This is truly one of the most beautiful spots in the metro area. During high season - mid to late…read moresummer - the rose garden is so lush and spectacular. It is so peaceful. I always bring my out of town guests here and they are in awe. it's also a perfect spot for date night for a walk before or after dinner. Love sitting by the fountain or setting up a picnic under the trees in the park on the hill on a sunny afternoon.

Amazing place to walk around or hang out and have a birthday party or just chill with friends…read more Lots of space to put frisbee or run around to take pictures of all the amazing flowers. The roses are usually in bloom early June but they have lots of other flowers in rotation so there's always something in blume. Free parking all over. Porta pottys. Water fountains and most things you need for an amazing Minnesota outdoor experience.

This park continues to be my favorite go to in the area, just beautiful! It can get super muddy…read moreafter it rains and hard to walk on. Go on sunny days with clear skies and you'll benefit from some beautiful reflections :)

This park is located in the heart of downtown St. Paul and is pretty basic. It spans 4.2 acres and…read morewas developed in 1922. There is metered street parking, with a 2-hour limit, in front of the park and there is other metered parking and commercial garages with in a reasonable walking distance. This park is very scenic and has a lot of potential. It sits up high and overlooks the Mississippi River. The park has some decent green space pockets that could be used for picnic and possibly frisbee or playing a light game of catch. It has a bunch of trees that provide a decent amount of shade. There is also a nice paved walkway around the parks perimeter that can be used to walk/jog. You will find some benches along that walkway that had a bunch of homeless people sleeping on them and a few people from nearby offices eating their lunch. The park could be maintained a bit better but, it is not horrible. The park an arcing pergola and two operational fountains. They are the best part of the park and make for some very nice pictures. The park is riddled with a bunch of homeless, as I mentioned, they were on the benches and one was in the fountain. The park has hosted events such as Saint Paul Winter Carnival, Country Flannel Night, Food Truck Friday: Voices of the Community, Francis Ford Coppola Winery Happy Hour, Hops & Hounds, and UCare Sunday Music in the Park. Either way, this is a nice park to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the big city, whether to sit and hang out, eat lunch, walk along the river overlook or just chill by the fountains.

This is an ideal park for panoramas. You won't get a better view of Raspberry Island and the bustle…read moreof St. Paul can be momentarily forgotten while walking here.

Small, quiet park. Nice area with benches, sculptures, and pretty landscaping. Free parking all…read morearound. Nice views of Saint Paul.

In the 1880's this site used to be a hotel. It burned to the ground, but before it did, can you…read moreimagine the views? Not too hard to imagine, because you can walk to the ledge over Grand Hill and look down at the river, the bluffs, the bridges and trees and wonder if they look back. The park has been all kinds of tore up for some time as they installed a GIANT statue of an eagle killing a snake, some grand gesture of Americaness or some such that was salvaged from some razed building in St. Paul then moved to a parking garage and then moved to the park for us to enjoy. There will be seating wall, a "plaza" and a drinking fountain, and hopefully coming this spring....GRASS.

Was in the area as we are in the market to buy a home, and any home we buy needs to be close by to…read morea public park! So after the open house, I came here to scope it out. Ultimately, this park is what it is: a green space that is surrounded on all sides by roads. Two of those roads are residential streets, another is a busy road, and the last is a highway. You're not going to be able to escape the road noise by going here. That said, at least there is somewhere green to take a short hike or be able to walk your dog with a small lake to admire. The park has a number of features to explore beyond just hiking. There is a large playground with quite a lot of climbing equipment, some slides, a zipline, a spin-a-majig, and swing set. There's a picnic area underneath a large sprawling gazebo structure. A mini golf course (open seasonally). A pool with water slides (open seasonally). An ice arena. A bandshell. A community garden space. And of course the Veterans memorial. All the trails are paved, though the pavement is heaving/cracking in a few places so it could be in better repair. Totally fine for hikers and bikers, but I definitely wouldn't take a pair of rollerblades or skateboard along these paths. There's also a considerable amount of goose poop pretty much everywhere, so watch your step! LOL. Two parking lots are available. The one by the pool/ice arena is massive. The one by the playground and mini golf is smaller but still quite a number of available spots.

This park definitely doesn't get as utilized as much as it should!…read more It has a nice trail, although shorter but very peaceful and easy to walk in different paths. There's a space for gatherings with a sheltered space, playground, volleyball, mini golf and more! They even have a local farmers market on the weekend here too! Went here for a walk with my dogs and surprisingly peaceful and minus some spots on the path that needs to be repaired and careful walking because it's not flat, it was a pleasant evening walk.

It's FREE! You should go check it out and see what you think. Worth a visit…read more It's a nice little afternoon distraction/explore. Took me about an hour and a half to walk the entire thing (both sides of Diffley) and I wasn't rushing at all. As you would expect from the name, there's a variety of art to pause and look at/photograph. Some of it is pretty, some is odd- again, as one would expect from art! I don't rate it that highly only because it wasn't all that much. I don't think I'm liable to go back, unless they posted some new 2025 events (the only ones listed were from summer of 2024) that catch my eye? The grounds are reasonably well marked with maps so you'll know where you are going and not get lost. There are port-a-potties on either side of Diffley, which seem to be well-maintained. The parking lot is a mid-sized gravel lot with little shade. My favorite things here were the "labyrinth" and the "poet tree box". Cute.

I like a cool, as in shady, respite from the urban rush as the park will sneak up on you from…read moreDiffley Road in Eagan. Enter a tree lined non-paved roadway with grass growing on the sides and we pull hard right to allow space for a car in the opposite direction. Unpaved parking lot and then follow the signs to either the nature trails or sculpture walk. There are no paper maps but there is a sign board with a sketchy map and another sign with a qr code, but you probably don't need to bother as the park isn't that big and I found I could cross over from one trail to the other. There is a fairly thick forest but not a wilderness as we can hear traffic rushing from roads on either side. The sculptures are interesting as is the founder Anthony Caponi who was born in Italy. There is a detailed fascinating portrait of this artist shown occasionally on Mn Original on Twin Cities Public Television, taped in his last year of life. I'm grateful this chunk of land was not sold and developed into cookie cutter houses but preserved and still private property.

Irvine park is a nice quiet quick walk from my apartment. My partner and I take our dogs here…read moreeveryday multiple times a day for some much needed outside time. The park itself is beautiful with nice sectioned green grass some decorative bushes and benches throughout with a gorgeous fountain at its center. There's street parking available immediately near by so no need to walk from blocks away for a visit. There's also a lovely little gazebo with lights that's very pretty in the early mornings or later/darker evenings. I know it's a historical site as well so that's nifty. We have also seen even a few weddings and photo shoots being done in the park

5/31/22: Overall 3.5 stars. Located in St. Paul, this is a small, quiet & intimate park. Calling it…read morea park might even be a stretch, as it's more like a place you just stroll through to escape the sun (lots of trees & shade) or snap a few pics. There's really no parking, nor any picnic tables, drinking water fountain, or bathrooms. Just a few benches facing the fountain. This isn't a place with jogging paths or much to do. So as a "park", with its lack of amenities, I'd say it's 2.5 stars, or 3 stars at best. However, you can rent the park from the city for $200 (prices as of May 2022) for an intimate wedding, which grants you the permit, plus very limited parking spots. For events over 2 hours, you must rent your own port-o-potty (from a different company $175), as they don't provide it with your park rental. Because it's a relatively affordable way to have a wedding for those on a budget, who love nature & want to be outside, or those who just want a simple no muss, no fuss type of wedding, for that target audience, I'd say it's a decent 3.5 stars, or perhaps even a good, 4 star option. The biggest plus is that there's really no one there (didn't see anyone running or walking their dogs, etc.), so there'll be no interruptions for those wanting a private event. I would say the biggest drawback of it is that there's no real bathroom or parking.

Great park. Nice and spacious fields and play area along with a stage and pavilion. Excellent…read morewalking trails that continue through shingle creek.

An unexpected beautiful hidden gem in Brooklyn Center! It's just off 694 and Shingle Creek…read moreParkway, hidden behind the Brooklyn Center Library and Community Center. There is an Amphitheater, multiple play structures, ball fields, walk/bike path, and scenic water features. Lots of community activities hosted here. In the summer time I've attended a concert at the Ampitheater, featuring an amazing band, The Power of Ten. The gym nearby, LA Fitness, sometimes hosts outdoor zumba classes here, too. It's clean and well taken care of. Plenty of walking paths that include outdoor gyms along the way. Great playground for the little ones. What I like most is that it's never to busy and it's so pretty. This is a great park to read a book at and to have picnics. There are picnic tables, barbecues, trash bins and porta-potties to host a nice picnic or a barbecue party.