Wow, Rice Creek is a hidden gem. I'm specifically talking about the creek, we didn't use the…read morewalking trails or dog park. We kayaked down rice creek from County Rd J to Old Highway 8, which goes through Rice Creek Park. It was amazing! It's hard to realize you are ok the Twin Cities, as you are completely surrounded by nature. We saw cranes, deer, ducks, musk rats, flowers, reeds, calm flowing water, and all sorts of other nature. We did not see cars, houses, buildings, advertisements, or any of the other normal sensory bombardments of city life. The entire creek, or water trail as it's called, is pretty long and goes through several lakes. The portion we went down was about 4.5 glorious miles. The water is pretty shallow throughout and the only rough water is just right after you go under a couple of bridges. If you have access to any paddle powered water craft, go check it out now!

Rice Creek Regional Trail Corridor is quite long-I think that this Yelp review pertains to the…read moreregional trail between the Lexington Avenue to almost the old Arsenal. There is a paved hiking/biking trail as well as a wetland Rice Creek flowing through it. This really is a lovely area. The Rice Creek Off-Leash Dog Area is on just off Lexington Avenue North. There's a canoe access area just before the main parking lot. The public bathrooms are closed for the season.

I was in the area (for a Yelp Elite experience, actually lol) but it was a gorgeous day outside…read more(aka, forties in February) so I wanted to make sure I soaked up some of the sunshine in the afternoon. Peeking at this place on Google maps it didn't look like much, but I gave it a shot; I'm quite glad I did! Part of why I'd been unsure was because it does have a relatively small footprint of the landscape (it doesn't even encompass the entire lake, as many houses have backyards around more than half the shore... boo). But, they made up for it with a really nice visitor center and art installations! Honestly, I'd say this place wouldn't be half as good without the outdoor art walk; I really enjoyed discovering all the unique and fun sculptures along the path. It meant I got a much more engaged and lengthy experience; I don't know if their longest path was much more than a mile's distance, but because of the sculptures I kept venturing off the paved path to check them out up close (and take photos and selfies with each)! It was fun. There seemed to be two parking lots. The one near the visitor center was pretty large and seemed to be necessary; there were quite a lot of visitors there when I was, plus a school bus! Most of the visitors seemed to be there to enjoy some skating around out on the frozen lake, but others were walking the trail. Inside the visitor center were bathrooms, including a family restroom, water fountains, including a water bottle refill station, cute little trinkets to buy, a cafe with beverages and bakery snacks, a cozy seating area, lots of rooms for community events, a board advertising said community events for the next couple months, and an art exhibit. I was grateful for the easy access to bathrooms and water! Just outside the visitor center was one of the most adorable little free libraries I've ever seen, nestled inside a mushroom-like sculpture! All in all, definitely worth checking out. Unless you lived nearby, you probably wouldn't go too repeatedly (I think the indoor art exhibit changes seasonally, but the outdoor one has been installed awhile... one of the plaques read 2018), but it's great for a one-off or occasional visit!

A really fun park with a lot of great art to see while you walk around it. The QR codes give a lot…read moreof additional information to listen to as well. Lots of trees, walking paths and a beautiful lake make this a great place to enjoy nature and art.

Park is really nice. Parking was very close by. Bathroom was very close by also. Sign in the…read morebathroom said it's clean once daily. Playground are also close by. Their all close by each other that you can be in one spot to supervise kids at the beach and playground at the same time. Literally like 100 feet of each other. The sand and water are clean. It's a lake so it does shave the fishy smells.

Extensive Ramsey County Park, full of wonderful outdoor opportunities! A true gem, if you're…read morelooking for something on the nature-side. It is a FREE park: free parking lots, boat launch, picnic tables, picnic shelters, playgrounds, a nice beach (that is closed now due to Covid-19 Virus..as well as the public bathrooms & changing building). Nice (but bumpy at times) asphalt trails for hiking and biking! Bring your picnic lunch and explore Tony Schmidt Regional Park!

What an incredibly awesome spot, courtesy of the City of Fridley. I was there on a rainy day, so I…read morechecked out the Nature Center itself first. The facilities are honestly quite impeccable. They had a variety of fun exhibits, including a play structure, a comfy spot by the fireplace to read nature books to your kids (or to yourself), building "blocks" (wood pieces), a puppet theatre with plushies, two microscopes with big flat screen TVs to see nature things up close, a bird watching station (with info on how to identify birds), some taxidermy critters, even tanks containing live turtles, snakes, and frogs! Caring for live animals is a task in itself, so I'm impressed they have them here. A couple of the smaller exhibits seemed broken (the one with all the colored lights and the one with the crank for the lightbulbs), but I imagine kids playing with these all day takes its toll. Still, it was super fun! Also inside the building are bathrooms: men's, women's, and family. These were clean and spacious, and even had environmental info in them to read! There was a water fountain and water bottle refill station. Vending machines with beverages and snacks. And pamphlets about upcoming goings-on at the center. Apparently you can also "rent an activity backpack" from the front desk full of fun stuff to inspire exploration along the trails. Outside there is a big picnic shelter with lots of picnic tables underneath it. It also has an inside portion. You can be there and enjoy it whenever, or reserve it for things like birthday parties. Behind that is the Nature Play Area, which is a large playground with nature-themed elements. The climbing structure here was an impressive length, but in particular I liked the giant beaver! I didn't play on any of the equipment just because it was pretty slippery from all the rain. I did however hike all the trails! Yep, all of 'em. The full length of all the trails combined is three miles. I did the outer loop first, then spiraled inward to see the rest, including the two observation points (one has a cool gazebo overlooking the lake!). These'll take you through the woods and over marshland via boardwalk! Lots of picturesque bridges over creeks. So many photo opportunities! I also saw a lot of wildlife: squirrels, frogs, birds. You might also get to see a train rumble by to the west. There is ample signage along all the trail junctions so you never have to worry about getting turned around. Additionally there is an amphitheater and a meditation garden. Unfortunately when I went up to the latter, there was some guy hiding there smoking pot... it reeked! I informed a staff member (because the posted rules DO say no smoking), and he was responsive about the issue. I feel a little bad about tattling, but at the same time, dude, you're ruining other peoples' experiences of the great outdoors! Parking lot seems to be a decent size. I could see it filling up on a day where they have a popular event going on though. I'm definitely considering coming back with a friend for their upcoming Pumpkin Carving days! I'd love to visit again for another hike once more of the trees begin changing color.

Lovely nature center inside the metro! I didn't have a chance this time to go into the visitor…read morecenter but the walking paths in the woods are very nice and secluded. There's some nice ponds throughout the woods that has swans geese and other birds. Theres also a playground near the visitor center. Great place to take your family or little ones for a walk in nature.

What a lovely hidden gem off of Mississippi River Blvd. We…read morefollowed the path up and around the waterfall. We hiked out near the Summit Monument where we hung out looking over the river. Nice place to check out for a short hike.

Great shorter hike with some steep slick parts but we had a heavy rain last night and still very…read moredoable. One thing I'd mention that I hadn't read much about was that the poison ivy was pervasive, jutting into the path even in areas that we wouldn't have considered the paths to be overgrown. We opted to stay on the paved path until we got to the most direct path down to the falls. I used the map and route marked on Daytripper28.com's website. Enjoy!

My brother, our friends and I used to come here in high school, long before they paved the place…read moreover. It had a lost, haunted, abandoned feel to it then. We had to hike through a graveyard and find a hole in the fence. We used to have campfires, even in winter. Once, we raided my friends' parents' liquor cabinet and filled a few two liter bottles with a mixture of red wine, cheap brandy, and kahlua. Don't laugh! At age 16 it seemed like quite a score! After we were done vomiting around the campfire, my brother wanted to see how sharp his brand new pocket knife was. He ran it along his thumb to test it out and--surprise! He immediately began to bleed all over everybody. I think he said, "oh, f--k, is that MY blood?" Though drunk and disoriented, we never lost our way back there, not even on starless nights without the benefit of flashlights or clear cognition. We got my bro to the ER, and I don't remember if they gave him a new thumb or just stitched him up. What a scene! We always had an ear out for the cops, close as we were at times to busy Roselawn Ave., but they never came, and even if they had, they would never have found us. They didn't know those trails like we did. It was our secret place, and we were its kings. I loved the Reservoir. I knew every inch of it and enjoyed it in every season. I collected medicinal herbs there that helped cure people. I buried a dead pet there. It was like having a forbidden, abandoned state park right in the burbs. But unlike state parks, which are highly regulated, manicured places, the Reservoir was like a refuge for the select few people who knew how to appreciate its depth and diversity. There was prairie, old-growth pines, ponds, owls and pileated woodpeckers, a small herd of deer. Not to mention the actual reservoir itself, a creepy, unnatural hill with ancient brick buildings on the corners like the entrance to Druid burial vaults. We used to ascend its bare plateau and sit silently and smoke cigarettes as we gazed at the view of distant, downtown Minneapolis while we thought about the past and the future. We did a lot of other things at this place that I will not mention, except that none of them were harmful to the land or other people, and they were equally the doings of carefree, misspent youth, and also formative experiences that helped us grow up. I always felt a sense of belonging here, a peacefulness. I still do, even though it's paved over with trails. I married my brother and his wife here in a tiny, shotgun ceremony. A stranger's excitable dog came bounding up to us at the conclusion of the ceremony, and we all petted it and laughed. It was during the last snowfall of the season, in April, 2011. That was the last time I was there.

There are two sides to enter Reservoir Woods, I was on the dog park side and drifted to the paths…read moreof the Reservoir. Some steep hills and winding trails with mostly easy paths. There are a few interpretation signs including wildlife sightings of Deer and Coyote. You probably won't see much more than a few squirrels but best to keep you Pug pup on a leash.

Maybe I don't want to leave a 5-start review because then the secret is out…read more I'm searching for nice, quiet beaches around Blaine. I got tired of Anoka County Parks beaches with lifeguards because they tend to be overcrowded and loud. But that's a different post... Golden Beach was recommended to me a couple of years ago, and I finally took that advice. Easy access off of Lexington, down a quiet residential street. No wonder it's a hidden gem. I had no clue this was back here. A big parking lot right next to a playground. The lot was just re-tarred, but no lines were painted yet. The beach is not visible from the parking lot/playground due to a hill... added privacy. A slight walk to the beach made us pass a clean bathroom and pavilion. On the way back to the car, I noticed there was a concession stand open. Must be on the back side of the restroom building. There was another path leading into tree cover (away from beach path)...did not explore where that went. The beach is narrow and long. There was a retaining wall separating the sand from the grass. Prefect place for kids and adults to sit on while getting sunscreen put on or their swim shoes. Lots of grass to sunbathe in. Big mature trees to find shade under for those not wanting to fry as they watch the water. The swimming area is not roped off. To one side is high reeds. To the other is a fishing dock. Kid swimmers were either out in the open or towards the reeds. I dipped my toe in...87 degrees out and it was cold. There was staked signage that the water was treated with something (I can't remember what). It said the water was safe to swim in, but not to drink it (people and pets). The water didn't look clear, no algae. A very lovely beach. How no one reads this so that it stays that way!

Local Golden Lake Park is a public park on the lake. No outboard motors are allowed on this small…read morelake, so it's a quiet lake to enjoy. Fishing, swimming, hiking, canoe or kayak here. The playground equipment and picnic shelter are closed due to CV-19.

We have been trying different playgrounds h the is summer and this one was a total hit!…read more Plenty of free parking. There were two parking lots from what I could tell. There are plenty of walking trails! There is a cute bridge that crosses over the creek! There are also trails that walk next to the creek. Very peaceful and you totally forget you are in the suburbs! The playground equipment is well taken care of and no sand or wood chips! It's all rubber on the ground. There are plenty of activities to keep your kiddos entertained. There is also a basketball court, volleyball court, 3 pavilions, an open field and indoor bathrooms. If those are locked, there are porta potties. There is also a small garden with benches. Overall this is a quality park! One definitely worth visiting!

Great neighborhood park with cute features and close to a stream with walking trails. We come here…read moreoften. Overall it's well kept, lots of kids on the playground.

I wanted to go for a run while in town for a conference and this trail was perfect. It's wide…read moreand paved with asphalt so it's easy on the knees. There are lots of trees so it's shaded in many areas (except when you're close to I-35). It's well maintained. It's also close to the Lookout which gives you a great view of Downtown Minneapolis. Highly recommend!

A great urban trail from another rail line. There is a separation of a paved bike and walking…read moretrail. Some scenic views despite the busy highway 8 on one side and a cemetery on the other. The trail is 4.7 miles so keep that in mind before you decide to hike the full trail as you have to come back.

White Sand Beach is a true hidden gem of a beach in the cities, especially for those who like to…read moresit back and take in the beauty of the Mississippi River that flows by the beach + nice hiking/walking trail before you find yourself at the beach and enjoying the spectacular views and soft natural sandstone sand! Bear in mind there is quite a few old firewood chips scattered all over the beach. A little annoying how they are scattered everywhere, but luckily it's not a huge issue, but just don't be surprised or disappointed when go. Seems like it's a popular spot for locals to host intimate bonfires, which I love this spot for a fun summer night bonfire with friends. Just make sure to "Leave No Trace" practice by cleaning up all bonfires and throwing away left over trash. Love that there's a few trash bins down by the beach! Overall great place to check out!!