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!

There a light show was fantastic. The service was amazing. You can donated food or money to this…read moreevent . You also can buy thing for souvenirs. The food and drinks variety prices. There is a drive-through or a walk for you. You can do both it's up to you. There are restrooms for on the site. Many cool pics you can take for social media.

When to the Kiwanas drive through light show. My first time there, really cool and is family…read moreapproved. Seemed a bit smaller than bentlyville but it's still fun. Go during the weekday if you are planning to do drive they instead of walking. Over the weekend, it took me about an hour from the exit of bentlyville to the start of the light show. No restrooms along the way, so be cautious about that. Overall a great experience, must for one time. But you can always make it a family tradition.

This is the "beach" we grew up at. So many memories of my dad bringing me here whenever I wanted to…read morego for a swim. It's usually really nice and clean. The fishing area is separated from the swimming area. Area to wash off the sand when you are done for the day. Plenty of parking. Playground nearby for kiddos who don't want to swim. Bring your beach toys for a nice day at the lake. Great place for picnic too.

This is a smaller beach which has its pros and cons…read more Pros: family friendly, easily walkable, grills, dog friendly Cons: can get crowded, drinks are not permitted So, I believe it is perfect for a stroll and a family grill. However, if you are looking for a hang out with your 21+ friends to drink and lay out I would recommend another beach. They have a beautiful dock for some quiet reading and fishing. However, I have yet to go down there because it's always being used.

This place is an incredible campground to stay at. They have so many activities throughout the day…read moreensuring everyone in the family has a great time. Super clean, great merch, beautifully kept sites and landscape throughout. You won't be disappointed.

Awesome time every time. The staff is top notch, understanding and solely worried about the…read morevisitors good times. Very nice outhouses, they actually flush. Lots of activities, always something going on. My one gripe, there is a ton of traffic in the campgrounds. I understand that it is a busy place, but I kept seeing the same vehicles driving by. Tons of golf carts always around. Visitors can't have, so the seasonal people really like cruising around in them. It is non stop traffic. Oh well, if I had a golf cart I'd probably drive it all over non stop too.

It's a large park area with lots to do. From easy fishing spots, to walking and bike trails, and…read moreeven the clam shell for performances there is a lot to do at Casperson. The park is clean and feels safe, I often see lots of kids and families. And there is some lake life happening as well with boaters and kayakers. Plan for an hour or plan for the day.

Very beautiful community park. Family fun for every one. Heart fishing dock and boat landing.read more

Very fun float kayak paddling trip! We rented kayaks and they helped us put in and take out along…read morewith a quick bus ride back. It was about 8 miles on the river with a few small rapids. The water was fairly shallow and easy to navigate. It took us maybe 2.5 hours for our kayak trip with beautiful scenery. We saw deer, 2 fawns with spots and a doe. We saw two bald eagles and 1 golden eagle, blue herons, turtles, kingfisher, turkey vulture etc. The parking is free; there is a bathroom where you put in. You need to sign waivers before going. They offer PFDs to everyone; under 18 must wear PFD.

We love the town of Cannon Falls. We decided to plan a Kayak trip with some family and give this…read moreplace a try. This area is beautiful and we saw many Bald Eagles as we strolled down the Cannon River. I don't think this was too expensive and it was a lot of fun. We had not been kayaking before and my wife was clueless. I had used canoes when I was a kid and had been up to the Boundary Waters, I felt okay. We told the people that it was our first time and without much of any instruction, they put her in the kayak and away she went. I felt like they could have done anything to make her more comfortable. The rental area is a shack, basically. They put you in kayaks and then pick you up in an hour from departure at the pick up point. Look for the large pink rock, that is where you exit the river to be picked up. We had the last time slot with several people overturning and having to empty their kayak, not me, I stayed dry. The people that had to drain their kayak wasted a lot of time and we were late to our pick-up at the end of the day when you know they wanted to go home and start their weekend. I felt bad but it wasn't my fault. This was a fun time. I would recommend that you have some experienced people to help you if you are new at this. The people running this place are not interested in spending time teaching you how to stay dry. That is up to you.

Spent a weekend camping & hiking here and it's lovely! This state park occupies a large swath of…read morethe coastline of Lake Albert Lea, and is very convenient to the city of Albert Lea and 35-W. As such, this is a very easy park to get to. I camped in one of the two large drive-in campgrounds, both of which are very well-appointed with amenities. There are drinking water faucets distributed liberally throughout the campgrounds, and there are large restroom facilities at each, which are kept clean and have plenty of toilets, sinks, and showers. They even have little stations to plug in devices to charge them. Probably my biggest gripe with this park is that the restroom facilities are so brightly lit, right next to where the campsites are, that it strongly impacts the outdoorsy ambience. Many campers might not mind that & might even prefer it. But between that and the audible proximity to the Interstate, I prefer to feel a little more isolated. I saw lots of big trailers plugged into outlets, and there are also group camps, rentable cabins, and backpacking sites. I definitely want to return here to try one of those backpacking sites along the east side of the lake. Speaking of the lake, I did spot a number of fishing and canoeing options being taken advantage of. With all the beautiful lakefront area here, this is a really cool place for that kind of activity. I was surprised that the office wasn't staffed when i arrived mid-afternoon on a Saturday in June (2022) to check in; I wasn't able to get my hands on a physical map, and I had to put cash in an envelope to get some firewood. But other than that, it felt like a well-staffed park. All things considered, I will defintely return from the Twin Cities, and if it's more convenient to where you live, you can consider that a good thing! EDIT: I did indeed return two weeks later and try out a packpacking site. Loved it! It's way more remote over there. Really beautiful and lots of cool, well-posted trails. There was a big stash of firewood they'd prepared for free; do they do that for everyone? It's great! You can get to all the backpacking sites via canoe. Bumping my rating from 4 stars to 5!

Beautiful, large park with trails for walking and bike trails. Wetland areas, big trees, and well…read moremaintained public areas

Lake Minnetonka can be a vast, scary landscape where Big Boats like to play. No place for a dainty…read moreand classy vessel like the Silky Pig. She prefers a more bucolic environment, free of tidal waves and Auto-Tuner. Eagle Lake, a mere fifteen minutes from the middle of the city, is big enough to be exciting (tubing!) and small enough to keep Silky safe. If you head out around two or three you might catch a glimpse of Club Pontoon, the floating suburban party that rocks out to Jimmy Buffet every weekend off of Maple Grove's leafy coast. Also, turtles!

This is a pretty fun laid back Lake. We found a really good spot, but there were only small fish…read morethere. The real fun beginning when my boyfriend found the bridge and we began fishing from there. We were catching fish left and right. Mid-size fish though!!! But all of a sudden when we left expected it, I got a really good bite, and ALMOST caught the biggest fish of the day. Hahaha it was at least a 5lb Northern. Good place, great paths, great fishing!

This park has quite the variety! Playgrounds and gazebos as well as ponds to fish in. The parking…read morelot is plenty big enough for quite a bit of parking, especially if you're throwing a party here. The bathrooms weren't the cleanest and there was some trash throughout the place, but otherwise it seemed pretty decent. It doesn't seem to be as heavily patrolled as other places, considering there were people parked at one of the gazebos, where you clearly should not be driving your vehicle; they drove up the foot path and through the grass to get to it. It is a pretty fun place though. Lots of shade as well.

Morehouse is a beautiful park in west-central Owatonna. It probably offers more things to do than…read moreany other in town. The Straight River borders the park to the north and west. In the northwest corner there is a dam with a pedestrian bridge across it. This part of the park is a reasonably short walk from much of the downtown area and is a popular spot to relax and watch the ducks and geese. On a nice calm day I like to sit there and read. The park has a pavilion as well as places for picnics and grilling. It's the only park in town that's active during the winter, other than cross-country skiing. There are ice skating rinks as well as skating on the frozen river. The chalet is great place to get skates on and off, as well as warm up. I think they rent out cross-country skis there too. The park also offers, softball, horseshoes, pickleball,and volleyball. There's also a skate park and a playground. Morehouse Park is also the hub of the paved trails that extend to other parks: the walking and bike trails at the north edge of town, and south to Lake Kohlmier (swimming, beach, fishing, canoeing) and Kaplan's Woods Parkway ( woods with 6 miles of hiking trails and 2 miles of paved trails). It's got something for everyone that wants to be outdoors.