Kiwanis Park

Kiwanis Park is just a hop, skip and a jump (well, several hops, skips and jumps) away from Eastwood Park and the two make a good one-two Secret Sidewalk punch, if one can describe walking along sidewalks in exciting terms accurately.

Located at N 35.215581, W 97.430328 on the west side and N 35.215704, W 97.4528928 on the east side, this neighborhood park sports a good resting spot bench and plenty of park space for the kiddos (and the grown-up kiddos as well).  The park itself is a secret in itself, tucked away between Reed Ave. and Sherwood Dr. just south of the hustle and bustle of Alameda.  It's another testament to the hidden pastoral settings one can find in an otherwise suburban area if one just looks around the corner, behind the trees and down the sidewalk.

Westchester

Westchester's babbling brook

This is a good opportunity to remind our Secret Sidewalk Adventurers to respect private property. Having said that, we here at Secret Sidewalks are all about walking on other people's sidewalks. We figure, that's what they're there for, right. We're not wandering about in other people's backyards or anything (unless they're amazingly awesome backyards) but we have been known to meander onto paths that were probably meant for others. The latest report is an example of just such a path. It's a short one, but we're completists.

Just off 36th Street south of Robinson, Westchester is an edition of rental houses tucked away behind a brick wall like a zombie apocalypse fortification. Each house has it's own garage, but there's a small parking area at N 35º13'33.798", W 97º29'34.8684" where a dirt path leads to our short, rough sidewalk to the rental property's swimming pool. The notable thing about the walk is the waterway crossing and after a good rain (when we went) the babbling brook was as gently soothing as any public park's. The end of the sidewalk is at the pool gate, not much of a walk, but you can tack it onto a longer walk along the less than secret sidewalk that runs along 36th street to Robinson where a longer Secret Sidewalk runs back behind the First Fidelity Bank.

Secret Sidewalk's Bilbo wondering where the pool is

Spring is in the Air

Sorry for the delay in posts, but, despite what Punxsutawney Phil says, Spring is just around the corner (we can smell it in the air!).  And that means more Secret Sidewalks to discover!  Stay tuned for new reports.

Melrose/Huntington

In the neighborhood near Jackson Elementary School, Huntington Way and it's northern parallel Melrose Drive sport two Secret Sidewalks in a single block!  Our first visit is to the Eastern sidewalk located between N35º 12.919' W97º 27.625' and N35º 12.967' W97º 27.625'.  It's a nice neighborhood shortcut, with bright lilies bordering the way and an awesome trellised gateway to the neighbor's backyard garden on the northside.  Nothing amazing or mind-blowing, but a pleasant path for an evening's stroll.

Eastwood Park

On the east side of Norman, north of Boyd St. and east of Classen Blvd., intrepid explorers will find Eastwood Park, a 6.9 acre hidden treasure.  It's a beautiful location, surrounded by woods that hide the surrounding streets, you wouldn't even know that you were smack dab in the middle of town. Its northern border is lined by it's own Secret Sidewalk.

The west end of the sidewalk, at N 35º 12.852' W 97º 26.073', opens out to Lincoln Elementary School where you can find the Great Emancipator himself, or at least a rustic sculptural version, in Molly Griffis’ front yard neighboring the school to the south. The whole neighborhood exhibits quite the artistic flavor. Make sure you check out the yard sculptures south of the park entrance on Ponca Ave.  The east end of the Sidewalk, on the corner of Morningside Dr. and Oklahoma Ave. at N 35º 12.847' W 97º 25.962',  sports its own sculptural sentinel as well.

In the middle of the walk is a bridge over Bishop Creek, which ends up joining the Canadian River south of Norman.  On the east end of the bridge is a short trail that leads northward to a clearing surrounded by woods.  It's probably technically someone's back yard, so as always be respectful of your neighbors.  Though you could probably bring a picnic lunch and no one would be the wiser!

Spread The Word!

Secret Sidewalks is working to get the word out!  Join us on Facebook here and Twitter here and drop us a line at secretsidewalks@gmail.com to let us know about your own discoveries in the Norman area or elsewhere!

Cruce Connection

Another campus area path that gets a lot of traffic in the fall is the Cruce Street connection between Broad Lane and S. Pickard Avenue near McKinley Elementary School.  The sidewalk connects the two dead-end sections of Cruce and at about 500 ft., it boasts some interesting venerable trees, a bridge over the WPA drainage system and a neighbor’s privacy fence that has inspired some local “artists”. It’s tempting to walk off the path and check out the ditch, maybe camp out a while, troll-style, and scare passersby trip-trapping across. Dog-walkers beware, the Secret Sidewalk mascot, Scooter, found some small burs along the way, nothing painful, just annoying.  The Broad Lane side on the west of the path runs parallel to the neighbor’s driveway, located at N 35º 12.566'  W 097º 27.372'. The east end, near McKinley, at N 35º 12.566’ W 097º 27.284', points you in the direction of the University of Oklahoma campus.