Riverwalk — Attraction in Montgomery

You would think that something like Montgomery's Riverwalk would be a holiday/weekend sort of attraction.  I would think that, and I did think that.  Sadly, this place was a ghost town on Labor Day.  I don't know where everybody was or what else they might have been doing, but they weren't downtown at the Riverwalk.

We accessed the area via the Civil War-era tunnel from Tallapoosa Street.  The tunnel, while neato in and of itself, was the last cool place we would be for the next 30 minutes.  Popping out of the tunnel, you are dumped onto a stage (I believe) for both the paddle boat that plies the river on days that we weren't there and the earthen amphitheater on the hill.

The "pavement" seemed to be rubber-like and was very darkly colored.  That would probably be welcome in winter, but it makes for about a 15-20 degree increase mid-day in the summer.  It was seriously hot!

We walked up the hill to the SandBAR at the Silos, which is an outside bar built into concrete silos.  It was closed like everything else around downtown.  Looked like it would have been a neat place to loiter.

The most interesting thing was the pole that marked the high-water point from a flood sometime in the past.  That mark was waaay up the pole, which made me do a 360 and try to imagine the general vicinity underneath about 20 feet of water.

The park is very attractive and I'd bet that it would be fun, if more than 4 people were around...

Much has changed over the decades. Lots more concrete. I would've loved to have seen a natural sandy shore, city side; though the observation areas with places to sit are nicely arranged with creative elements of architecture and artistic pieces mingled in nicely. I think the tunnel to the riverside could be better lit, though the dark does welcome you with cooler temperatures than the streets above, and walk ahead either one. To me the large iron gateway marking the tunnel's entrance obstructs the view of the marvelous building fronts that line the approaching street, when looked back upon. Many of these buildings were erected in the first years of the 20th century ( 1905-1910) and continue to display the builders & architects' glorious talent. If architectural features are something you enjoy the walk down to riverside is worth that alone. If paddle boats whose designs hail from the antiquated past fascinate you. Or if you just enjoy watching the trains go by, then River Walk is for you. I personally like the variety of graffiti on the box cars and the occasional tag on a random derelict...

I went to their 4th of July celebration on the second.

A few things I noticed in regards to this specific event: police didn't want to be there, and gave up monitoring the entrance. Which meant the person I came with went to the car to put their knife back, but the person who came thirty minutes later didn't have to do so and there were hours of festivity left. Also, alcohol isn't acceptable to bring with you.... Unless you're the pretty girl toting a truly case unopened with minors in your group. Interesting to see.

I also noticed that the fireworks show lasted about only 10 min. If that. I video recorded my baby for about 5 minutes and took a few photos and BAM it was done. Saw like three myself. They where on the smaller scale.

As someone who rode from Opelika, it doesn't seem really "worth it".

Holiday aside, the park really did seem lovely and there's a...