South Shore Trail

When I was in high school, I would drive out along Giant Springs Road and park by the railroad bridge. There was usually something interesting down the hill by the water–a shopping cart, a bike, etc. I don’t remember there ever being trailheads, though. It’s entirely possible they were there, but my teenage self was never really looking for trailheads.

Today is my dog’s 6th birthday. I think. Vet’s best guess was that he was born sometime in December, so I picked the 15th.

Diego the dog, smiling on his walk

Side note on the dog: He was born in a dump in Baja, Mexico. There’s a shelter down there that partners with a shelter in the Pacific Northwest, so he immigrated. The first time I took him to the vet, the vet tech and I had to translate his immunization records from Spanish.

Anyway, I’ve been slacking on his walks lately, so I figured a birthday walk was in order.

Rainbow dam

Rainbow Dam

The south shore trailhead parking area is just south of the BNSF train bridge. There seem to be two parking areas–one for an overlook, and another for the trail itself. There are benches along the trail that make it easy to kick back and enjoy the view when you need a break.

It was windy as shit today, so we only went a mile or so down the trail. Based on the Google Maps satellite view, it looks like the trail goes on past Ryan Dam. Might have to explore that one these days when it’s a little warmer.

The River’s Edge Trail runs almost 60 miles along both sides of the Missouri River.

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