours, with moderate inclines and slopes. The hike will take us to the iron ore crusher #3, and the Quarry.

Adults and children 10 and up are welcome. We will meet at the tree house at the nature center and please bring water and any snacks to enjoy.

Gary Bostany is a volunteer educational docent at Vulcan Park and Museum, and a history buff regarding Birmingham’s early days of the making of Iron and steel.

Registration is required for this hike.