Nothing feels quite as pleasant as a free Saturday morning to pursue whatever activity (or rest) that your heart desires. The pace is slow and casual, with entertainment and productivity options of every variety throwing their hat in the ring for the chance to provide your weekend joy. Birmingham is far from slacking in the Saturday morning bracket. Restaurants, parks, markets, and of course the comfort of your own home are all available at the weekend of your choosing. Here are a few of our favorite things to do with our sacred Saturday free time.
Bird Watching
This one is for the early birds (pun very much intended). Birmingham has multiple bird sanctuaries and natural habitats for rare creatures like the Yellow Crown Night Heron, which can be found throughout the east side of the city around East Lake Park and Ruffner Mountain. The Alabama Audubon and the legendary Doug Balous are two great sources for birding facts, and Birmingham’s musical treasure St. Paul of the Broken Bones took up field recording the unique sounds of our city’s birds over the pandemic.
Coffee and Reading
There’s nothing quite like reading a book with some coffee and relaxing background music playing - especially when you know you have the day off. Birmingham has plenty of great shops to do exactly that. Domestique, Revelator, O'Henry's, and Bizarre are just a few wonderful options that provide the ideal environment for a great Saturday morning.
Follow A Food Truck
Birmingham has long been a foodie city, but our food truck scene has dramatically stepped its game up over the last couple of years. Find your favorite (Fat Charles, Sahani, and Not Ya Average Leaf are a few of many great ones) on social media, and track them down for your Saturday adventure. It may also let you check out a new part of the city!
Take a Hike
When people in Birmingham tell you to “Take a hike, pal!”, they really are telling you to go enjoy a wonderful day in Alabama’s beautiful natural scenery. Ruffner Mountain, Red Mountain, Oak Mountain State Park, and plenty of other ideal hiking destinations are all a short drive from Downtown. We’d highly recommend taking a Saturday to take the short (but steep at times) walk to Peavine Falls and back.
Visit a Market
Farmer’s markets may be the most Saturday morning activity of all times (competing with watching cartoons while eating cereal of course). Birmingham fully embraces this tradition with markets popping up all over town on weekend mornings to provide fresh produce and other household items to the people of Alabama from the people of Alabama. The Market at Pepper Place is a city classic that we could highly recommend.
Watch a Film
This is great for any Saturday, but holds the top slot of rainy weekends. Sidewalk Cinema is the perfect place to catch your new favorite flick, with the upstairs flavors at Pizitz Food Hall providing a great lunch after. The Edge theater in Crestwood always has movies at $5 and offers comfortable chairs and even beer to enjoy with your movie.
Cover image from Pixabay
