Mayor's Memorial Day Hike, Bike and Paddle draws hundreds to Louisville's Waterfront Park

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- People hiked, biked and paddled around downtown Louisville on Memorial Day.

The annual event, which is free, brought a big crowd to the Great Lawn at Waterfront Park for the Mayor's Hike, Bike and Paddle.

Participants could choose to hike along the Waterfront, bike from downtown Louisville to Cherokee Park and back, or paddle along the Ohio River.

"I'm gonna go out paddling today, and it's my first time actually being on the river so it's an opportunity to face those fears and think about the city in a different way," Erin McGee Ferrell, who attended the Memorial Day event, said.

The day also included free yoga, Zumba, Step Aerobics, and high intensity boot camp warm-ups before the hiking, biking and paddling began at 10 a.m. Food and drinks were also available from Please & Thank You, A Miracle Ade and Red Top Hot Dogs.

The first 2,000 people to arrive at the event Monday morning got a free t-shirt. The Brain Injury Alliance of Kentucky also provided new bicycle helmets for the first 300 people there and, for the paddling portion, the first 30 people who arrived had access to a free kayak.

This was the 21st year for the Hike, Bike and Paddle event, which is typically held twice a year on Memorial Day and Labor Day.

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