How to Stay Healthy and Fit in Athens and Limestone County
From the Athens Recreation Center to new pickleball courts, trails and parks, there's plenty of ways to embrace fitness in Athens, AL.
On most days during the week, Bert Bradford, director of Athens Cemetery, Parks & Recreation Department, knows there will be a line of people eagerly waiting to enter the Athens Recreation Center at 5 a.m.
The $16 million recreation center, which opened in 2020, continues to draw users of all ages, like bees to healthy honey, and is part of different opportunities this region offers residents looking to embrace fitness in Athens and Limestone County.
Touching Thousands of Lives in Athens, Limestone County
“People are hungry for activity. We are touching the lives of thousands of individuals, helping them improve their lives both physically and mentally,” Bradford says. “It is a big operation. During the weekend, we may average 3,000 to 4,000 people utilizing the pool, the walking track, greenway trails, the ballfields, the courts and exercise equipment, renting shelters, taking classes, playing pickleball and more.”
The financial impact of recreation also hits a home run as Bradford explains just the youth softball and baseball leagues alone contribute about $2 million to the local economy. Weekend tournaments can bring in another $2 million.
Hop on the Pickleball Train
However, the sport soaring like a meteorite in popularity is pickleball. A hybrid between ping pong and tennis, pickleball was named the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association in 2021-23.
“We have converted two of three underutilized tennis courts at Big Spring Park for pickleball. Lines are being painted on tennis courts at Swan Creek Park for eight additional pickleball courts along with four courts inside the new facility for public access, also” Bradford says. “There are plans to build more outdoor covered pickleball courts.”
A person who has seen the sport explode in popularity is Rhonda Weatherford, founding president of the Athens Pickleball Club. “If you can walk, you can play pickleball,” she says. “It has provided me with great physical activity and hundreds of new friends. I can play with my mother and my grandchildren. It is multigenerational.”
Growth is on the horizon with the building of Sunrise Park, located on the site of a former chicken processing plant just east of Athens State College. The park will include a splash pad, playground and other features.
Work continues on the Singing River Trail – a 200-mile trail mainly running east-west across North Alabama – that is projected to go through Athens and Limestone County, connecting the Swan Creek Greenway and the county’s Richard Martin Rails-to-Trails. Although the proposed linking segment will be a part of the overall Singing River Trail, the section of the new trail in the Athens city limits would continue to be known as the Swan Creek Greenway.
Keeping People Well in the Region
Focused on keeping people active, the Athens Limestone Hospital Wellness Center has also been serving the area’s fitness needs since 1999.
A 30,000-square-foot facility provides group fitness classes, free child care, physical therapy services, massage therapy and 24-hour access. Members can benefit from affordable personal training packages and nutritional and diabetic counseling.
The center is part of the Athens-Limestone Hospital, an acute care hospital and affiliate of Huntsville Hospital Health System. It provides a 24-hour emergency department and the new VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution, the latest advancement helping surgeons perform knee replacement surgery uniquely tailored to each patient, with the goal to get them back to life faster.
“Health care is always evolving, improving and growing, just like Limestone County.”
Traci Collins, Athens-Limestone Hospital president
“Health care is always evolving, improving and growing, just like Limestone County,” says Traci Collins, Athens-Limestone Hospital president. “The hospital continues to look ahead to the future health care needs of our community.”
Employing over 1,000 health care professionals on three campuses including 20 physician and specialty clinics, Athens-Limestone Hospital is an important part of the health and wellness of the region, she says.
Other emerging faces appearing on the map geared to providing health and wellness options are Dr. Melissa Gray’s Better Weighs to Better Health, an integrated, full-service preventative and wellness health care clinic for the entire family.
The Hydration Lounge is Athens’ first IV Therapy and Wellness clinic, providing a convenient and quick way to address health concerns associated with health concerns, ranging from weight management to migraines.
Get to Know Athens and Limestone County
Want to learn more about living and working in Athens and Limestone County, AL? Check out the latest edition of Livability Athens-Limestone County, Alabama.