The first time I came here was for a work outing so there's plenty of tables in the pavilion for…read morelarge group activities like bingo. There also seems to be pretty decent restrooms and a playground for kids. I saw frisbee golf but didn't investigate close enough to figure out the numbering or path for that. The next time I came I was able to explore the walking path in the back. It seems to follow a creek. Other than the expected bugs it was a nice leisurely walk. There's a small parking lot and a field for kickball, baseball, etc. I also saw some grills. 'Tis the season for enjoying Minnesota summers!

Nice park! It is large with some of the oldest flying disc golf receptacles in the world. Lots of…read morestuff for kids to do, plenty of playground equipment and picnic tables and grills all over. If you head down to the 9 Mile Creek behind the park, you can head down the trail and even way 2 miles to the river in the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge if the trail isn't flooded. They have clean bathrooms. They seem to maintain the park well also. maybe i will see you there on one of my lunchtime walks. EnjoY!!

Rice park is an adorable spot right in the heart of the city. Featuring the peanuts characters,…read moreplenty of benches and lights, it is a breath of fresh air! Very well decorated and a popular spot for events. Currently hosting the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship events including s'more's, plenty of hockey games, and more family fun in the park.

Rice Park has a beautiful water fountain, plenty of seating and shade under the large trees. Events…read moreare often hosted here on the weekends and throughout the summer. In the winter there are ice sculptures and displays.

A lot of cool things for kids at this park. The wading pool is big and has some fun features. The…read moreplayground has enough space and play opportunities for when it gets busy. My kid loves the imitation camper and car. It would be a nice spot for a picnic with the family.

Tired of driving around the parking lots by Minnehaha Falls, feeling lucky if somebody leaves and…read moreyou can pay the machine for that spot to park? Drive up the hill (just up 46th Avenue So)-like you're headed for the Veterans Home. On top of the hill is the Wabun Picnic Area & Disc Golf. It's not far from the bicycle trails! It offers clean bathrooms, beautiful mature trees, good views, nice playground & wading pool for the kiddos, ChargePoint Charging Station for electric vehicles, and disc golf. Yes, it is a walk to Minnehaha Falls (0.5 miles, about an 11 minute walk) but it's well worth it!

Nice little park with walking trails and a bike path. The trails loop around ponds so there's…read moreplenty of wildlife to see. There is a parking lot with restrooms and water fountains. Nice place for a stroll.

I used to live in Hopkins and hiked this park on a regular basis and loved it…read more At the time I gave it a high rating. I moved away three years ago and this week returned to see what had changed. I was extremely disappointed at the amount of cutting and clearing that has gone on and is still going on. It used to be a nice secluded spot where you could not see any houses for most of the loop. Now houses are visible everywhere along with increased noise from the roads. I know there was a sign up talking about clearing invasive species, but I think something has gotten out of control. It saddens me that I will no longer enjoy walking this park.

This is a huge park that has a little of everything. This park has a fine mix of modern amenities…read moreand rustic appeal. It is a little piece of calm just outside the busy city. It spans 34 acres and is named after Charles Loring, an American businessman, miller and publicist who was the first Minneapolis Park Board and considered the "Father of the Park System" in Minneapolis. The park has an astounding flower garden. It was very pretty. You will also find a very nice lake/wetland here. It has seating and is very soothing. The lake is home to many animals. Fishing is welcome at the lake. They even have a fishing pier. The park has a full basketball court and a half-court basketball court that are in great shape. The park's horseshoe pits could use some TLC, though. The park is home to about 10 pits. If you are a pickleball player, then the park has a couple of nice courts to play on. Other park amenities include tennis courts, shuffleboard, and two playground areas on wood-chip beds. One area is fenced in and is for smaller children. This area has a bank of swings, a saucer swing, slides, a modern merry-go-round, a bebble bridge, and a jungle gym. The other playground area, for older kids, has a climbing net, balance beam, slides, pebble bridge, and rock climbing wall. This area is not fenced in. I have seen a lot of parks, and this is a nice one. They host events such as movie screenings, ice skating, and lunchtime concerts. You can easily spend half a day here. I really enjoyed my time here and am sure that you will too.

I love a beautiful park in the middle of the city! Loring Park is a tranquil oasis in the middle of…read morethe hustle and bustle of Minneapolis. Lots of beautiful flower beds in the Garden of the Seasons. Great place for a stroll or picnic. Lots of benches to stop and take a rest and enjoy nature. Spring is my favorite time to visit because I love to see the tulips!

What a beautiful setting for the Twin Cities Jazz festival. What a wonderful cool clear skies…read moresummer night!! The gardens at Mears Park are so pretty and you can tell they are cared for with lots of love. The flowing water feature through the park is really special. It engages visitors by inviting them to cross the stream on the boulder stepping stones. It feels exciting even if it's such a small stream. I was very impressed with this park and hope that next time I am in St. Paul I will pay it another visit and see more details in the gardens.

This is such a nice, quaint park right in the middle of downtown St. Paul. It has a beautiful…read morelayout featuring two separate ponds and a ton of large, mature trees that provide the perfect canopy of shade to sit under. There's a large amphitheater for outdoor performances, and the park has fantastic seating options with benches spread out all over the place. The location is incredibly convenient, too--it's an easy walking distance from both the St. Paul Farmers Market and Union Depot. It's a wonderful, easy place to walk through and a especially nice spot to sit and eat some ice cream in the summer.

An extremely popular spot for group activities. It's not unusual to various nature curious groups…read moreand school and preschool students exploring the exhibits. There is a large fire pit in a meeting area near the headquarters. Hit the trails and take a gander at the map provided to prepare for how long of a hike you want. All the trails loop around and come back but you may end up out longer than anticipated as the only problem there are few trail markers along the way, not like the state park system. The park system is connected and you could cross into another territory. Look for the various ponds and lakes nestled in valleys and thickly wooded areas. Trails are always in good shape and there are steep hills. There is no charge to enter the park and plenty of parking.

The Richardson Nature Center is a part of the greater Hyland Lake Park Reserve, situated at the…read morenorth end. It includes a large indoor community space building, an outdoor nature playspace for kids, as well as a mile or so double-loop around three lakes. The southern loop goes through wooded area, whereas the northern loop will take you through the prairie. Both are gorgeous in their own right/ways. Along the loops you will find benches to take a breather, as well as occasional docks to admire aquatic life. These trails also connect with longer trails that continue further into Hyland, if you're looking for a longer adventure. Inside the nature center building are interactive exhibits for youngsters, activity rooms, pamphlets on monthly events that utilize said rooms, and even a small gift shop with toys/books for kids and snacks. I bought a cute little plush fox to accompany on my hike and support the park. Additional facilities include restrooms, water fountain/water bottle refill station, trash/recycling, and picnic tables if you care to relax and have lunch (which I also did). The hours of operation for the nature center are 9am-5pm Mon through Sat and noon to five on Sun. The restrooms are open the same hours the park is, which is 5am-10pm. The natural play area seemed quite popular while I was visiting on a Thursday late morning; lots of families had brought their small children to run, jump, and climb around. Even so, you likely won't ever have to worry about finding a place to park, as the lot (which is free) boasts approximately 120 spots. I really enjoyed my time here. The place is well cared for and a resource for the community to connect with nature.

I am transplant from the other side of the river and absolutely love living in this neighborhood…read more Obviously the perks of this park requires a list so here goes: - The old water tower gets opened up during Highland Fest and in the fall for the fall colors. Once you climb the many stairs, you are treated to an amazing open air view of the surrounding area. The planes at the airport look like toys landing and taking off and all the colors just pop if you time it right. When open, it is only on the weekends. - Two golf courses. On the 18 hole, the 15th hole has a sand trap done up like Snoopy (zoom in on link) in honor of Charles Schulz once being a caddy. The 9 hole across the street is much hillier and is that way because a lot of it is the dirt from the construction of I-94 back in the 60's linking the two cities. http://goo.gl/maps/ZnXbz - Cross country skiing. Both course become x-country ski havens in the winter with even one of the courses having trails groomed. There is also a sliding hill by the water tower which gets packed after a fresh snowfall. - The Pavilion (and many other shelters) can be rented for picnics. Many a fine Booyah's, a fine upper midwestern treat that you need to have once in your life, are served here by neighborhood groups doing fund raisers. Bring a tupperware container to bring some home if you'd like. People will be there with empty ice cream bucket containers for the good ones. - The swimming pool. St. Paul has a few pools now that utilize sphagnum moss as a major cleaning process. Amazing water and you don't come out smelling like a chlorine factory with your hair turning a different color or your eyes burnt red. It's fantastic. - Frisbee course. While I don't understand the layout, many people do and it is always getting used. - Just walk around in the park or on the paths. Towering oaks, deer, fox, willow trees, hills and hidden stairs. This is really an old park and a gem in the city. Even the playground equipment has been updated in the last few years.

The pool facilities are excellent at the Highland Park Aquatic Center, and lots of updates since I…read moreenjoyed swimming here as a kid have really made this a very entertaining destination for kids of all ages and adults too, but the way it's run leaves a lot to be desired unfortunately. There was plenty of free parking and lots of shade available on the pool deck, but during the 4+ hours we spent there (2 adults, 3 kids under age 10) I didn't see one adult worker anywhere-just lots of teen life guards and workers. Also, the pool and deck rules are very unclear, sparsely posted and inconsistently enforced, so we found ourselves breaking all kinds of secret, nonsensical rules only the lifeguards seemed to know about (and we definitely weren't alone). Then, when asked to clarify how what we were doing was wrong, we could never get a clear answer and the lifeguards were often rude and dismissive. We were also given contradictory information from 3 different lifeguards about the same rule! We figured things out for ourselves quick enough and learned which lifeguards really could be consistent, so in the end we had a really good time, just be aware when you go that it's on you to figure it all out, not many of the staff will be helpful (even in matters of safety) at all. Lastly, the admission cost is a little steep ($6 per adult, $5 per kid under 48" tall), and even though they give a little break to families, it's not like you're getting all that much bang for your buck. Also be aware that no outside food or drinks are technically allowed--which I understand to a point, but this is also not listed online or posted officially anywhere on site which is annoying and inconvenient, especially since the concessions are mainly very overpriced junk food. So it would be nice if they offered some healthy alternatives like fruits and veggies rather than more processed, packaged, sugary junk for sale. If that's not possible then just let us bring at least those things with us? With little kids it's not easy to drag them out of the pool, back to the car for a healthy snack--which we ultimately did only to be harassed exiting AND re-entering by the overly enthusiastic little "teen bouncer" at the front gate even though re-admission is permitted as long as you're wearing your wristband. Like I said earlier though; ALL the rules at this facility and how they're communicated and enforced are very inconsistent to say the least! We resolved that if we return we'll just smuggle our own snacks in since they that's what we observed most people doing anyways! The bottom line: you can have a great time in the pool and the facilities have a lot to offer people of all ages if you take some of these tips to heart, learn how to work the ill-managed "system" of rules and their teen army of enforcers, advocate (and think) for yourself a little, and just basically ignore the incredible inconsistency that truly rules here!