Confluence park marks the area where gold was discovered in 1858 by William Greeneberry Russell. This gold discovery led to the founding of Denver. Today Confluence Park is an urban park encompassing the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River in Denver’s Lower Downtown (LoDo), a bustling neighborhood of 19th-century brick warehouses and storefronts that has been redeveloped since the late 1980s. The park includes cement trails often filled with walkers, runners, and bikers. Some grassy areas, river overlooks, and park benches are also available. Two pedestrian bridges cross the South Platte River and Cherry Creek at Confluence Park. The eastern edge of the South Platte in Confluence Park has been transformed into a kayak run, immediately across from R.E.I.’s (Recreational Equipment Inc.) Colorado flagship store. The park is adjacent to a number of new up-scale townhouses, apartments, and loft developments, another park bordering the South Platte downstream, train tracks, and Denver’s skatepark.