Riverside Walking Trail

The walking trail has lots of twists and turns to it, and it really has a lot of wonderful variability!

I have spent a lot of time on this walking trail over the years. Not as much lately as I would like that's for sure, but definitely a fair bit of time. I was driving by it the other day and really needed to make sure I stopped in, to get a short walk in but most importantly to get some autumn color photos to use for some posts :D.

I think one of the things I really like about the area is that the parking area is EASY to get to and figure out. Some of the places that we have access to are really nice, but it's a pain in the fucking balls to figure out how to get there, where to park, where to go. This spot is unbelievably convenient in that it's got parking right nearby and there's plenty of it so that you can just hit it up, park and be on your way on a part of the trail in a few short moments.

Granted that may also mean that it's more accessible to others who will not take care of it and end up causing issues, but for now, it doesn't seem to be the case that much.

I think one of the interesting things about this area as well is that it's not really maintained unless something happens. Some places there are people who go in and maintain the trails and stuff so that it removes junk but this one is for the most part left alone. We did see them cutting trees down after a storm once, but that's a little different as it was threatening the business nearby so that's understandable. Otherwise, the trees fall over and right into the water without any additional modifications!

There are also actually a lot of benches and things along the way. I think I've seen a fair bit of older people that are on the trail either walking by themselves, with a friend or with their dogs but I always like to see when a town or wildlife management group puts in those types of things. It's good to just walk over to the bench and sit down to enjoy the scenery for a little bit sometimes!

One of the other reasons I really liked this area is that it's got a good variability in terms of the tree species that it's got. There are obviously a lot of oak trees or pine trees but there are also a considerable variety of maple trees! The maple trees are the ones that really put on a show in terms of the autumn colors. They love to go all kinds of wild and beautiful reds and oranges. There are a lot of yellows which are nice, but to me they are a little on the boring side :D I see plenty of yellows from the oaks, dogwood, beech and others. Give me some more oranges and reds!

I'm glad to see that the waterline hasn't really gone nuts. The shores of the river here have definitely eroded into the water as you can see the bushes here sloping down. That's just a natural progression of a waterway that isn't lined with rock as some of them around here are. To the right of this beautiful tree, out of sight from this picture, is a tree that just fell this year it looks like. It was a little sad as it has clogged up the river even more and this was one of the spots that I would fish with my son, as it's got a nice straight shot in terms of the river and it's got a bend around it on the right. Seeing the changes in the landscape are challenging, but just a part of life. Things live and die all the time, but we often don't see it.

I didn't get to bring my son on this walk when I went but with any luck, this weekend we will go on a bit of an exploration and maybe this is one of our destinations we will hit!

What about you, do you like to go on walks near rivers? Let me know in the comments!