Riverside Walks is a monthly column about exploring ordinary neighborhoods on foot. Not Mount Rubidoux. Not Main Street. No bucket list landmarks…just the urban and suburban streets, parks, alleys, and slices of our natural environment many of us experience on a typical day.
The goal is simple: slow down, pay attention, and appreciate the walkability and beauty woven into the dozens of neighborhoods that comprise our ever growing city. They’re everyday routes that reveal how Riverside’s culture shapes our housing, infrastructure, and open space. Walking helps me notice that balance. Writing helps me share it.
I circle once before finding a shady spot for my car at Castle View Park (not the similarly named Castle Park, which costs money to get in). It’s a cool, sunny day; the kind of sunshine that makes me grateful for mature street trees. The trees tell me something about this place. Someone planted them decades ago believing future residents would need shade…