Head to Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark at 20 32nd Street North, and bring the 2026 Subaru Forester. It parks cleanly in the on-site lot, loads your gear without fuss, and takes the stop-and-go run through Birmingham's downtown grid in stride. One real heads-up before you go. The City of Birmingham has confirmed that Sloss Furnaces is closed October 8-11 for Furnace Fest preparation and event days. Plan your visit for October 12 onward, when the grounds reopen and mid-October weather makes this the best version of the trip.
The furnaces themselves do the work of being impressive.
What's the Plan at a Glance?
| Stop | What to Do | Best Time | Parking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sloss Furnaces (20 32nd St N) | Self-guided or guided tour of the blast furnaces, boiler shed, and Furnace No. 1 platform | Tue-Sat 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sun noon-4 p.m. (gates close 3:30 p.m.) | Free on-site lot; accessible spaces available |
| Visitor Center | Pick up the free self-guided tour brochure and watch the intro film | First stop on arrival | Inside the free lot |
| Furnace No. 1 Platform | Climb for the full aerial view of the 32-acre complex | Midday light is best for photography | Same free lot |
| 1st Avenue North approach | The lower-stress route in from I-20/I-59 | Any time; weekday mornings are quietest | Street parking is light on weekday mornings |
Sloss Furnaces Rewards the Visitors Who Slow Down
Sloss Furnaces is a 32-acre blast furnace plant that made pig iron for nearly 100 years, from 1882 through 1971, and it rewards a slow visit far more than a quick lap through the gates. It's the only 20th-century blast furnace in the country being preserved and interpreted as a museum, which is exactly why it holds National Historic Landmark status. A self-guided tour is free and takes most visitors between one and two hours, depending on how many of the interpretive signs you stop to read. Guided tours are available for a small fee and need to be scheduled in advance.
The grounds are the experience. You'll walk on gravel, cross uneven surfaces, and move through weathered brick structures that have barely changed since the furnaces shut down. Close-toed shoes with real traction are the move here, not a nice-to-have. The Visitor Center is accessible, though the broader 1880s-era industrial site is not fully ADA-compliant. Plan on a genuine walk.
The 2026 Subaru Outback comes in cleanly from I-20/I-59 via the 1st Avenue North corridor, same as the Forester. The on-site lot is free, with dedicated accessible spaces and bus and van drop-off areas, per the City of Birmingham's plan-your-visit page. One quirk is worth knowing before you go. The City of Birmingham's directions note that a railroad crossing near 32nd Street sometimes has trains passing. You'll wait a few minutes at most. It fits the setting.
Insider note: October ranks among Birmingham's best months for visiting an outdoor industrial landmark. Our summers bring heavy humidity and afternoon thunderstorms that can build fast. By mid-October those conditions have eased enough that a two-hour outdoor walk feels comfortable instead of punishing. If you see unsettled weather building when you leave home, EyeSight Driver Assist Technology on both the Forester and the Outback reads traffic ahead on the approach from I-20. You notice that sort of help in stop-and-go downtown driving, not just on the highway.
Getting There from the East Side, and Who Else to Bring
For east-side drivers, the cleaner approach to Sloss Furnaces runs from our store on Grants Mill Road in Irondale out the I-20 West corridor into Birmingham, and the right vehicle for the day depends on whether you're traveling light or hauling a full group into a tight downtown lot. Take I-20 West to exit 130B, follow 1st Avenue South as it transitions through the numbered streets, and you'll reach 32nd Street without fighting the tighter downtown grid.
Bring the 2026 Subaru Ascent into the conversation if you're rolling with a larger group. It offers 19.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind its third row, which matters when you're fitting gear, bags, and people for a day out together. The Forester's 183.3-inch overall length gives you more options at the tight end of the Sloss lot, while the Ascent gives you more room for everyone inside. Parking a three-row SUV in an urban lot is a pain compared to slotting in a Forester. The trade-off is real.
Next step: Put Sloss Furnaces on the calendar for any Tuesday through Saturday starting October 12. The self-guided tour is free, the parking is free, and fall is the right season for it. Comfortable shoes, an hour or two, and you've done one of Birmingham's genuinely irreplaceable landmarks.
The Subaru That Actually Fits This Kind of Day
For a single-day trip into the city, the 2026 Forester is the straightforward pick at Hallmark Subaru Birmingham, since it parks easily and carries plenty, while the Outback earns the nod the moment you're hauling more or heading further out after Sloss. Subaru lists its standard ground clearance at 8.7 inches. More than enough for the on-site lot's surface. Behind the rear seats, you get 29.6 cubic feet of cargo room with seats up and 74.4 cubic feet with seats folded. Standard Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive and EyeSight come on every trim, and there's no entry-level version without them.
The 2026 Outback is the right call when you're carrying more or going further after Sloss. Subaru puts its cargo area at 34.6 cubic feet with rear seats up. The redesigned 2026 Outback now comes standard with a 12.1-inch vertical touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay on all trims, and the base 2.5-liter Boxer four-cylinder delivers 180 horsepower. Ground clearance on standard Outback trims matches the Forester at 8.7 inches, rising to 9.5 inches on the Wilderness trim. The turbocharged XT trims push that engine to 260 horsepower if you want it.
On a dry October afternoon in Birmingham, you won't notice the all-wheel drive at all, and that's the point. It sits there for the rain on the way home, not as a feature you have to think about. Both vehicles handle the I-20 run and the downtown grid without asking anything of you. See what's currently on our lot, then come by Grants Mill Road to sit in both. We'll walk through the trims that fit how you actually use the vehicle.
Sloss Furnaces is the kind of place Birmingham locals drive past for years before they actually stop. When you do stop, it's worth two hours of your time. Come see us first if you want to make the trip in something that earns its keep on weekdays and weekends both.
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