(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain/Bob Farley)

As fall foliage makes its colorful appearance in Alabama, leaf-watchers and hiking enthusiasts are heading outside. If you're planning a fresh-air excursion during the next couple of weeks, we suggest that you consider Ruffner Mountain. Although it's not the most visually dramatic location in the state -- and some of us take it for granted -- the nature preserve in Birmingham has beauty aplenty and an interesting history.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Ruffner Mountain Nature Coalition, the group that vowed to save a mountain threatened by deforestation and development in 1977. Through their efforts, and the caring work of many others over the years, Ruffner Mountain has become what organizers call "the urban forest of the Magic City."

For these reasons, we think it's the perfect time to rediscover Ruffner. Here are some things you might want to know about the nature preserve. Mary Colurso | MColurso@AL.com

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain)

Ruffner Mountain covers 1,038 acres. Organizers say it's one of the one of largest privately held nonproft urban nature preserves in the United States.

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(Photo by Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com)

Fourteen miles of trails are available at Ruffner. They're color coded, all relatively short (less than 2 miles long) and range from easy to difficult. The Quarry Trail (1.2 miles long) is the preserve's gateway trail, connecting most of the others. Download a trail map here.

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(The Birmingham News file photo)

The trillium trail (0.5 miles) is lined by wildflowers in spring. These include trillium, fairywand and jack-in-the-pulpit. Learn more about trillium here.

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(Photo by Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com)

Bird watchers flock to Ruffner Mountain. If you're lucky, as photographer Joe Songer was in 2004, you might see the nest of a Cooper's hawk.

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain)

"Located on the slopes of Red Mountain within sight of downtown, Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve is a thousand-acre gateway to Birmingham's nature and its very existence," says trekbirmingham.com. "In the city's early days, this area was one of the most important sources of raw materials -- iron ore and limestone, two of the ingredients needed to make iron -- that led to the city's rapid growth. Today, the mountain is honeycombed with abandoned mines, old rail beds, and the foundations of mining buildings, giving the visitor a chance to explore the city's wild and industrial history at the same time. Although mining left the mountain barren, the forests have grown back and are teeming with native plants and animals."

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain)

A large mining quarry is one of the landscape features at Ruffner. Hike the overlook trail, which connects to the quarry trail, and you'll get a bird's eye view of the city.

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(The Birmingham News file photo/Steve Barnette)

Amphibians can be found at Ruffner Mountain, along with other wildlife. In 2003, an "ephemeral" pond was discovered by Samford University professors and folks at Ruffner. It supported a diverse amount of salmanders, newts, toads, frogs and other critters.

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain)

A hat marks the spot of a bee condo -- a a homemade place for bees to live in -- at Ruffner Mountain.

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain/Bob Farley)

An aerial view of Ruffner Mountain. The Ruffner site was just a few acres at first, but has grown to include more than 1,000 acres.

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain/Bob Farley)

Tips to avoid snakes at Ruffner Mountain, posted on the nature preserve's website:

Wear closed toed shoes and long pants when hiking Pay attention to where you are walking; snakes like to bask in the sunlight while stretched out on trails. Keep your pets on leash at all times. A dog who is off leash doesn't just scare other hikers; off-leash dogs can also scare snakes and other wildlife who may react defensively. Do not go into any caves or mine sites not just because they are unsafe, but they might also be hiding spots for snakes temporarily escaping the heat of the day. Same goes for reaching under or turning over large rocks.

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(The Birmingham News file photo/Philip Barr)

AmeriCorps volunteers worked to spruce up the trails at Ruffner Mountain in 2002. Current volunteer opportunities at the nature preserve include the Habitat Garden Club, community work days and the Ruffner trail team. The latter helps to build new trails and maintain existing ones on the mountain.

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(The Birmingham News file photo/Linda Stelter)

Ruffner Mountain has a wetlands park, with a wetlands trail that runs 0.2 miles. "One of our easier trails," the Ruffner map says, "with very little elevation change. It provides great viewing of frogs, dragonflies and native wetland plants along its boardwalks and crushed rock paths."

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(Photo by Tamika Moore | tmoore@al.com)

Ruffner Mountain holds an annual native plant sale. This year's sale, held in October in conjunction with the nature preserve's 40th anniversary celebration, included Georgia aster, bottlebrush buckeye, spiderwort and white oak, according to Ruffner's Instagram page.

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain/Bob Farley)

Ruffner Mountain's original mission was to "preserve the mountain itself and the myriad native species of flora and fauna that live there, to provide educational programs for kids and adults, and to create a wildlife rehabilitation center." The nature center continues to schedule education programs, field trips and camps.

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(The Birmingham News file photo)

Children commune with nature at Ruffner Mountain in 1979.

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(The Birmingham News file photo/Britt Blake)

Turtle Rock is on the geology trail at Ruffner Mountain. This short trail (0.3 miles long) features sandstone and limestone outcrops.

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain)

A look at Ruffner's limestone quarry. "Think of the mountain as a layer cake that has collapsed on one side," writes R. Scot Duncan in "The Rocks of Ruffner," a post on trekbirmingham.com. "The steep northwest slopes of the mountain expose the oldest rocks, while the gentler southeastern slopes reveal newer examples."

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(The Birmingham News file photo/Beverly Taylor)

Ruffner Mountain held a bird festival in 2008 to showcase Alabama's feathered friends. Representative's from Auburn University's Southeastern Raptor Center and the McDowell Environmental Center participated in the event. Ruffner's Nature Center includes owls and other birds in outdoor exhibits.

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain)

Wildflowers are abundant at Ruffner in the spring. Organizers encourage everyone to respect the flora on scene and resist the urge to pick plants or flowers. That way, everyone can enjoy them.

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(Photo by Tamika Moore | tmoore@al.com)

Wondering if Ruffner's trails can be rugged? In 2012, a special U.S. Air Force team trained at Ruffner Mountain. The team specialized in emergency medical work and carried backpacks loaded with materials for a mobile operating room.

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain/Bob Farley)

Yes, there are bats in the caves of Ruffner Mountain. In fact, a Bat Blitz survey was held at Ruffner in June 2017. The blitz was a three-day survey in the greater Birmingham area conducted by the Alabama Bat Working Group with officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and researchers from universities around the Southeast.

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(The Birmingham News file photo/Charles Nesbitt)

In 2001, Ruffner Mountain took part in an urban forest health program in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service. A total of 25 plots were established, measured and monitored to determine the health of the forest.

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain)

"Ruffner Mountain was mined for iron ore from the late 19th century through the 1950s," the nature preserve's website says. "In 1896, a local newspaper reported that our mines produced over 200 tons of raw ore per day for processing at the nearby Sloss Furnaces. You may see many remnants of Birmingham’s industrial past while out on our trails. Please help us preserve this history by leaving these relics just as you find them."

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain)

A group on the quarry trail at Ruffner Mountain in the 1970s.

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain)

An old cistern near the Nature Center at Ruffner Mountain.

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffner Mountain/Bob Farley)

It doesn't snow often in Birmingham, but Ruffner Mountain is picturesque on the rare occasions when the white stuff falls.

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(Photo courtesy of Ruffler Mountain/Bob Farley)

The trails at Ruffner Mountain are open year-round.

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(The Birmingham News file photo/Hal Yeager)

If you go: Ruffner Mountain's official address is 1214 81st St. South in Birmingham. Trails at the preserve are open daily, dawn to dusk, and admission is free. The Nature Center is closed on Mondays. Call 205-833-8264 or visit the Ruffner website for more info. Ruffner also has a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.