Alabama trails · Foothills Trail
Foothills Trail
A 2.8-mile out-and-back in Alabama, with 238 ft of climbing. Reaches Old Lake. Managed by the state.
Elevation profile
Most of the climbing sits in the final third — 60% of the ascent, between mile 1.9 and mile 2.8. It gives back about 244 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Old Lake (lake)
Heads up
Getting there
Yellow/White Connector access. About 27 min drive (11 mi) from Alabaster. 33.33743, -86.73948 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:25 a.m., the sun rises at 6:50 a.m. and sets at 6:14 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 6:39 p.m. (CDT) — 11 h 24 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 5.6-mile round trip takes roughly 2 h 19 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 9:09 a.m. — 9 h 05 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Green/Yellow Connector + Foothills Trail + Foothills Trail/Orange Trail — 7.5 mi loop, 2,239 ft gain
- Foothills Trail + Green/Yellow Ridge Trail — 2.2 mi loop, 282 ft gain
- Foothills Trail + Foothills Trail/Purple Trail + Foothills Trail (Yellow) — 6.4 mi loop, 2,012 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Peavine Falls Trail — 1.4 mi
- South Rim Trail — 2.4 mi
- Shackleford Point Trail — 2.8 mi
- Moss Rock Preserve Orange Trail — 6.6 mi