Snake River Landing water features

A bicycling neighbor told me to go check out the new Snake River Landing water features. Somehow this awesome new development had totally escaped my slumbering radar. Today was my first visit. What a surprise! The fluid action starts at the "headwaters" up on the north end of Snake River Landing. They engineered quite the impressive little cascade.
A well done series of pools and mini-ponds morphs into a rock & willow-lined pseudo-stream that heads south for the artificial lake.

I was quite surprised to see the extensive landscaping and the most excellent concrete pathway that follows these impressive water features. The large is much larger than I expected. I once saw the lake on an architect's drawing and yawned. I thought, "Yeah, right." Guess what? They delivered a very spiffy little lake. The geese sure love it. It's a Goose Resort and the goose grease is the main hazard if one chooses to circumnavigate the little lake. I'd been wondering why there were so few geese up by the falls. No mystery now--they are enjoying their own private Honker Spa.

I saw quite a few bicyclists today there, including several couples towing their children behind their bikes. There were some well-behaved dogs (imagine that) and the whole thing kind of looked like a modern-day Norman Rockwell scene. I rode various permutations and combinations of the paths and parking lots and streets. Then I went across the river and headed south on the new city Greenbelt extension through South Tourist Park to Sunnyside. I headed back north on the east sidewalk of the Snake River Landing Parkway before ducking back into the water feature network just before Hard Hat Cafe.

Even though private enterprise paid for and constructed these features and pathways, it's an awesome bicycling resource and certain to become a hit once everyone realizes the full extent and possibilities of the place.

A critical piece of the puzzle was added recently with the opening of the Belle Vita Coffeehouse. I don't know the address but you can't miss it down there. Just look for the relaxed people sitting outside sipping whatever. It's a great little place with decent prices and a nice noshing menu, too. It's clearly the perfect place for bicyclists to peel off the helmets and sit a spell.

I hope someone with an odometer on their bicycle reports all of the various distances. I'd like to put that on this blog.

Cheers, IFV