McKinley Park, Beltzhoover: Upper McKinley, 181 Amesbury Street, and Lower McKinley, 436 Bausman Street
Chances are, there’s something in your life you are grossly underestimating, and if you had the chance to see beyond your limited surface impression or lack of information, you’d experience radical change.
For me, that happened today, at McKinley Park in Beltzhoover. Over the years, I’ve driven by the Bausman Street skate park and athletic fields dozens of times. I didn’t have a negative impression of them, but I assumed that, like many neighborhood parks, what you see on first glance is what you get. But I got schooled big time, because Bausman is just the tip of the iceberg.
To get the whole McKinley Park experience, head uphill over red brick and Belgian block to Amesbury Street. There, you’ll find a small parking lot, a new playground, a basketball court, a community building, the gold standard of picnic pavilions, and an extensive network of beautiful trails (with occasional benches and “rest nests”) that meander through hillsides of giant trees, wildflower meadows, and lush green grass. Wow.
If there was ever a case of “you don’t know what you don’t know” for me, this was it. My humbled heart is filled to the brim with authentic joy and appreciation for all the natural and human-made gems this park’s landscape holds and shares. If you have not visited McKinley, set aside some time and go. While a radical transformation of your psyche is not guaranteed, I’m confident you’ll have an enjoyable adventure!
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