Such a pretty hidden nature spot and honestly worth wandering around. The waterfall itself is…read morereally cool, but what I loved most was exploring all the little details around it--flowers growing by the creek, dripping mossy rock walls, interesting trees, and just the peaceful feeling of being tucked away in the woods. We definitely climbed around and explored more than expected The waterfall is beautiful from different angles, and if you like taking photos, there are a lot of fun spots and textures to capture. Depending on the time of day, the sun makes the water sparkle which looked really pretty. It felt peaceful, relaxing, and like a nice little escape without needing some huge hike. Definitely bring decent shoes if you plan to explore near the water or rocks because it can get slippery. Would absolutely recommend if you enjoy nature, photography, or just finding quiet pretty places.

An effortless walk through the Big Woods! If you're looking…read morefor a nature fix without an intense workout, this is the spot. The trails are well-maintained and marked, making for an incredibly easy, seamless hike--so much so that you don't really need a map to figure out where you're going. The old-growth forest canopy is gorgeous, and keeping an eye out for all the cool wild mushrooms along the trail made the walk even more fun :)

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!

Plenty of trails to pick from, although they can be a bit challenging to navigate by the postings…read more This may have been caused by the number of trails and lack of water in the creek. The park is full of deciduous trees, so they are beautiful in the fall.

Thank you Nicollet County for this awesome park! It is a hidden gem along Highway 169, between St…read more Peter & Mankato. If you blink, you might miss it...but be sure to turn around when it's safe and check out this special spot! We explored the west part of the park (hiking, picnic) but the park extends across 169 and has a boat landing on the Minnesota River (we will check that side out next time!). 628 acres of Nicollet County Park, 10 miles of multi-use trails with equestrian parking & highway underpass, 3 shelters & many picnic areas along the creek, a playground, 2 volleyball courts & a ball diamond. Brown Trout are stocked in Seven Mile Creek by the DNR, but be sure to have your trout stamp! We have had wonderful hikes in this park, meeting horseback riders (at crossroads between equestrian trails & hiking trails), enjoying the space and beauty. Next time you're headed south on 169, check it out!

Nice addition to the area. It's not in too bad of shape after the mining operation left. The water…read moreis clear and full of fish. Plenty of mature greenery and rolling hills. The beach needs some improvements before I'd recommend it for a family. The water depth drops off quickly, the beach itself is steep and ungraded, and there are no picnic tables/grills or anything like that. Overall, as long as you are OK with and expecting a rustic undeveloped experience, you will like this place! It really is beautiful!

Great place. Nice pic nic, great concerts, very clean. Will be back to rent a paddle boat.read more

Since retirement, my wife and I would bring our young grandchildren here for a stroll every…read moremorning. Very peaceful here and I truly enjoy the scenery. The kids love the playground here.

Beautiful trails that take you through prairie or down to the river. You can take a short 15ish…read moreminute walk or challenge yourself for hours. The traverse was pretty easy, nothing too stressful. Walking down to the river gave some nice views and some moments to just sit and enjoy the surroundings. It also didn't seem to have an admission charge, so you could park and walk right in.

Beautiful trails! Animals galore! Fun in every season. Woods, ponds, and even a prairie-- choose…read moreyour own adventure. An important educational asset to area schools, Faribault kids grow up snow-shoeing and exploring the trails and learning about wildlife. DON'T MISS THE TURTLE POND!

This is a cute hidden spot in Mankato. I'm sure it's breathtaking when the water levels are high…read more Unfortunately, we visited during a drought so it was basically a trickle. There is a small parking lot, a walking path, and the bridge overlooks the falls.

On our way to Minneopa state park we did a quick search for other waterfalls in the area and…read moreMinnemishinona popped up. We took the quick detour to check it out. The park was much smaller than we expected and it may be easy to miss if you do t know it's there. There is a small dirt/gravel parking with a seating pavilion. On the other side of the path, there is a large field area with picnic tables scattered around and lots of shade. There is a very short trail to a bridge overlooking the falls. The falls were smaller than expected but still a nice view. It was hard to tell if there were paths and trails where you could make your way down to the creek but access directly to the falls was not an option. Lots of signs and fences marking it off because the drop is significant. If your exploring and driving past, it makes a nice roadside stop but not one I would say is worth a special trip.

The refuge is a great place to explore nature. There are many trails to hike both short and long…read more The Visitor's Center has a wonderful display and activities. There is also a viewing area where there are bird feeders. A favorite is the turkeys that stop by! The staff here are helful and friendly. They also plan community events that are always fun and educational.

Hooray, I finally came here when the visitor center was open! I've been a couple of times in the…read morepast just to do some hiking on the trails, but I'd never gotten to see the inside as the hours are somewhat narrow being just Wednesday through Sunday. It looked really grandiose from the outside, so I'm unsurprised the inside was quite modern and comfortable. It's comprised of many available seating areas where you can sit and relax (I especially recommend the seating facing the bird feeders, though there's also a cozy fireplace), or simply wander and explore the exhibits they have up with information on them about the history of the refuge, the work its done and is doing, and the animals that inhabit it. This is important work! I'm so glad they're doing it. Unsurprisingly there is a gift shop with expected trinkets such as stickers, pins, patches, plushies, postcards, jewelry, hankerchiefs, and lots of books. So if you'd like to support the refuge and get a little something for yourself, that's a great way to do it. There is additionally an art gallery with revolving local Minnesota artists that take inspiration from nature, an auditorium playing a looped track, and plenty of space for kids to play (including corn hole and giant puzzles). There is a conference room (downstairs) and a community room (upstairs), and considerable office space (not open to the public, obviously). Two water bottle refill stations. Clean bathrooms (separated by gender, but there's also a bonus unisex, accessible one). These folks do LOTS of events throughout the year, most of them completely free to attend (some require RSVP, others don't), so I recommend keeping an eye out for something that interests you. Plenty of free parking is available on site. There are picnic tables around the visitor center, as well as an outlook with binoculars. If you go down along the left side the visitor center, it will take you to the trails if you're here to do some hiking. :)

Another stop on our quest to visit all MN state parks. This was the third of three parks in a day…read moreso we were very tired and only saw a small part of the park. We checked out the remains of the fort and learned about the people who lived there. The visitor center was still closed due to the pandemic but there were many placards around to read and learn. We took a short hike to a lookout point and found these amazing communal cocoons (my bug people say they are either gypsy or tent caterpillars). Views were beautiful. The area looked hilly and would have liked to see more. Best part about visiting all the parks is we get to see which areas are our favorites and visit again.

This is a state park and historic site as well, thus the name. There are ruins showing a much…read morelarger fort at one time and one preserved building and monument. Plenty of interpretive signs that have obviously been rewritten to reflect modern values of inclusive history. There are plenty of camping sites available in this seemingly very quiet park. The walking trails are generally in good shape until you go deeper in to the adjoining trails . There are steep hills and damp valleys and warning signs that trails are rougher. For reasons unknown many sections are closed and certainly it's not from flooding as the summer of 21' is drought stricken. One less star because of some poor or lacking signage and guide maps while at trail intersections. Pick up a paper map at the closed headquarters, (they are in a box), and use your phone compass if need be.

We went to this park after my daughter's daycare had a field trip here. What a little pearl. It's…read moresuch a fun park. I wanted to tell all my friends...but at the same.time want to keep it secret. It has some fun items that you dont see at other parks. One in particular is the circular monkey bars...so fun! My kids really enjoyed their time here There is also a spacious parking lot. Easy to find. And both a play structure for littles as well as a bigger one that goes up to 12 years old.