Sandwiched Between Birmingham And Montgomery Is A Suburban Gem With Nature Parks And Southern Eats

While Birmingham may be one of Alabama's best-known cities, about 25 miles south along I-65 is easy-to-overlook Alabaster, a suburban gem known for its parks, restaurants, and family-friendly activities. Alabaster was Alabama's representative on Fortune's 2024 list of the 50 Best Places to Live for Families, which reviewed more than 2,000 cities across the United States before selecting one from each state. The outlet gave Alabaster favorable marks for its safety and proximity to several green spaces. 

Although Alabaster is a fast-growing city located about 30 minutes from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport (BHM), it's managed to retain much of its small-town community spirit, making it ideal for travelers seeking a quieter alternative to the bustling hub of Birmingham. It also makes for a convenient home base for exploring the greater Shelby County or even Montgomery, located just under 70 miles south. With Birmingham and the capital city Montgomery so close, Alabaster offers easy access to both Montgomery's numerous museums and historic sites and Birmingham's art, culture, and thriving food scene, though the city itself has a number of notable restaurants as well as the highly rated Siluria Brewing Company, which ranks second on Tripadvisor's list of Alabaster's top attractions as of this writing.

Whether you're staying in Alabaster for the weekend or are making a pit stop on your drive to Birmingham, the city's walking trails and family-owned eateries provide a relaxed suburban vibe without putting you far from Alabama's largest city.

As Shelby County's largest city, Alabaster offers a lot in the way of green spaces, with one of the most notable being Buck Creek Park. The city park sits along Buck Creek, which provides a picturesque, wooded setting for a walk along the mostly flat, 1-mile Buck Creek Trail. The trail, which one reviewer on AllTrails called "absolutely beautiful," ranks as the No. 1 attraction in Alabaster, according to Tripadvisor. Have a picnic on one of the benches that line the trail or simply sit and take in the stunning views of the turquoise-colored water and the small waterfall. Sit quietly enough, and you may spot large brown rabbits, beavers, and butterflies flitting between the wildflowers. 

Veterans Park is another popular nature escape, with 2 miles of paved trails, three ponds, and a lighted fountain in addition to all the expected suburban city amenities, such as playgrounds, sports fields, and a dog park. "The park is exceptional," writes a reviewer on Google, adding that it's "undoubtedly among the premier recreational areas in the region." The park's easy, 1.5-mile Veterans Park Fields Loop ranks as the second-best trail in Alabaster, according to AllTrails.

If you're looking to reward yourself with a pint after a long day of hitting the trails, you may want to head to Siluria Brewing Company, an Army-veteran-owned neighborhood brewery that brings "the big town craft beer flavor with small town vibes." For dining, Alabaster has several restaurants that offer excellent traditional Southern cuisine. Chubbfathers, which has a 4.4-star rating on Yelp, serves a variety of traditional Southern comfort foods including po'boys and chicken-fried steak. Champy's Famous Fried Chicken is another popular eatery that serves moist, well-seasoned fried chicken, along with other tasty regional delicacies from "the food culture of the Mississippi Delta" in a "rustic, down-home atmosphere," report reviewers on Yelp.

You won't soon run out of things to see and do around Alabaster, as the city is located in Shelby County, Alabama's peaceful county brimming with parks, charming towns, and mountain views. The best time to visit Alabaster and the greater Shelby County area is in the spring, when temperatures hover in the 70s Fahrenheit, and the nearby Cahaba River bursts with rare lilies. Visiting in the summer has its advantages too, as you may get the chance to attend the annual outdoor musical festival, CityFest, and go swimming at Oak Mountain State Park, a mountain and lake paradise and Alabama's largest state park. Oak Mountain State Park is just a 10-minute drive away from Alabaster and offers a unique lodging alternative to the city's big hotel chains, where you'll be able to wake up to gorgeous lake views in one of the park's fully equipped cabins.