The river walk

The St. Joseph river cuts through South Bend, and the turn it takes at Howard Park, close to downtown, gives the town its name. On a nice spring, summer or autumn day, there is nothing better than walking by the river, enjoying the ever-changing views of and across the water.

We are fortunate to have a well-developed river walk, that allows one to walk a more-or less unbroken 12 miles mostly right by the water. The trail starts at St. Patrick's Park, near the IN-MI state line, then goes south, eventually reaching and passing through downtown South Bend before turning east, ending up at the very lovely, and recently remodeled, complex of four parks in downtown Mishawaka: Beutter Park, Battell Park, Kamm Island Park and Central Park. Have a look at the map here to see how to follow the path.  There are plans eventually to link up with some existing trails along the river in Niles, MI, so that eventually there will be an uninterrupted 20+ mile walking and bike trail connecting Niles, South Bend and Mishawaka.

The best parts of the river walk (to me) are:

-> From IUSB (there's a parking lot near the corner of Ironwood and Pleasant Streets) to the old St. Joseph high school (right at the southwestern corner of campus); along this portion, you can walk for about 6 miles without having to cross a road, always right beside the river. The picture below is from this stretch, just by the farmer's market. The building on the far right is ND rowing's new boathouse.

-> Along Riverside Drive from Angela Blvd to Cleveland Rd, past the campus of St. Mary's; along here the views of the river are so beautiful, especially close to sunset.

-> Around and about the parks of downtown Mishawaka; there are plenty of great opportunities for decent-length loop-walks here.