My Favorite Place to Run: Iroquois Park

When I first began to envision what I wanted out of Louisville Running Company, I knew I wanted to feature parks and places in the city where people can go for mileage. Runners are creatures of habit. We have our designated route or two, maybe adding on an extra loop if we need more mileage. I get it. It’s convenient to run the same route, it’s safe (especially for females, who unfortunately have to be much more careful with where/when they run if solo), and if something works why fix it? But our city has so many beautiful, safe places to get in your mileage. With the Louisville Running Company, I want to encourage people to explore new parks and new areas in our amazing city.

In the week’s blog post, I want to start our location spotlight with my absolute favorite part of the city to run, Iroquois Park. I may be biased since I grew up in the south end Beechmont neighborhood and started my running journey in the hills of Iroquois Park, but it really is special (side story for another day: it’s where I first rode a horse, and after being bucked off the horse I’ve never been on one since). There is not only a state-of-the-art amphitheater for outdoor concerts and free summer movies, as well as the fun Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular in the fall and Winter Woods Spectacular before Christmas, but also great trails and roads for miles of running.

Iroquois Park was one of the many parks designed by famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, the architect who also designed Central Park. At the time of its creation in the late 19th century, it was on the edge of the city. The whole 313-acre tract of land for the park was bought by the city for $9,000, and Southern Parkway was created as a grand road leading from the inner city to the suburban park.

But back to present day. Now, park visitors can enjoy some great playgrounds, basketball and tennis courts, and a city-owned golf course. For runners, there are some great running paths. The tree-lined 3.1(ish)-mile bottom loop of the park has a dedicated pedestrian lane and serves as a perfect location for 5Ks from local running groups like the Iroquois Hill Runners (IHR). There is also a path up to the top of the park, which has a great overlook with awesome views of Louisville. This park isn’t for the weak of heart though, as there are some pretty gnarly hills. One of my favorite races in the city, the IHR Thanksgiving 5 Miler, is essentially 2.5 miles up and 2.5 miles back down. There’s also a great 10-mile route that is infamously known as the hard 10. You can find these route favorites here.

So if you’re ever looking for a fun, albeit hilly place for your next adventure, give Iroquois Park a go. You won’t regret it!