Lawrence River Trails - In Pictures

I often write about my favorite trails in Kansas, the Lawrence Riverfront Trails.  But I rarely post pictures. Yesterday I popped out for a run and took my phone with me (for once) in order to take some shots. These were taken on the outward bound (for runners) side of the trail.  Sometime soon I'll post pictures of the inbound (for runners) trail, and I'll also have posts of the levee that runs adjacent to the trails (but might as well be 100 miles away, in terms of feel).

The River Trail full loop is approx 8.75 miles. Bicycles follow the loop in a clockwise direction, and runners travel counter clockwise. If you want to add mileage, there is an additional 1.7 mi. loop that begins around 3.5 mi. in for runners (6 mi for cyclists). The notable challenge the additional loop provides is bogs of sand that must be traversed.

If you want to add even more mileage, start at the corner of Walnut and N 2nd Street in Lawrence. Run east for a mile to the trail head. That will add an additional mile on the way back as well.  I sometimes even add a little more by popping out the far end of the trails and adding a mile on the levee and country roads before returning to the trails for the trip back to my starting point.

Ticks and poisonous snakes are not nearly as common as they seem to be on the Clinton North Shore Trails a few miles to the west. I usually see deer and lizards. Every now and then wild turkey. Black snakes and garter snakes will occasionally sun themselves on the trails. But with the bike traffic, any snake hanging out too long may not survive.  If you are exceptionally lucky, you can sometimes sight a beaver - especially toward the halfway point of the trip. The beavers constantly work to dam up the tributary to the river.  It is impossible to miss their handiwork between mile 3.5 - 5 (running direction).

Anyway, here are some pics.  Enjoy.

Approx mi .5 (runners' direction)

Bend through the greenery.

Old iron stairway from when the area was a fairground in the 1880's - 1890's. The picture doesn't really give a good idea of how steep and long this stairway really is.  Trust me, you don't want to fall.

See Bismarck Grove links below for historical information about what preceded the River Trails.

One of the few points where outbound and inbound trails meet.

A drop (hard to tell from the photo) in the trail next to a fallen tree.

A wee bit o' the poison ivy mixed in with more benign vegetation.

Looking south through the grove of small trees that surround the added 1.7 mi. Sugar Loop (also called the 'sand loop'.  A great place to see deer and wild turkey, the Sugar Loop also offers the best views of the river.

Looking up through a clearing toward the levee before diving into the trees again.

For historical information about the area, check out these sites: 

http://www.kancoll.org/books/rowe/grove.htm

  http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-historical-quarterly-beautiful-bismarck/13197

http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/227516