Paducah's riverwalk is wonderful place to go for a stroll, feed the riverbirds, learn about the city's history, pick up mussel shells, or just take in the flowing grandure of the Ohio River.

The riverwalk is directly behind the mural-painted riverwall, located at the end of the Historic District. The walkway is lined with benches, historical markers, an elevated observation ramp and is a great place to watch the white gulls hang out for a handout.

It was here on this bank that George Rogers Clark, later of the Lewis and Clark fame, stopped in 1778; that Gen. Ulysses S. Grant came to town, during the Civil War, in 1861; and that the first submarine cable was stretched under the Ohio over to Illinois, in 1847.

The lower riverbank itself is lined primarily with heavy rocks, brought in by engineers. But if you look closely between the rocks, and especially along the gravel by the river itself, you might find mussel shells. The shells will have been washed there by the rising and falling of the Ohio River.

The main entrances for this walkway is in a couple of spots in the floodwall between the Kentucky Ave. and Jefferson Street juncitons along Water Street. There are both pedestrian and vehicle entrances. Parking is limited, with more available on the mural side of the flood wall.

It all can make for a peaceful afternoon.