What an amazing slice of nature. I love a water feature - always so calming and beautiful. The…read moretrials were pretty accessible and it was crowded with a diverse group of ages and physical abilities. Seriously a great park!

The falls at this park are beautiful!…read more It's a short hike from the parking area ($5 fee to park) to the falls. The trails aren't labeled, but I believe most of them lead to the falls. With the water so high this year, you can hear the falls from the parking lot, so you can literally follow the sound. The trails are unpaved, and not flat and easy. We didn't find many hiking trails other than what led to the falls, but we were on the south side, so perhaps there are more on the north side?

Pretty cool little excursion in LaCrosse. Easy drive up. Not a lot of signs alerting which…read moreparking lot is for the highest vantage point so my tip to you: drive through the open gates and drive until you see a parking lot with a gazebo-esque type outdoor building and that will be the highest point. Quick walk out to the edge. Some wild flowers added to the experience. It was a beautiful morning. Very clear and we were able to see the Mississippi river, Minnesota and of course Wisconsin. Worth taking the half hour to take in this view.

Nice little place to hike and just take in the scenery . I can only imagine how more beautiful it…read morewould be when the leaves change colors. Went a tad early.

We were looking for a place to walk after supper and someone had told us about this park. It has a…read morelovely lake around it, some baseball fields, tennis courts, a great playground area for kids, a museum, picnic areas, fishing spots, etc. We had a nice walk, caught part of a jazz concert, and watched an inning of a baseball game. Lovely area full of green! Coming from the desert, the green was a treat!

Love this place and the surrounding park areas that I assume are part of Carson Park as well. I…read morelove being near the water and to be able to just sit on a quiet bench right at the edge is really nice, and to walk around the rest of the place is nice and peaceful too. Amazing it's in the middle of a big downtown, especially how quiet it is.

This has got to be one of the most fun parks I have taken my boys to in awhile!…read more There is free street parking and a small parking lot down the street. This park has all kinds of things to climb, swing and explore but it also has... TOYS!! What kind of a park has toys!? The best kind of course!! As far as what is surround the playground, it's wood chips and the vast majority of the playground it wood. The entire playground is fenced in with only one way in and out, truly a parents dream haha!! There is a big sand pit to the left and alllll kinda of trucks, push toys and things to ride! There are several benches and picnic tables as well! This was a clean and well maintained park! If you are in the area, it's definitely worth the stop!

I know this place as "Wood Park". As in "Can we go to Wood Park, please please please ...". After…read moreall, its made mostly of wood. But to the city of Rochester and the kind people that made it happen, its know as the Field of Fun. Its located just a hop and a skip from the Soldiers Field Veterans Memorial. This park is small, but is a great place to take younger children. The play area is enclosed so they cant stray to far. There is a separate area for the toddler set with toddler sized play gear. For the 4-8 crowd there are more advanced slides, poles, and other climbing do-dads (even a climbing wall). There are even some picnic tables up front. if you were 4, wood it get any better than this?

Beautiful trails, very nice campsite and gorgeous bathroom/shower facilities! It was our first time…read morevisiting and we enjoyed the family-friendly atmosphere. A very easy and beautiful drive from Rochester, perfect for a weekend getaway!

We visited the electrical campsites for a weekend in August. We appreciated the proximity to the…read morecities/Mississippi River, and the number of trees surrounding the campsites. The sites were very close together in the first loop and not particularly spacious. There are several walking paths with lookouts close to the campgrounds. I would not consider those paths friendly to all - they are uneven, narrow, and there is no railing. Full disclosure, it was rainy during our stay so we didn't get to fully experience the park.

Although this place is amazing, very beautiful, but this place is so shady and so insecure for…read morepeople last night when we went there with the family the moment we parted, there was a huge bunch of people who came in different cars mostly African-American. People are not US based Somalians or somewhere from that side of the country Because I could not hear them talk properly. They were dealing with illegal drugs and the park was so dirty and nasty that you could see used condoms all over the place. If you're going with the family I strongly recommend you avoid this side of the park because it's not very safe. We feel really insecure and left that place although the park is very pretty we could have stayed longer, but we didn't feel safe with the amount of people coming in there with the law-enforcement can make rounds in this area. They can have a good check on what's going on in there

Here's a weird fact. When I lived in Rochester, I never dropped by Silver Lake Park. I always drove…read morearound it to get to and from my home to the downtown area and beyond. The only explanation that I can muster is that I had a park within walking distance from my home. I visited that park often that I didn't think of visiting others. After having a decent lunch on Saturday afternoon, I decided to drop by the park to finally check it out. There are a number of parking spots. I backed my car into an available spot and walked around. Rochester is unique in that it's the only city in Minnesota that has manmade lakes. I believe that the number of lakes in Rochester is in the double digits these days, but the lakes were designed for cooling. Specifically, Silver Lake cools the Rochester Public Utilities power plant. The park surrounds Silver Lake. You can get quite the workout walking around it. I walked maybe a quarter of it. I had spotted a swing that had enough space to comfortably seat two adults. There were indeed two people on it, so I decided to walk somewhere else. When I noticed that they were walking towards me, I headed over to the swing. I like a good swing. This one faces the lake and it was enjoyable taking in downtown Rochester and the view while swinging on it. There are geese in the area. They are known as Canadian honkers. They have longer necks than your traditional Canada goose, which I didn't know about until I learned that Canadian Honker, the restaurant in town, was named after it. Cool! If you do see these birds, you can feed them. There isn't a bylaw that says that you'll get fined for feeding them. During the Fourth of July, fireworks happen in this area. It's definitely a smaller version of the Victoria Day fireworks at Ashbridges Bay in the Beaches in Toronto, but it's pretty decent. I never watched it from the park, but admired the display from afar. This park has a memorial dedicated to fallen firefighters. I also like that each tree has a sign that identifies what you are looking at. It's a cool place to walk around, and learn and discover on your own. It was great getting to know this park instead of driving around its perimeter! I look forward to returning and checking out the rest of it. (140)

We wanted a spot that offered outdoor fun with a nearby city for lunch, and this park delivered!…read moreIt's huge.... offering hiking, camping, biking, swimming, and even skiing in the winter. There's always something to do no matter the season. Parking is $8, and on busy days you might wait a few minutes, but it's worth it. At the entrance, you'll get a helpful map (also available online) that shows all the trails and recreation options. We parked near the boat launch and took the 1.5-mile loop to the waterfall, a beautiful, family-friendly walk with no complaints from the kids! The waterfall itself is stunning. We kicked off our shoes, dipped our feet in the cool water, and climbed around the rocks above the falls. There are more challenging hikes if you're feeling adventurous, and it's only about 10 minutes to great Hudson riverfront dining afterward. We left smiling and saying, "That was so fun maybe we should get an annual pass!

Fantastic! A short drive from the Twin Cities, this is a lovely site to take a walk in nature or…read moreuse for camping. This is my secondary visit where we came for a short hike to the falls with our dogs. If you are not from WI, be prepared to pay a few extra dollars more as a non-resident. My family parked near the entrance and used the trail next to the parking lot. There is a giant hill leading down to the falls which means the hike back is tough and almost breathless. I personally feel like seeing the falls makes it all worth it. When arriving at the falls, there are such a wide variety of humans who are climbing, swimming, sitting in nature, enjoying picnics, taking pictures and even knitting. While we typically do the quick falls hike, know that multiple trails exist and that maps will be provided upon entry. Enjoy!!

Parking, cleanliness, presentation was 5 stars. However, the condition of some of the animals had…read moreme a little concerned. The bear we saw was pacing and panting back and forth. I'm not a zookeeper by any means, but considering the heat and kids screaming, maybe stress and hot! The same was for the mountain lion. He actually was pawing at his enclosure door to get out of the sun, but seemed unable to do so. Other animals were even seen pawing at empty bowls, which again, assuming this to be for water. I grew up on a farm, not a zookeeper, but the animals looked very uncomfortable.

This was unexpected. Like, really unexpected. We drove here after camping at a state park nearby,…read moreand the roads made us think we were headed towards someone's backyard and we might be the only ones there. We could not have been more wrong! Buses full of field trip kids! So many granny nannies! Plenty of older kids, including a few groups of teenagers! This is a legit nature center, quality playground, and perfectly nice little zoo. I don't know what it's like to live down here, but apparently the locals love this place. That said, it wasn't too crowded at all, and the bathrooms were clean. Parking was easy. We stayed for about an hour, but plenty of people looked like they had packed lunches and intended to stay all day.