4/18/26 Carondelet Park Hike

John P- organizer (difficulty 1 out of 5). Let's hike around one of St. Louis's oldest, biggest, and most beautiful parks. This 150 year old gem features a paved hiking/biking trail around the park's perimeter, two lakes, a gorgeous boathouse, a bird sanctuary, a mountain bike trail, and some interesting geology. It's surrounded by lovely neighborhoods with historic architecture that we can also explore as an option. Interesting bits of park history to discuss as we hike.

· Hike length: 3 - 4 miles
· Hiking duration: Shoot for about one and half hour.
· Surface: We expect to hike on blacktop and maybe some dirt paths (also game day call)
· Dress: Layers and good walking shoes
· Food and drink: Bring some water and snacks
· Rest rooms: Restroom status uncertain, but we will make efforts to find
· Parking: Should be plenty of free street parking
· Go/No go plans: We plan to hike rain or shine or cold or hot
·Topic of the day: Stay tuned

From the park website:
This park was established in 1875. It takes its name from the former city of Carondelet (founded 1767), now a section of southeast St. Louis.
Carondelet was originally called Louisburg in honour of King Louis XV of France, and then Prairie a Catalan, after one of the settlers, Louis Catalan. Finally in 1794, it was named Carondelet in honor of Baron Francois Louis Hector de Carondelet, a Fleming appointed the Spanish governor of Louisiana.
Boathouse
[https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/parks/parks/browse-parks/view-park.cfm?parkID=5&parkName=Carondelet](https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stlouis-mo.gov%2Fparks%2Fparks%2Fbrowse-parks%2Fview-park.cfm%3FparkID%3D5%26parkName%3DCarondelet&data=05%7C02%7Crking%40wustl.edu%7C32408a839f6b400f2c2208de91ada85d%7C4ccca3b571cd4e6d974b4d9beb96c6d6%7C0%7C0%7C639108372209118847%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=sKyWIoNDf3SKyWqlZu5UdoRbKZOLzjoZXOh3zjSmEhg%3D&reserved=0)