Swamp Park, River Road area, Louisville

Yes, this is what a swamp looks like in Kentucky

Vines so thick they strangle the sun

Caperton Swamp, known by locals as the "Swamp Park" is hidden along River Road, a view so scenic that you are sure to miss it's tiny parking lot. Perhaps this is why it's not frequented much - but it's more likely that the name "Swamp Park" doesn't sound very appealing. The trail here is short. A quick loop around the swamp ends disappointedly at an overpass before returning to the trail head. This, however, isn't one of those places that you go to for physical exertion. This is a literal fairy tale kingdom of wildlife worth savoring with every step. The swamp isn't really a swamp in the sense that most people consider. It's more of a marsh or wetland area. It's shallow waters are so clear that they seem to be boiling with tadpoles and larvae in late spring. It's not unusual to spy a few cranes mingling with various species of duck and I've delighted in seeing nesting boxes overflowing with their contents.  I usually initially forgo the loop trail around the swamp in lieu of exploring the inter-connected matrix of tiny deer "trails" bordering the East side of the park. Here, I explore trees so covered in vines they seem like tee-pees and find sunny islands of flattened grass where deer have bedded down. In the winter and spring months, you will occasionally stumble across the ruins of a homestead. Usually so embedded in weeds they are indiscernible, in these months, toppled brick pillars, decomposing beer cans and glass bottles are exposed like bleaching bones. Rummaging among the ruins, I once found a child's toy. The plastic shark existed in a strange juxtaposition between an imaginary sea and the ground beneath my feet. For a moment, it seemed as though it belonged there and I was the foreigner disturbing it's rest. It's existence, in such a quintessentially fantastic location, seemed natural.

Trail: Short and quick loop.
Time: Short enough for a lunch break.
Cool Stuff: There are actually two distinct swamp areas although the area on the East end of the park may be on private property.

Love. Me. Knot.