Little Shades Creek (Vestavia Hills)
- This article is about the tributary of the Cahaba River in Vestavia Hills. For the Shades Creek tributary in western Jefferson County, see Little Shades Creek.
Little Shades Creek is a tributary of the Cahaba River draining parts of Vestavia Hills.
The stream rises in Cahaba Heights just north of Green Valley Road. It flows southwest, crossing under U. S. Highway 280 south of Pump House Road. It is the "Old Brook" for which Old Brook Trail and its branches are named, and continues west under Caldwell Mill Road and then south by Sagewood Trail and the Coventry subdivision before crossing Rocky Ridge Road just south of Tanglewood.
The stream continues through McCallum Park between the Rocky Ridge Square shopping center and the Ashley Woods subdivision near Vestavia Hills High School. It circles a promontory at Buckhead Circle and turns back to the southeast, crossing Rocky Ridge Road again between Laurel View Lane and Wisteria Drive.
Flowing southward into Hoover, the stream passes through Loch Haven Park and under I-459 about 3/4 of a mile east of I-65, winding past Chestnut Rudge and under Old Rocky Ridge Road before joining the Cahaba River near Old Rocky Ridge Lane.
A 1,900-foot section of eroding stream bed in the Ashley Woods subdivision was repaired and enhanced under a joint project involving state and federal funds and administered in part by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, and the Cawaco RC&D Council. The project is being used as a model for suburban streambank enhancement and runoff protection.
McCallum Park is a 5-acre recreational park developed by the city of Vestavia Hills within a 35-acre preserve it purchased along the creek's banks. The park is accessed from Rosemary Lane off Rocky Ridge Road.
References
- Singleton, William C. III (February 17, 2010) "Honoring McCallum - Vestavia Hills names park for former two-term mayor." The Birmingham News
- Singleton, William C. III (April 26, 2010) "Vestavia Hills officials, others mark restoration of Little Shades Creek." The Birmingham News
- Singleton, William C. III (April 26, 2010) "'It's just so pretty now': Creek makeover adds park-like feel to neighborhood." The Birmingham News