A Walk in the "old" part of Riverfront Park
guide included free of charge today and every day

I've found it's pretty easy to relax in Kittanning taking a walk down by the river. Morning... Early afternoon... Evening... All the same, relaxing and pure enjoyment for me. I love it here, can you tell? By the way, if a friend sent you here and you don't know me yet?
 
 

I'm Carl.  I found Kittanning through a friend in 1996, moved there in 1997, and been there (and here) since. A small little problem :)  We're not at the river yet, but it's only a couple blocks away. Let's take a walk on down and I'll tell you a little bit about my neighborhood on the way.

This is North Water Street and some springs it becomes very wet. When the ice on the river breaks up in the spring, sometimes it just gets jammed up enough that it creates a dam, and up the water comes. I've been out in  California for a few years - we'll see what it does next spring. I've heard that the ice cubes in the spring melt are just as big as ever. Short of being in Alaska, it's hard to imagine a chunk of ice being 4 feet thick, or thicker!

After the water comes up over the banks from an ice dam, doesn't happen too often by the way, you find those things floating down the street. We're only a block away from the park now. Like those old style houses? I do. I'll point out some great ones down by the park.
Right down there at the street corner under the tall trees is the very north end of the park. It's pretty quiet along here except when people are going to work or coming home. And once in a while there's a truck heading up Water Street to Bauer Block and I don't mind. Nice to have jobs for local people close by instead of having to drive to Butler or Pittsburgh.

It's nice somebody  had the foresight to keep animals out of the park. Not that pets aren't great to have, they can be so messy sometimes and personally I like to take my shoes off and walk barefoot through the grass.
We could just  head straight down the path, but I like to go over here to the edge and watch the water for a little bit. Let's head over here to the right, ok? Join me? You can hear the sound of the water coming over the dam anywhere along here, ver-r-r-ry relaxing if you let that continuously gentle murmur get down inside you.

Here are some steps  going down to the water. Ok for a short detour? The rest of the park will wait for us, guaranteed.
This is pretty neat, being able to come down right to the water's edge on this river gravel.	How many miles upstream these little rocks started is anybody's guess - the sharpest edges are well rounded off so it's not too hard on the feet. On the far side of the river is the shipping channel, they dredge it occasionally and market the river rock.

Upstream you can see this little island, that's a good indication of how shallow it, and just beyond is the dam that helps make the river navigable. Over on the far side is Lock #7, one of nine from Pittsburgh to Rimer, which is about ten miles north of Kittanning as the crow flies, more than that by water, and even more by car.

Getting back to the trail, this area is a paradise for nature lovers. One morning I saw a baby rabbit playing out here in the grass, and down a bit further a groundhog has a den down over the bank a little ways, down close to the gazebo. Then there's the wildflowers too, especially in the spring.

	Down the  Path
			You might recognize the Gavran House and Walker House from the OnlineWalking Tour of Kittanning.  If you haven't taken that tour, you can jump off here, or come back back later.

Here are a few more photos that I think add to the calming effect of walking along the river.	Pontoon boats are VERY popular along the Allegheny, and especially locally.
A secluded park bench
	Getting closer to the bridge at Market St.

Here's another walkway down to the river  >>

Through the trees right here you're probably seeing the river more as the Indians did about 250 years ago, except that they didn't have digital photography or the internet to share it with others. Let's walk on down the trail, more sights to see down this way.

While we're just strolling along, I'll mention something else I find fascinating to look at in Kittanning, almost as relaxing as the river.

 I like to look at the brickwork on different houses. The bricklayers could make designs in the pattern by turning bricks on end, recessing a small area or the reverse, letting them protrude from the face of the wall 1/2" or so. Some of the house have arches over the windows with different shaped keystones - an endless number of variations just in the brickwork.

 Up around the eaves and cornices of the houses, commercial buildings too, you'll see even more intricate detail. At the end of the north end of the park across from the Kittanning Bridge, you'll see the new location of a visitor's center. It used to be a private home, three stories with a basement. It has brickwork patterns in the walls, ornamental eaves work, and has a cupola on top.

Back to nature?
 

	This little section of the park I enjoy too. These smaller trees are just high enough so we can walk through without ducking, like a canopy provided by nature. Nice and cool here, but not chilly on this summer day. Here comes an older couple enjoying their walk.
We're getting closer to the bridge which is also straight downhill from the main street, Market St. There are a few more benches available and you'll see a few more people down here, getting some fresh air on a break from work, or relaxing after shopping downtown.  The YMCA is down here too, where a lot of members will change into jogging clothes, take a half hour jog or so, and be able to shower before changing back into their good clothes.

	Down here by the bridge we see more watercraft too. The old boat launch down from here a little ways had to be closed while work was completed on park improvements. Now there is a double-wide boat launch ramp plus some offstreet boat trailer parking.  What more could you want?  Jetski rentals?  Check down at the south end of the new park.
Oh yes, the kids have a lot of fun on the river. There are three jetskis out there right now, sometimes more, sometimes less. One of them just threw up a good fantail. It's shallow enough in some places you wouldn't want to take a big boat, but that kindof protects the canoe paddlers and the fishermen that go out with their small outboards.
If you head down through the new park, you'll see that they have done a great job of contouring a meeting area into the shore.  At the boat launch, the river was dredged to a depth of about 13' so the Gateway Clipper could come upstream and bring tourists, and special events around Kittanning could be scheduled aboard the fleet and the riverboats could pick their passengers up here. That's part of the Riverfront Park Project. Let's head back up and I'll point out that new visitor center building, with the fancy brickwork I like.   I'm going to turn you loose now. You might want to start here and take the rest of the Kittanning "downtown" Walking Tour, lot's of interesting history, beautiful buildings that are well preserved for the most part. You're straight across from St. Paul's Episcopal Church right now.  Another possibility, you might want to just nose around and see what else there is to see. Either way is great and I'm glad I had a chance to show you through the park and chat a bit. Maybe when you get done with your exploring you can write me a short note and tell me your thoughts about the tour and the rest of Kittanning.  Have a great day!!!! Kittanning Home Page Carl's Home Page