OUTSIDE Magazine, America’s foremost active and adventure lifestyle brand, and outdoor lifestyle apparel company Toad&Co have named Birmingham as a top 60 finalist in their 2015 “Best Town Ever” contest, and we couldn’t be more thrilled! As the chosen retailer of choice and local promoter of the Best Towns 2015 bracket, we want to spread the word of Birmingham’s top-notch restaurants, vibrant farmers’ market, friendly neighborhoods, easy access to the great outdoors, and everything else that makes our great city the best. Let’s get the word out and vote Birmingham the Best Town 2015.

Parks

 

Birmingham natives love the outdoors, and share a strong sense of  adventure that is exemplified in the a number of great parks both inside and around the city. Red Mountain Park covers 12 miles of hiking and biking trails, the Red Ore Zip Tour, the Hugh Kaul Beanstalk Forest, the Kaul Adventure Tower and the 6 acre off-leash Remy’s Dog Park. Ruffner Mountain is a 1,038-acre urban nature preserve and the largest privately held urban nature preserve in the country. Their mission is to protect and manage Ruffner Mountain as a sanctuary for native species of plants and animals foster within the community an appreciation of the natural world. Oak Mountain State Park has grown from its original 940 acres in 1927 to 9,940 acres, making it now Alabama’s largest park. Mountain biking and hiking make up the most popular activities at the park, and The Red Trail has been included on the International Mountain Biking Association’s list of EPIC rides. Railroad Park is a recently updated 19 acre green space in downtown Birmingham that celebrates the industrial and artistic heritage of our great city. There are so many more green spaces and parks, we couldn’t name them all – we encourage you to share your favorite parks in the comments!

Award-winning Restaurants and Bars

Birmingham is brimming with incredible restaurants and talented, recognized chefs. To name a few, Birmingham chef/celeb Frank Stitt was voted Best Chef in the Southeast by the James Beard Foundation in 2001, earned the Southern Foodways Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, was inducted into the Esquire Magazine Restaurant Hall of Fame in 2011, and as of March 2015, Highlands Bar and Grill has earned its 7^th straight James Beard Award nomination. Another local chef/celeb, Chris Hastings, was the Iron Chef winner against Bobby Flay 2012 and winner of the James Beard Foundation’s award for Best Chef in the South in May 2012. Chef James Lewis of Betolla was named one of America’s best new chefs of 2011 by Food & Wine. Mike Wilson of Saw’s BBQ and Post Office Pies recently placed 2nd nationally in the Garden and Gun BBQ bracket, and Paula Deen Magazine voted Saw’s #1 in Best BBQ in America. John Hall, also of Post Office Pies, has recently been spotlighted in Garden and Gun, New York Times, Thrillist’s 33 Best Pizza Restaurants and The Best Pizzeria in Every State in America. The J Clyde, with its 70+ domestic and international beers, was named on Thrillist’s 33 Best Bars in the Country. There is no end to the great local eats that keep Birmingham’s gourmet taste buds on the map!

Craft Beer

 

It’s no secret that Birmingham is home to some incredible craft breweries. The brewing culture has been wildly embraced by the city and her residents. Avondale Brewing boasts 4 flagship and 7 seasonal beers along with a new outdoor concert stage that has hosted many great musical acts. Cahaba Brewing, founded in 2011, makes 4 core, 3 seasonal, 7 single hop, 1 Jump In and 9 specialty beers. Good People Brewing sold their first keg on July 4, 2008 and has since expanded their offerings to include 5 year-round brews, 4 seasonal, and an occasional one-off. Trim Tab Brewing, the city’s newest brewery, brews 2 core and 6 seasonal beers. With a plethora of year round, monthly and weekly events, Birmingham’s breweries have become the place to hangout—any day of the week.

Community Involvement: Culture, Charity, Events, Sports

The Pepper Place Market was established in the historic Pepper Place section of the Lakeview District in 2000, and has provided a connection between family farmers and the people of Birmingham ever since. The market runs from April to December, and is open from 7AM to Noon each Saturday. The Pepper Place Pop Up introduces fresh designers to the Birmingham community. Birmingham’s diverse museums bring visitors from all over the Southeast. The Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham Civil Rights Museum, Southern Museum of Flight, Barber Motorsports Museum, McWane Science Center and Vulcan Park & Museum are open to the public and offer year-round educational events. The Birmingham Barons can be traced back to 1885, and this year marks the 117^th season of Birmingham baseball. Food festivals draw thousands of people per event, and display the food, music, dancing and other culture of various ethnicities and include the Lebanese, Greek, Italian and Chinese festivals. The Exceptional Foundation Chili Cook-off draws more than 10,000 attendees from across the Birmingham area.

Music Scene

 

The music scene in Birmingham has exploded in recent years thanks to venues like Iron City, Workplay Theatre, Saturn, and Oak Mountain Amphitheater bringing in some of the best bands in the world. Local music festivals Cask & Drum, The Schaeffer City Fest and Secret Stages have drawn crowds for years, and the newly inaugurated Sloss Music & Arts Festival has already gained national recognition. Local Birmingham bands like St. Paul & The Broken Bones have continued to grow a strong following.

 

Those of us who have lived in Birmingham know it is the best city, so how do we spread the word? Beginning May 4th, 64 cities will go head to head in bracket-style elimination, with the town that makes it to the end of the 6 week voting period crowned the “Best Town Ever 2015.” The Best Town will be revealed on August 1st and OUTSIDE will feature the final 16 towns in its September 2015 issue. Vote early and often on Outside Magazine to keep Birmingham in the game. Use the hashtag #VoteBhamOutdoors to share photos of our beautiful city! Let’s show the rest of the nation what we already know about Birmingham.

Help us showcase Birmingham at our kickoff event, Party on the Porch. Party on the Porch is on Friday, May 1st at Alabama Outdoors in Homewood. The event will feature food from Saw’s Street Kitchen, beer from Good People Brewery, music from Jason Bailey and Sweetwater Road, giveaways from Toad&Co., and more.

Join our event group here.