Other Trails

Maybe it's just where I live, but I am finding many new locations to walk.  I live near a river and have found five parks not far from my home that have walking trails.  Some take advantage of river scenery.  Others are more urban in appearance.

In one area, a park has a walking trail that follows the river for several miles with almost no views of the river.  Along that trail there are picnic tables, some athletic fields, and one area used frequently by model car enthusiasts. The noise of those model cars is annoying, but the folks are enjoying good, clean fun so I can tolerate it.

Another park has a paved river walk with completely unobscured views of the river.  The trail is several miles long and dead flat.  Across the road from the river walk is a huge park with a golf course, many picnic areas, and more walking trails, all flat and all paved.

The third park is on the opposite of the same river and is seldom used by anyone.  It is mostly under water during the Spring and doesn't dry out completely until the Fall.  It has a couple of picnic tables, a huge parking lot (for what??), and some a chip trail that goes up the side of a fairly high bluff, providing a challenging hike.  The river is easy to see from the picnic area but completely blocked by trees on the chip trail up the bluff.

The saddest of these parks is sandwiched between the river and a huge interstate highway.  It's flat except for one really steep climb up an unused street, has almost no river views, and is used frequently by model airplane enthusiasts and archers.  Other than mowing the flat football stadium sized area in the center of the park, this park is not well maintained.  It's clearly a stepchild to the park system.

The fifth park is the best!  Castlewood State Park.  I wrote about it recently.  It's hands down the best in the area.  There are other parks and walking trails in our county.  Some have trails of gravel up and down hills, hard to maneuver.  Some have trails crowded with impolite cyclists who have no desire to share the path.  Two of my favorite parks are just too far away with gas prices being what they are.  For special occasions, these parks will remain on my list of great places to walk.

We have trailnet in these parts and they have done a great job preserving old foot bridges and overpasses to be used by walkers and cyclists, connecting one trail and park with another, and publicizing group bike rambles and walk/run events.  They have connected the Katy Trail (an old rail line) with trails all over this area with a view to blazing a trail for walkers, runner, and cyclists all across the state of Missouri.  Check them out and see what they've done with things like the

 Old Chain of Rocks Bridge,

 the Katy Trail,

and Creve Coeur Lake. 


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