Courtesy of Great Rivers Greenway
Deer Creek Greenway
“Take a hike” used to mean “Get lost.” But the metro area's greenways just keep getting longer, lusher, and better connected, with wayfinding signs and bike route intersections. Here’s what’s coming on the River Ring trail system, whether you walk or cycle, commute or play.
NOW:
River des Peres Greenway
The greenway’s been extended from the Shrewsbury-Lansdowne MetroLink station to Slay Park in Ellendale. New trees and shrubs are in place, ready to leaf as soon as winter lifts its ban, and wayfinding signs are going up even as you read this. The greenway, which wraps around River des Peres as it winds toward the Mississippi River, is now 9.6 miles long, with connections to Carondelet and Lemay parks. As soon as MSD finishes a few projects, the final section will open, linking the RDP to the Mississippi River Greenway near River City Casino and creating a continuous 11-mile corridor, intersected by Bike St. Louis street routes and the Deer Creek, Gravois, and Mississippi greenways.
APRIL:
Chouteau Greenway
The 124 teams (from seven countries and 13 U.S. states) that applied to design the Chouteau Greenway have been narrowed to four, and they’re currently squirreled away in their studios, thinking hard. Each team has its own vision of how to connect Forest Park with the riverfront. Public input was sought, so the teams have their marching orders: Address the design and experience of the greenway, but make sure you also address economic development and social justice. The greenway will be, physically, a common ground, but it will also emphasize small business development, job creation, and affordable housing. In April, we’ll see the final four design concepts; in June, the jury will choose a winner, and the way will be cleared.
Centennial Greenway
On April 7, with a slash of the ribbon barrier, GRG will formally open the expansion of the Centennial Greenway in St. Charles County. Bridges over highways 364 and 94 will let people walk or cycle across these busy highways to the other side of their community, and there will be new ways to connect to parks, schools, businesses and the Katy Trail.
The .7-mile extension links to the stretch of Centennial Greenway that runs from the Katy Trail to the Heritage Museum in St. Charles County, connecting to Wapelhorst Park in the City of St. Charles, Laurel Park in St. Peters, and the Creve Coeur Connector trail that crosses the Missouri River.
MAY:
Mississippi Greenway at Cliff Cave Park
Courtesy of Great Rivers Greenway
The new overlook as it was envisioned.
The ribbon-cutting’s May 4, there’s a Community Day on May 6, and the view from the new overlook, 170 feet up on the bluffs over the Mississippi River, is timeless. Cliff Cave Park’s many walkers and cyclists have been eagerly awaiting this 2-mile expansion, connecting the Mississippi Greenway to the upper section of the park and adding restrooms, a new parking lot, a neighborhood spur that runs up to Telegraph Road, and that overlook, so spectacular it’s tempted otherwise law-abiding trespassers during the construction phase.
JUNE:
Fee Fee Greenway: Aquaport to Creve Coeur Park
On June 14, the Fee Fee Greenway (which is fun to say) expands another 2 miles along Quarry at Crystal Springs golf course, making it feasible, if breathless, to walk or cycle along Fee Fee Creek all the way from Aquaport in Maryland Heights to Creve Coeur Park. The greenway parallels Fee
Gravois Greenway (Grant’s Trail)
A new trailhead opens at the south end of the Gravois Greenway (near Orlando Gardens) on June 24. The basics will all be in place—restrooms, benches, a play structure, and landscaping—and an open house will detail the next phase, which will connect this greenway to the River des Peres Greenway.
The Gravois Greenway starts at Holmes and Leffingwell in Kirkwood and twines 10 miles through southwest St. Louis County, crossing six municipalities.
AUTUMN:
Deer Creek Greenway from Deer Creek Park to Lorraine Davis Park
The Deer Creek Greenway will soon run from Deer Creek Park in Webster Groves to Lorraine Davis Park, and users will be able to tread a new boardwalk, enjoy landscaping with native plants, and picnic at a pavilion with a drinking fountain. There will also be a new trailhead on Marshall Avenue, with parking, benches, a pavilion and fountain, a pump track (an off-road course for mountain biking and BMX riding), restored streambank habitat, and a dry streambed catch basin to manage stormwater.
This greenway runs along Deer Creek, linking the cities of Maplewood, Brentwood and Webster Groves.
Courtesy of Great Rivers Greenway
Courtesy of Great Rivers Greenway
Courtesy of Great Rivers Greenway
AND WORK’S BEGINNING ON…
Maline Greenway
Courtesy of Great Rivers Greenway
Maline Greenway
Great Rivers Greenway is ready to start the Maline Greenway in Bella Fontaine Park, replacing three pedestrian bridges, renovating trails, and building an underpass. The master plan for the seven mile Maline Greenway links the Mississippi Greenway (the Riverfront Trail) with the St. Vincent Greenway in North St. Louis County, passing through Berkeley, Kinloch, Ferguson, Jennings, Moline Acres, Bellefontaine Neighbors, Riverview, and the City of St. Louis as well as unincorporated St. Louis County. Another section is nearing construction in Ferguson, where a paved 1-mile greenway will connect the Ted Jones Trail to Forestwood Park.
Centennial Greenway at I-70 and Delmar
You know that crazy spot where the Centennial Greenway crosses over Delmar at the Innerbelt (I-170)? It will soon be safer to navigate—whether you’re on your feet or wheels of any sort.
