Crystal Lake Beach

(42 reviews)

12.8 mi

Trying to be more intentional about exploring parks around Minneapolis this year, and Hidden Falls…read moreseemed like the perfect place to start. We usually default to Minnehaha Falls across the river, but I'd never actually explored this side--which looks to be really sprawling with new townhomes and modular single family homes. We parked near the dam and walked along the trail to reach the stairs leading down to Hidden Falls. Heads up: the walk down is a little precarious since there's no railing for most of the stairs, but it's not very steep and the trek itself is pretty short. The falls themselves were a bit disappointing at the moment--more of a trickle than a waterfall--but it is early in the season. That said, the forested park area it winds through was really nice, and made the visit worth it regardless. I can already tell this place is probably stunning in the summer when everything is green and flowing! Even with the lower water level, it was a great way to explore somewhere new and great to see there were so many people already exploring the park with it being chilly still!

Beautiful park near the city. Grabbed some take out and found an empty picnic table in the middle…read moreof the day - lots of parking! Watched a few boats launch, saw some geese, enjoyed watching people along the shore. Picnic tables near the water at the North Entrance. Check it out!

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Sand Point Beach

(4 reviews)

7.3 mi

Great clean beach, great clean park, only 2 downsides was the lake was filled with debris (grass…read moreclippings, etc) coming off from the boats and making their way to the shore. Had piles of debris in my swim suit afterwards - yuck. Sandy bottom was good. Other downside was it was $6 parking. Cops were ticketing, as well (saw an unfortunate soul receive one as we pulled in), so it's definitely patrolled and enforced. There are other places to enter the beach that Apple Maps takes you to as an entrance, however there are no parking zones everywhere around those (just a sidewalk) and unless you want to walk for miles to get there, you'll have to be prepared to pay (if there are any spaces left). I suppose this is what is keeping the beach from being overcrowded.

I really like this lake super fun. Clean lake park to take your kids to. Go sunbathing!!…read more genuinely, it was one of the best lakes I have been too. Cannot wait to go again.

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Antlers Park

4.7

(7 reviews)

4.8 mi

City of Lakeville spent 'thoughtful' time planning and investing money remodeling this park!…read more It's so perfect! This has been our family's go to park since 1982. Three generations! The new design, materials used and the layout are amazing! Something for everyone! And there's a restaurant on site now! Thank you Lakeville! We'll continue coming here for another 40 years! The Brown Family

Since the overhaul the place is so nice! It's really well taken care of and plenty of room even on…read morebusy days. The jet ski people who live on the lake are getting way too close to the swimmers though, ignoring all markings while doing dangerous "stunts". Had to call the police on them for almost hitting people in the water. Several got cited by the police.

Beautiful beach and sunset!

Ice Cream Shop

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Lebanon Hills Regional Park

4.7

(87 reviews)

7.6 mi

Lebanon Hills Regional Park is such a great park for hiking! The trail system consists of over 14…read moremiles of summer hiking trails and over 12 miles of mountain bike trail. There are multiple parking lots available and even if they seem full don't let that deter you as the park is so large it never feels overly busy. There is also a beach and picnic area available too.

Came here to see the fall colors mid October. They looked so beautiful! I loved how easily…read moreaccessible the trail was. It's fully paved and has a few winding bridges, one that goes above a lake. You could easily spend several hours here because the park is so large! The people on the trail were really friendly. I loved seeing all the wildlife along the trail too. We spotted several caterpillars and saw ducks and different birds in the distance. The fall colors were very beautiful and the trail was wide and relatively empty for a Sunday mid-day. I absolutely loved it. Would definitely come here again in the future !

Beautiful views from Fire Pit Area

Trail

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Portage for canoes and kayaks

Three Rivers Park District

(5 reviews)

34.1 mi

I brought my family to this park for their annual triathlon and the whole place is just incredible…read more Second tri ever for me, and the park offers so much for kids and families. Beautiful lake, ample parking, AWESOME playground for the littles. I only live half an hour away and I'd never been here before, but I'll be back! Always great to find a new place.

This park is a total gem! Lots of slides and things for the kiddos to climb. My 5 and 12 year old…read moreboth had fun finding the hidden animals throughout the playground. Looking forward to coming back again in the Spring!

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Pembles Access

(5 reviews)

26.5 mi

Great little slice of heaven we stumbled on by accident after the beach at Willow River was a bust…read more Highly recommend!

great spot in the township of Troy (I know that for a fact since the warning signs for trespassing…read moreon the neighbor beaches is listed by them as $295 fine). Please see previous warning about the undertow in the river, out from the other side of the buoy-it IS dangerous further out. Near the shoreline, it is nice and shallow. We found this little slice of untouched St. Croix River a wonderful place to enjoy on a hot summer day.

Beautiful sandy beach and clean water!

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Riley Lake Park

4.5

(2 reviews)

14.5 mi

I play volleyball here occasionally, and it's one of the most beautiful parks in the Twin Cities…read more It has well kept sand volleyball, basketball, and tennis courts. There's also a decent beach located on the lake. There's a ton of parking. Overall this park just has great vibes going on.

Okay, maybe I'm biased because my husband and I had our wedding at the barn at Lake Riley but... I…read morelove this park! Plenty of amenities such as trails, a picnic area, a basketball court, a tennis court, a big playground, grills, etc. The beach is really nice, and there is a lifeguard present. You can drink in the picnic area (not the beach). Makes for a nice afternoon.

Cleary Lake Regional Park

4.1

(22 reviews)

7.4 mi

For the 2nd year in a row we have rented the park pavilion for a large family gathering. A…read morebeautiful park pavilion, with kitchen, picnic tables inside and outside, and large fire place in the center. Children of all ages and adults, all loved it. One day rental gives you access from morning until night. Beautiful scenery, and great playground, and public bathroom near pavilion. We brought in food (pot luck) and beverages and everyone loved it. Parking right next to the pavilion. We can't say enough good things. Last year was a wedding/bridal shower and it was easy to decorate as much as we wanted. Great family photo "ops". Strande's Lakeville, Mn

I enjoy kayaking here. There where a lot of nature to see from the lake. This is a great spot to go…read moreif you are a birdwatcher we saw so many different birds, ducks, and raptors. We also saw a deer and her baby. I love all of three rivers parks! This one you can rent kayaks, paddle boats, standup paddles. They also have lots of picnic tables, a playground and indoor bathrooms. It's a nice Hiking, swimming, Nonmotorized water sports, fishing, and picnics. You do not have to pay anything to enter this place, And parking is free!!

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Watzl's Point Beach

(3 reviews)

8.2 mi

This park was a park that I happened to find on Yelp while eating some lunch in Shakopee. I saw…read morepictures that an out-of-towner posted which made me want to check it out. What a nice park. I was surprised that this park was so large with everything to do there, they have trails, lake, beach, all kinds of sports fields and play sets. There is something for everyone. I took a lot of pictures because I would round a bend or come over a hill and see the park is bigger and with more to offer. This park is well kept and well marked. I can't wait to stop back to capture more photos and some sunshine. Have a great day. Keep Yelping! Enjoy the photos and maybe I will see you there. Make sure that you say HI.

This recreational park was one of my favorite places that we stopped while I was in town. There is…read moreample parking and the park was pretty empty but, it's was a cooler fall day. There is a playground that has equipment for all ages, swings, basketball courts and a skate park. There was also pavilions, arbors and a beautiful gazebo. The lake runs through this park and there was plenty of benches on the walking trails. I took the shaded trail that leads down to the lake front beach and it was absolutely gorgeous. Tree covered pathway through the forest and the crisp fall air whipping by is enough to make anyone's stress melt away. There is a map at the bottom of the trail near the lake that shows the various trails throughout the park. It does circle around no matter which outlet you take back into the main park area. Since it was a paved trail it was an easy hike and a great opportunity to take in the leaves changing colors. The beach park was small but, it did appear to have bathroom facilities and enough room to take a dip during the summer. Unfortunately it started to rain so, I didn't get to walk the trail to the front where there was a nice walking bridge.

Hike down to the lake and beach park

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Bay Rentals Inc

3.9

(28 reviews)

24.5 mi

Overall we got to have fun on the lake but I will say these machines are a bit beat up and seem to…read moreneed a tune up. As I would turn the machine would lose a lot of power and my partner ran out of gas with a hour left, so they didn't fill up both machines asine still had half a tank left. $600 deposit and make sure to take a good video of the machines. The process of receiving instruction was a little odd as a younger kid was giving us rules then a seemingly drunk older man in a truck kept talking over him who I assume is the owner? Kind of a weird dynamic going on here. The process of taking off and riding was good no issues there.

Ohmygoodness, not enough good to say!!…read more My friend and I had never been paddle boarding, it was 95 deg out with 72% humidity and we were feeling adventurous. Did a quick google search and found this place. Gave a call and the voicemail said to leave a message and they would get back. Yeah right. Well, about 30 minutes later the phone rang! Learned that SUPs were first come first served, but mentioned we were headed to them in mound from Coon Rapids and it would kinda suck to drive that far. I asked what our chances were and they were sweet enough to make sure they didn't all disappear! The process is super easy, tou check in and then walk the few hundred feet to the beach. They bring the boards (or whatever you've rented) over to you and you're set! When you're done you just beach the items and they come grab them. Only down side is SUP is kinda hard for a newbie as the lake is clearly a play lake. Constantly rough from all the jet skiiers.

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Nine Mile Creek Lower Valley Trail System

(5 reviews)

7.3 mi

The address is a little mislabeled, it will take you to some public school. Back up, about 0.5…read moremiles away from the underpass, there's a little bridge with a parking lot, that's the trail head. The Trail itself is really wonderful. Deep vegetation, a little too many insects but otherwise great. There's a beautiful creek that runs alongside the trail. The animals you'll see the most are dogs that are being walked. It seems to be a favorite among Bloomington locals.

Beautiful park! I went in the winter and between the snowy creek, bubbling brook, and bird noises…read moreit just can't get much better. Yes it's hard to completely escape the road noise, but a small price for a lovely hike so close to the city.

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Burnsville Lions Playground

(3 reviews)

4.4 mi

Clean park, with a large playground ages 5-12, with multiple rotating play toys, and climbing…read morestructures. Small playground for under 5, two sets of swings. Large soccer field and volleyball area. Two large shelters with picnic tables and grills and a really nice water splash pad.

My 4 year old had so much fun playing at this park. It's a really unique place with tons of little…read moreplaces to explore.

The toddler play area

The main play structure

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Bluewater Aquatic Center

(3 reviews)

3.7 mi

Well run swim meet run by the Riptide, the USA swim team that practices here…read more I was able to drop my kid off right at the door, run to a nearby coffee shop, return and park somewhat nearby (on the street), and still find plenty of good places to sit in the stands to watch the events. Huge selection of healthy foods and treats at their concession stands with plenty of tables, and right next to Elsmore so you can poke around at their clearance suits. Kid said the showers were cold, but I suspect the water was running all day. My favorite venue for swim meets thus far.

One of the few nice pools that is not a part of the public school system. My kids had the privilege…read moreof swimming here for one of the swim meets. Very clean and extremely organized. I would love to have my children take lessons here...Unfortunately, we live too far from here.

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Front

Terrace Oaks West Park

4.2

(6 reviews)

3.1 mi

Perfectly adequate experience for hiking. Definitely got the impression that this park is more…read moregeared towards winter cross-country skiing purposes. Though there is also a mountain biking path. There is both an East and a West entrance to this park. The East entrance seems to more be the main entrance with a tennis court, hockey rink, children's playground, and little free library. The West end however has a younger children's playground and a gazebo with ample picnic tables and a grill. Both ends have trash/recycling bins and a port-a-potty. No plumbed toilet facilities and no water fountains (this fact admittedly lowered my rating of the place). Trails are all pretty wide (again, to accommodate the cross-country skiers), and there are a decently number of maps posted periodically along the route to help you keep track of where you are. The outermost loop is 3.2 miles, so this would be a decent place to practice your 5k, especially if you want frequent elevation changes. I didn't find the scenery to be all that stunning compared to some other spots I've found around MN, but it was still reasonably pretty here and there. Nice large parking lots on either end.

I love this Burnsville area! Feels like I am hours away from the city. The trails here were nice…read more Took my dog around the loop. Very peaceful....