Runners love it. Cyclists find the 17.6-mile round trip a wonderful workout. And neighborhood folks take to the path with their toddlers in strollers and their dogs on leashes. Indeed, the trail dissects a dozen distinct neighborhoods, residential and commercial. You’ll want to keep an eye peeled for stunning Columbia’s MKT Nature/ displays of architecture Fitness Trail through the is what all forest walls bike trails and tree aspire to be: canopies. The well-traveled. pulse of the trail takes you into narrow cuts through hills, and across open spaces with lakes, marshes and wetlands. In reality, you’re only blocks from the bustle of city life, but you remain insulated, as the MKT delivers you to the pastoral solitude of farmlands and fields and Department of Conservation lands, including the Hinkson Woods. When you reach the western end of the spur, you’ll have a decision to make if you want to go further: West will take you upriver toward Rocheport, Les Bourgeois Winery and the Manitou Bluffs; the east trail runs to Easley, the Claysville Store and Cooper’s Landing. On the spur, you’re in the middle of nature, surrounded by forests and fields, fauna and flora, but you’re never far from help. Volunteers, including mounted police (on bikes, of course), patrol the trail regularly. Telephone kiosks dot the path, connecting directly to 911 emergency services. There are four restroom facilities along the route, including two just-completed ADA-accessible bathrooms near the Forum Boulevard and Scott Boulevard parking lots. Water fountains along the way help keep you hydrated. There are no major hills, since the trail is an abandoned railbed. The smooth chert surface delivers a gentle sloping path to the river. Conversely, the return trip has a modest uphill grade. Markers every half-mile report your progress. Some attempts at progress have been thwarted. A couple of years ago, well-meaning planners proposed to pave the city portion of the trail. An army of regular trail users voiced their opposition to pavement, preferring the more natural, porous chat surface, even with the occasional washout
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inside columbia october 2013