Free, Cheap, and Fun for Spring Break around Birmingham
As spring break approaches and parents are searching for family-friendly activities in Birmingham, we’ve compiled some of our favorites. There are plenty of things to do in and around Birmingham that will keep you busy, allow you to have some fun, and possibly learn something new… (Shhhh! we won’t tell the kids they’re learning!) Most of all they are close enough to the city so the drive won’t empty your gas tank or your wallet. Make this your Birmingham spring break bucket list!
1. Vulcan Park & Museum COST: $3 per person
If you visit Vulcan after 6pm you can check out the park and observation balcony for only $3 per person. Take an evening picnic, and then ride up the elevator to see a beautiful view of the magic city at night!
2. Railroad Park in Birmingham COST: FREE
Visit this beautiful park for free. You’ll find lots of room and a playground for the kiddos to play with plenty of green grass for picknicking, frisbee throwing, horseshoes, etc. There is also plenty of space for bike-riding and skateboarding.
3. Birmingham Botanical Gardens COST: FREE
The Botanical Gardens with more than 10,000 different plants in its living collections and several walking paths is a great place to enjoy the beautiful scenery. If you like photography then the Gardens would make a great place to get some beautiful shots!
4. Oak Mountain State Park COST: $3 for Adults & $1 for Children ages 6-11
Just a few miles south of the City of Birmingham is a fabulous place for outdoor lovers. Oak Mountain is a fun place to take the entire family. At Oak Mountain State Park you’ll find fishing, swimming, picnic grounds, wildlife, walking trails including a treetop nature trail, horseback riding, BMX track, golf, and lots more!
5. Children's Hands on Museum, Tuscaloosa – COST: 1 - 2 years: $6, 3+: $9
“Specializing in Awesome” CHOM’s permanent exhibits were designed to stimulate children’s curiosity about their community and their place in it, and to involve children, parents, teachers, and others in participatory education. Hands on exhibits you will find there include, a farmers’s market, DCH Hosptial, Farm, Choctaw Indian Village and more!Learning through play is what their exhibits are all about, and you are encouraged to touch, feel and play in the exhibits. Three floors of fun wait for families and school groups, too. With 21 exhibits, CHOM offers newborns through age 13 a fabulous place just for them!
6. Birmingham Zoo - COST Children - $11.00 Adults: $16.00
Venture to the zoo for an educational and entertaining morning with the animals (not your kids—the zoo animals). More than 800 animals of 200 different species make their home here. The “Trails of Africa” exhibit has a herd of bull elephants along with other African animals in a replicated setting. Feed the giraffes, ride the train, and see Kahn, the zoo's new male jaguar.
