Capitol View Park

First, I will mention that it is winter now so very few parks look their best with all the bare trees and muddy grass areas. I saw this park on a map and dropped by with no expectations really. It turned out to be mostly a park for baseball fields rather than open areas or walking paths. The sports areas seemed pretty good though and had bleachers and fencing etc suitable for high school type ball games. It had walking access to the Kentucky River and a few paths that were, at the time, very muddy. There was a lot of drainage pipes, construction stuff and other maintenance areas that detracted from the view. Of course the trees had to leaves but I'd expect them to be nice in the right season. The Capitol view was okay.There was a mountain biking path that seemed like it would make a good ride for those interested.Many deer in the area which was very exciting for the dog and fun for me too. My 3 star review is because it just doesn't seem to meet a nice variety of park uses enough and because of all the maintenance areas (fencing, stacked mulch etc that seems permanent) detracting from the park atmosphere. It was easy to access though from the E-W Connector and had plenty of parking. The bathrooms were closed for the season which annoys me but is common in municipal parks (of course no one needs to pee in the winter....).

My wife and I visited here last weekend so she could participate in the Bluegrass State Games. Sure, she won. She was the only racer in her class, but she won. That's all that counts.Upon driving into the park, it was immediately obvious that this park was designed for baseball. A huge, well-kept baseball field dominated the landscape next to the parking lot, with some very nice bleachers for an audience. Must be used for local school baseball or something. You can tell people really care about this park.Not being an avid mountain cyclist myself, I can't say a lot about the mountain bike course. It runs about 5 miles around, and is quite treacherous in a few places. There are two pits along the course known by cyclists as "Sinkholes" that are very challenging to bike through. A good portion of the early part of the course is a gruelingly slow ascent. Emily almost gave up in the middle of her third lap... Her calves were cramping bad. This says a lot, considering that she bikes 12 miles everyday through town.

Very fun MTB park. Sink Holes must try and be safe people. Only down is not easy to find your way around if your new. Not any or much signs on where to go. Not sure if I have even seen it all yet. But I tried. Fun times be safe out there