Jessica’s
Travels of Columbia: Capen Park
by
Jessica Petzel, posted Oct. 24, 2007
Rustling
leaves blending with voices, dappled shade and light playing
off the ripples in the creek create a sense of restful life
at Capen Park.
“I
like to go sit and watch the sunrise,” said Nicole Vodkin,
a junior studying biology. “The view is really nice
in the fall because the leaves are all changing.”
 A picture speaks a thousand words and
this one illustrates the main draw of Capen Park.
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Capen
Park is located off of Rock Quarry Road and is worth being
spotlighted because it is close to home but feels like another
world away from campus and Columbia. And few people from campus
seem to know about this piece of the city.
“One
of my favorite things is the accessibility of the park,”
said Matt Boone, a senior studying biochemistry. “It
is close to campus and it is very easy to climb up the cliff.”
The park
boasts a rock climbing wall popular even with out-of-towners
and complete with built-in climbing rings. The cliff is also
popular as a lookout site for anybody who drops by. The cliff
grows out the rest of the park rapidly, entwining rock and
tree roots in something that looks like Lord of the Rings
crowed by a beautiful Missouri panorama.
 While it may not be a bridge across
troubled waters, it is a great place to pause and just
think awhile.
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Most don’t
realize, but a neat bridge at the entrance opens up the rest
of the park away from the cliff. The bridge starts 3.3 miles
worth of trails through the prairie area, which is rich with
brown and green and spots of red, yellow and purple flowers.
The trails are both dirt and gravel, open to the Katie Trail
and walkway into joint land of MU’s campus, and are
consistently used by dog walkers, bikers, picnickers, joggers
and people on family outings.
“I
like the really tall cliff,” said David Nelson, a senior
in electrical engineering. “And there’s a bridge?”
