November 16, 2006: Bruce Vento Overlook/St. Paul West Side Bluff Hike (St. Paul)

Join the hiking group for a hike to the Bruce Vento Overlook and up and down the St. Paul West Side Bluff. In addition to a spectacular view of the Macalester-Groveland, West Seventh Street, and Highland Park sections of St. Paul and of downtown Minneapolis, the hike will also proceed down the river bluff into Lilydale Regional Park, by Echo Cave, and to the site of clay mines of the Minnesota Brick Company and the Twin City Brick Company, whose product went into many of the buildings in St. Paul. Bricks were made of the clay and shale here. The St. Peter Sandstone of the brickyards is 99% pure quartz sand that had been deposited along the edge of an ancient sea. The limestone of the brickyard is rich in fossils. Ordovician Rocks contain lots and lots of fossils. The old brickyard is a fossil hunting site, including crinoids, corals, brachiopods, bryozoans, and tribolites, with an outcrop that exposes a large part of the regional marine sequence, with St. Peter Sandstone at the bottom and the basal part of the Galena Group at the top. During Ordovician time, Minnesota was located from 10° to 40° south of the equator and a shallow sea covered Minnesota. The limestones of the Platteville Formation and the Galena Group were deposited in clear water under quiet conditions, and consequently both contain abundant fossils. Crinoids are relatives of starfish and sea urchins and are spiny skinned animals with a five-fold body symmetry. Brachiopods are shelled organisms with a shell that is composed of two unequal halves, called valves. Bryozoans commonly resemble a twig, a ribbon, or a small fan with tiny pores, while others are biscuit shaped or are gumdrop shaped.

The paths on the hike are made of crushed limestone and the hike will include a descent from the top of the bluff to the bottom and back, so wear sturdy shoes.

If coming by car: Take 1-94 East to the west edge of downtown St. Paul and take the Fifth Street exit. At the junction with West Seventh Street/Fort Road, turn West (right) on West Seventh Street/Fort Road and continue on West Seventh Street/Fort Road to Smith Avenue North. Turn South (left) on Smith Avenue, cross over the Mississippi River on the High Bridge, and continue to Cherokee Avenue. Turn West (left) on Cherokee Avenue and continue on Cherokee Avenue about 1/2 mile (about 1/4 mile beyond the intersetion with Baker Avenue West) to the second parking lot along the street on the right. The parking lot is marked by a small sign for Bruce Vento's Overlook and is opposite Cheorkee Heights Park. If you reach the sign indicating that you are entering West St. Paul, you have gone too far South. We will meet at the parking lot.

If coming by public transit: Take Metro Transit route(s): Applicable Metro Transit Map / Bus Schedule information

The group will reconvene at a nearby restaurant (Joseph's Grill, 140 Wabasha St South) after the hike for dinner or dessert.

Map to hike start point: 675 Cherokee Ave
St Paul, MN 55107-2508

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This webpage was last updated on October 2, 2006.