Louisville Parks and Trails

This is my second in a series of four blog posts chronicling our recent trip to Louisville, Kentucky. In my opinion, one of the things that makes this an All-American city is its emphasis on parks and family recreation. It was great that the entire time Charlie, Liz, Judy, and I were catching up on things, our conversations were taking place in beautiful, fresh-air surroundings. We only used a car when a destination was clearly out of walking distance. And when Charlie and Liz don't have company, they use a car even less. They're about as green as green can be. And as Charlie can tell you, it's not easy being green. : )


Tom Sawyer Park in the Anchorage section of Louisville was typical of the many city parks. Plenty of winding, shaded trails, beautiful natural settings, and friendly, healthy, active citizens.

Although the Ohio River has been polluted by two centuries of industry, it's still one of America's most majestic waterways. We viewed it several times from different locations.

On our first evening in town, we visited The Falls of the Ohio State Park, famed for their natural beauty, geological uniqueness, and historical significance.

The ubiquitous layers of stone are known as fossil beds, and are the well-preserved record of a huge ancient sea which once covered a vast area of the midwest. This is on the Indiana side of the river, my and Judy's first steps on Indiana territory.

These statues honor Lewis and Clark, who, on their famed exploration in 1803, sent fossil samples and many other amazing specimens back to President Jefferson, who had a keen interest in all things scientific. Captain William Clark was the younger brother of George Rogers Clark, a hero of the American Revolution who later founded the town of Louisville.
If you can't read this plaque, I suggest you just go to Wikipedia or do a Google search on Lewis and Clark. If you're really interested, I've got several books and videos on them. Plus, their on United States nickels in recent years.

From the fossil beds you can view four bridges, two for autos, one for trains, and one an uncompleted pedestrian bridge.

Some of the fossils showed up surprisingly well in photos.

Some were even kind enough to pose for us. (That wasn't very nice of me, was it?)

(Alternate caption: Charlie says, "Marry me, and someday all of this will be yours, Liz.")

There were many people meandering about on the fossil beds, and I imagine at times they attract scholars from elementary age right up to university students.

Another family-friendly park we went to back on the Kentucky side was Cherokee Park. There were several others with Indian names such as Iriqouis Park, Shawnee Park, Seneca Park, and Algonquin Park. And that's not even mentioning those that were not named for Indians. (See Google Maps if you have a burning interest).

The trails, rock formations, and tumbling waters made this city park feel like it was far from a city. That was something Louisville was very adept at doing.

We have a tradition of photographing Liz in seemingly dare-devil scenes. This one is posed, but that's not generally necessary. We never know which photo may be her last. But Judy worries more about me having heart failure watching Liz lean over high cliffs and such.

Charlie pointed out this huge chunk of rock which had, at some time, broken off from a wall of rock and tumbled into the stream. Nowadays risk-takers sometimes jump off it into deep water. There were three of us to dissuade Liz.

Liz took two pictures of me and Judy in Cherokee Park. This is the one she took at a slant. Two reasons, I believe. 1: She photographs with the eye of an artist. 2: To get back at me for all my teasing. : )

We visited a local art gallery right beside the Ohio River and I spotted this tugboat moving a load of coal downriver (I think).

Back in the vicinity of all those bridges was an impressive multi-use riverwalk that you could follow almost endlessly. There were restaurants, benches, gardens galore, and of course, a view of the Ohio River. But one of the things that made it so special for children was the combination playground and waterpark, where kids could climb, swing, and slide until hot and sweaty, then run through the fountains, sprinklers, and sprayers to get cooled down. All of this was FREE.

I think you'll agree, that for a city of over a million, Louisville succeeds at retaining some small-town appeal. I saw a number of things I'd love to see in our community. The water park ranks right up there. We're moving in the right direction on having lots of greenways and trails. I haven't quite figured out how we're going to have a riverwalk, but you can't have everything!

In my next post I'll focus on two highlights of Louisville that may surprise you: a cemetery and the city waterworks. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, as well!