In the summer of 2023, I left my car in Oregon and utilized biking as my primary method of transportation around Denver. I fell in love. Biking turned the entire world into a spectacle. There was so much to see just slightly off the beaten path. Upon returning to Salem, I sold my car. Needing ways to spend my mornings besides staring at the ceiling questioning the past or worrying about the future, I took to biking.
However, I quickly realized biking without direction does little to fill the soul. I decided to give myself a challenge, something to empower me: a SMART goal. I planned to bike to every park in Salem before my graduation. The “Tour de Bearcat” has taken me to Salem’s hidden corners, spanned over three bikes and profoundly changed the way I view myself and life. Here are the five best parks, in order of visitation, paired with what I learned along the way.
Geer Community Park requires a bike ride down State Street. While a designated lane exists, the constant barrage of cars hurtling past at 45 mph demands nerves of steel. For my own safety, I chose the sidewalk. State Street is one of the only routes close to campus that crosses I-5. While the newly planned skatepark has yet to break ground in Geer, there is a designated bike park at the back. I spent nearly an hour on the trails that day and have since returned solely for the bike park.
Fairmount City Park sits atop a long incline. Once I climbed my way to the top of the hill, I found a bench overlooking the Fairmount Reservoir building. As I sat, a flock of birds danced in the skies above me. The best part about climbing a hill is that you can enjoy coasting back down — feel the wind on your face and be free.
Clark Creek Park, a hidden serene haven, lies tucked away just beyond the bustling commerce of Commercial Street. Life overflows from this park, from the titular Clark Creek flowing through the area to the bee that really wanted to be my friend to the family playing basketball for the duration of my visit. The park's profound effect on me left a sparkle that not even my bike being stolen three days later, nor the hidden, irreparable frame damage of a Facebook Marketplace lemon three months later, could extinguish. Besides, the cost of my bikes over the year was less than what I would have spent on gas in a semester.
Just a 10-minute bike ride from campus, Englewood Park is Salem’s first city park. Filled with trees, Englewood looks as if someone decided to install a playground in the middle of the forest. For me, this was a perfect spot to take a break after a two-hour bike ride and contemplate my journey. The trees shade Englewood while the few sun rays peeking through gently kiss the forest floor. Wow, life is beautiful! After sitting for a brief moment, I hopped back on my bike and headed home, quickly reentering the suburbs which appear distant from any forest.
Keizer’s Sunset Park also ranks among the best. The entrance is a small gate on a suburban corner. Intrepid bikers may miss the entrance entirely when exploring the area. A small trail welcomed me — I felt as though I was walking into someone’s backyard. Once inside, I found a huge open field right on the Willamette River. Houses on either side of the park are the only reminders of the city which surrounds it. Growing up in Denver, it was impossible to escape the urban sprawl without physically leaving the city. Several Salem parks offer a complete escape from the city bustle, allowing one to leave their worries behind and immerse themselves in nature's tranquility. In Sunset Park, all that exists is Sunset Park.
Honorable mentions are (of course) Minto-Brown, Bush’s Pasture Park and Riverfront. You can get completely lost in both Minto-Brown and Bush’s Pasture. Bush’s Pasture features another forest that I love. In the spring, you can catch the Willamette Bearcats hitting a homer into the trees. The Soap Box Derby hill is also great fun to speed down. Riverfront Park, sitting right on the Willamette River, is open, welcoming and always full of life.
This is just a small glimpse of what I saw throughout the Tour de Bearcat. There is so much beauty to Salem if one seizes the opportunity to look for it. My favorite thing about the Salem parks is how quickly you can completely immerse yourself in nature, forgetting you are in a city.
Biking has become a true love of mine. I bike nearly every day, and it saturates my life with meaning. Even a full wipeout on a beer run could not stop me from getting back in the saddle the very next day. When life knocks you down, it is okay to hunch over in pain saying ‘ow’ for a few minutes, but you have to get up, grab the rest of your beer and ride on. Sure, the pain will persist, but you can continue on. You can climb any hill, calm any storm, master any route. With just 11 more parks to go before my journey is complete, I can peddle away from this journey a changed man.
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