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!

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 !

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.

Dropped by for the Eagan Market Fest at the Eagan Community Center (select Wednesdays), but I was a…read morebit early for doors so I decided to go exploring the surrounding park grounds. It's not much in the way of hiking, as the longest path/loop is only a mile long and fully paved with asphalt, but it's got a lot of amenities that would make for an excellent visit during warmer months. This includes a kid's playground, an extensive fitness zone, a splash pad (with toilets and water fountain-- not operating during winter), a bandshell, and a sizable festival grounds. On the other end of the park (near Pilot Knob) there's a gazebo structure with more seasonal restrooms/water fountain, with a multitude of picnic tables, trash/recycling, and grills that would be excellent for outdoor get-togethers. There is parking at both this location and by the splash pad, as well as the massive lot attached to the community center. There's a couple small lakes and plenty of trees, so it's a nice little retreat (even if right across the street is a massive outdoor shopping center...).

I've been bringing my kids to this park for over 10 years. They started with the playground, and we…read moreloved when the splash pad was installed. Now, they like to work out at the Core Valley area (we call it Ninja Warrior Park), while I walk the lovely trails around the pond area. The band shell has some free performances sometimes. My fav feature is the cute gazebo and bridge next to the pond. A very well thought out park for so many uses, including art fairs, food truck fairs, a weekly farmer's market and even a huge July 4th celebration. The Eagan Community Center building is conveniently located the middle of the park.

Took a nice walk around Thomas lake park and enjoyed the scenery. It has well paved paths that are…read morewide. There are many benches along the path, some overlooking the lake which make for a nice rest. There are ample parking spots available and a park pavilion down one of the paths. Only drawback was all of the poop that has been left behind by pet owners.

Pros- lots of green, clear trails for walking, running , lots of entrances and exits. Lots of…read morebenches and places to rest . I saw at least one large playground. Can't wait to bring the rest of my family. No cons.

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.

If you're looking for a great spot for you and/or your kids to run around and climb stuff, this is…read moreit! Really great playground structures with plenty of different types of equipment, including things like balance beams, teeter-totters, and spinners, in addition to more standard playground fare like swingsets and slides. There's also a splashpad that you can activate for playing around. Water squirts or dumps from various water features. A lot of fun. It was even still running in October when I was there! Lots of gazebos (which can be reserved, if desired) with picnic tables and grills and trash/recycling cans. An ice cream truck swung by while I was there, much to the delight of the kids there. Massive parking lot. Only port-a-potties. Nearby is also a large grass field for soccer. If you go a little deeper in, you'll see it also connects with the Black Dog Trailhead. Be aware however that this is a "minimal maintenance" trail. I tried to follow it for aways after the railroad track but felt a little lost and ultimately turned back. Not sure how often or at what time of year they maintain it to make it easier to follow, but it's understandable that they don't because it is part of a specific biome of wet meadow known as a "fen". These are fairly rare and thus requiring protection, so tread lightly and respectfully if you do go! It's important nature be preserved as much as possible.

There are not a lot of amenities at Cliff Fen but it could be educational as I learned what a 'Fen'…read moreis and realized I learned about this in 5th grade. It's too nerdy scientific to explain here so if you have a quest to know search away. I was looking for walking paths but none were to be found. Otherwise it's a nice family style park with a large playground and covered picnic area. There is a parking lot which is large for a park this size so they must plan to have events with the large open fields ready for different sporting events. I was creating my own walking area without a path until I tripped over a branch and went tumbling and decided that's enough Fen and lack of Zen for the day.

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.