Parks & Recreation - Parks And Recreation
Twin Citians have the luxury of being able to walk past wetlands full of migratory waterfowl and turtles on their way to downtown Minneapolis, or through thickly forested areas housing species of native animals and birds just minutes outside St. Paul. Kids who grow up in the Twin Cities share in pleasures usually reserved for children in the country, whether it be fishing in one of the many regularly stocked urban lakes, berry picking, or just being surrounded by trees, songbirds, and wildflowers. Even in the dead of winter, you’ll find people outside cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or ice fishing in the many city and suburban parks around the Cities. Take a trip to any of the following, and you’ll soon see why Minnesotans prize their wilderness areas.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 1382 Willow St.
3. Mill Ruins Park
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (612) 230-6400
Address: 704 South Second St.
Description: Mill Ruins Park on the Mississippi River is next to the Mill City Museum, the historic Crosby A Mill now preserved to celebrate the history of the flour mills that built the city of Minneapolis. The park overlooks the locks and St. Anthony Falls, and visitors can watch the barge traffic making its way through the locks and on down the Mississippi. The park connects to the Stone Arch Bridge, a pedestrian and bicycle pathway across the river, and to the bike trail system winding up and down the Mississippi and throughout the Twin Cities.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 4801 Minnehaha Ave. South
6. Nicollet Island Park
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (612) 230-6400
Address: 40 Power St. (off Historic Main Street a
Description: In summertime this little island located in the middle of the Mississippi River is a haven for native wildlife of all sorts, including the occasional deer. In winter the park is converted into a giant ice-skating rink. Year-round the park is a beautiful place for an afternoon or evening stroll—at night the lights of downtown Minneapolis reflect off the Mississippi River, giving one the feeling of being downtown yet still walking through a quaint, small town. Horse-and-carriage rides are available from the nearby Nicollet Inn, and fireworks displays can be seen from the park’s rolling green hills on New Year’s Eve, the Fourth of July, and during the Aquatennial celebration.
7. St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (612) 767-8000
Description: This amazing stretch of land is often overlooked because the entrance is tucked behind the giant Pillsbury flour mill, next to Minneapolis’s historic Main Street retail area directly across the Mississippi River from downtown.The Heritage Trail is a highly accessible asphalt multiuse trail (bike, hike, jog, and skate) that takes visitors on a 1.8-mile loop, connecting them to most of the historic and natural features of early Minneapolis, including vistas of the tree-lined banks of the Mississippi River as well as many ruined brick arches from the days of the bustling milling industry.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 1339 Theodore Wirth Pkwy.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
12. Phalen Park
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (651) 266-6400
Description: Founded in 1899, Phalen Park surrounds the quiet residential area around Phalen and Round Lakes in northeast St. Paul, with 3.2 miles of paved trails, an amphitheater, a beach, an 18-hole golf course, and a picnic shelter and pavilion. The park is named for Edward Phelan (whose name was spelled various ways), the earliest settler of the land around Phalen Creek. The park’s trails connect to the Gateway State Trail, a paved biking and walking trail stretching from downtown St. Paul to Pioneer Park, north of Stillwater.
13. Shadow Falls
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
Description: For generations, neighborhood families (by day) and St. Thomas students (by night) have been hiking down into this little gorge to climb on, around, and behind the hidden 30-foot waterfall flowing into the nearby Mississippi River. The falls gave the nearby residential neighborhood its name, and the gentle hike makes for a nice excursion just off the beaten path. (Warning; Watch out for the broken beer bottles.)
14. Western Sculpture Park
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation
Description: The Avis of Twin Cities sculpture parks. Hidden in plain sight, this funky little urban park features pieces sporting up-with-people inspirational quotes, a giant megaphone facing the nearby State Capitol, and at its center a spectacular Mark DiSuvero steelwork. Check the Web site before or after your visit to keep score: Labels for the pieces are often missing or weirdly hidden.
City: Minneapolis, MN
Category: Parks & Recreation