Shades Creek
Shades Creek is a 56.4 mile-long stream running southwest through Shades Valley to the Cahaba River near the Shelby County/Bibb County line.
Shades Creek starts near the Birmingham Race Course and runs through Irondale, Birmingham, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Hoover, and Bessemer. The Freshwater Land Trust has purchased several acres of land along the creek, primarily behind Wildwood Shopping Center and in Shannon for permanent conservation. Homewood is building the Shades Creek Greenway along the waterway to connect Jemison Park in Mountain Brook with West Homewood Park.
From 1915 to the 1940s, Shades Creek was dammed at Columbiana Road, just downstream of Griffin Creek to form Edgewood Lake, a popular recreational resort during the 1920s and 30s.
Sites along Shades Creek
Starting upstream (from the north):
Streets running alongside Shades Creek
Major roads crossing Shades Creek
Starting upstream (from the north):
- U.S. Highway 280
- Independence Drive (U.S. Highway 31)
- Columbiana Road
- Interstate 65
- West Oxmoor Road
- State Highway 150
- Interstate 459
References
- Cahaba Tributaries at the Rivers of Alabama web site
- Greenway Walking Trail at the Homewood Chamber of Commerce web site