On the North shore of Spring Lake (in Spring Lake Park, MN) you can find this little gem of a 11.8…read moreacre park. There are picnic tables/shelters/benches, a fishing pier ("no good" fishing per the teens fishing there during my visit), sand volleyball courts, playground, walking trail, softball field, beach. On my visit the beach was closed to swimming (maybe lack of lifeguards?). Off street parking lot, as well as nearby street parking. Mature trees to offer shade. Both Moundsview & Spring Lake Park run this park jointly.

Just so you know this park is in Bloomington, not Minneapolis, the search maps pull by a zip code…read moreoffice. I've put in a request for Yelp to update. This is a nice park, not outstanding, just nice. In the summer there is swimming and a large central building. A few picnic tables and short hiking paths that connect to larger trails. There is a guard station that on occasion charges admission to the park, otherwise there are two parking lots to handle events.

If I had to choose one of the parks on this road, it would be the one the street is named after,…read moreand for good reason. The panoramics along the lake are postcard worthy. There is an honest to goodness Beach here, and I barely even explored what looked like a dense wooded trail network.

I just enjoyed our first time at Big Marine Park Reserve. Yes, you do need a daily ($7) or annual…read moreWashington County pass ($35) if you plan on visiting this park. They have lovely grounds that are kept up. The playground didn't appear to be too old and they had one playground specifically for toddlers and another for big kids that had 2 huge slides. There are bathroom facilities near the beach and by the playground. They also had a water fountain. The beach was great. The water was clear and the floor was sandy. What a beautiful lake. And the water was warmer than I expected even on a cooler 75 degree day. Lots of places to park your cooler and/or towels and wasn't too busy. And lots of parking spaces too.

Our summers seem so short here in MN which is why whenever possible I love spending time of the…read morewater. The best I can do for golfing is mini golf and I'm not even that good and tend to play mini golf like Happy Gilmore. All the more reason for me to go out fishing or boating. One of our favorite locations is Big Marine Park. There is public access to the lake on the North end however for $7.00 a day or a $30.00 for the year, you have access to so much more. From a boating perspective, the access is wide and nicely paved. Room enough for two vehicles at a time where the other access is a single access. Plenty of room to park. There is a fishing pier that is handicapped accessible. A really nice beach with a playground, picnic area and pavilion. There are even scenic hiking trails. The park is open from 6:00am to 10:00pm. Lots to like and enjoy about Big Marine Park for kids of all ages which is just one reason why we look forward to our next visit.

Very nice neighborhood park Gathered here with friends for…read morememorial weekend bbq Lots of space and picnic tables and garbage /recycle area Bbq grills available but bring your own charcoal Beach area is small but clean and perfect for the kids Lots of parking

This is an ok little lake/swim/beach area. The water is fairly clean for being a lake that is not…read moreconsidered up north. They must rake the beach so that all the creepy floaty thingys stay at bay. The fish however really like to bite at this one which kind of creeps me out. I mush prefer a good chlorinated swimming pool, but those aren't always available. There are lifeguards at this location. The swimming area is quite small and quite shallow, but I think its made more for the kiddies not for doing any serious laps or anything. Basically its a nice little area to go cool off in. The park itself is nice. There are picnic tables up the hill. It's clean and well maintained. Flat surface parking, but it does fill up pretty quickly making it difficult to find a spot on a really warm day.

Currently this park is undergoing an improvement around the parking lot/street area. There is no…read moreplayground equipment here (but a hike across the fields can get you to the playground at Rice Rake School). Country Lakes Park has a paved trail, picnic tables and a scenic view of Reshanau Lake. In the past, there has been a fishing pier (but not yet out this season due to CV-19?). This rustic park offers a quiet view of the lake and basic picnic tables. There are no shelters/playground equipment/amenities but has lots of trees/nature/views.

I haven't been to Turtle Lake Beach since I was about 6 years old. My family and I used to come…read morehere in the summer many years ago when I was a kid, now that I have a child of my own and have moved back to the area- we frequent this lovely little beach. Pros: Clean Showers Changing areas Fairy decent bathrooms Picnic Tables Playground Boat Launch ( if you have a boat) Parking lot Covered areas I much prefer pools, but this lake is decent and fairly clear and you can swim out a little ways and its' still shallow. No lifeguards which is okay. We can use the inflatables here. Nice little local beach and park. Glad to revisit this gem.

I'm going to have to return to this park again when I have a bit more time to explore. I stopped by…read morefor a quick hike and was a bit stymied when my GPS took me an unnecessary two miles over to the west entrance (past the unrelated marina) when I'd been intending to use the east one. The west entrance has a good-sized free parking lot nearby the gazebo. This structure has picnic tables, fire pit, water fountain, and restrooms (however, the latter two are seasonal... in November the fountain was shut off and the restrooms were locked, which kind of sucked for me who was in need of both... thus why I made my stay somewhat short). The trails for the most part are all paved, unless you take the unofficial ones beaten down along the riverway (which seem to be most utilized by fishers from what I could glean). So that's great for bicyclists or people pushing baby strollers or rollerbladers, but wasn't exactly the vibe I was looking for. Depends on what your desires are recreationally. There was one lake area under restoration that was therefore inaccessible for now; always nice to see when resources are being invested to keep our parks nice. Lots of trees, plenty of shade, even when most of the trees have lost their leaves in preparation for winter. I think I'll come back when some snow has fallen, because I'm sure it would probably be quite gorgeous.

Love this park! Beautiful sand trails by the river and also paved trails. Highly recommend checking…read moreit out. There are many places to park along the road, but I love the parking lot by the picnic shelter, too!

Great park and trail system on the Mississippi River. There's two sides one in Brooklyn park and…read moreother in coon rapids. You cross the river walking the dam. Theres endless places to fish and lots of trails. Renovated visitor centers and playgrounds.

Oh my gosh it was so beautiful and peaceful with many walking trails and such. A breathtaking view…read moreI could have stayed all day. Excellent for a walk or bike ride. Check out Thursday evenings during the summer for great free music...and free parking! My friends and I enjoyed the amazing Minnesota band, The Power of 10 and danced to it all night long!