5 Mile Exercise Route

Not long ago, I went on an adventure with my downtown gal pal.  Here is our scenic and fun route-

Park at the depot at the north end of town or on the street if that is not allowed.  Head south to the Warden's Museum.  Turn right and take the stairs up to Pioneer Park.  Take Laurel to 4th Street.  Turn left on 4th Street.  Turn right on Mulberry Street.  Take Mulberry Street past the house on the corner and look for the stairs on the right side of Mulberry.  Descend the stairs and follow the path to Cherry Street.  It looks like the path dead ends in an alley but just take the Cherry Street alley across Everett Street and descend the stairs to rejoin the path.  That part of the path ends on  Laurel Street and you need to cross Owens to start your trek around Lake McKusick.  There is a loop all the way around McKusick.  Rejoin the path at Laurel and do the route in reverse.  When we clocked this, it was 4.8 miles (about an hour and a half walking).  There are beautiful shaded areas, open areas around the lake, a trip past our fantastic Carnegie library, and lots of hills and stairs.  Make sure to stop at Pioneer Park to take in the incredible view of the river and the lift bridge!  It's all downhill from there.  We were huffing and puffing, but it gave us almost two hours to gab without the distraction of cell phones, and real life interruptions.  We saw herons, pileated woodpeckers, ducks, vireos, and we probably missed a few more things that the dog scared away before we could see them.  Great Loop!