This is my favorite lake in the twin cities, especially during the fall when the leaves are at peak…read moreintensity of fall colors! I especially love paddle boarding here because it's usually a short walk from street parking to the lake. The views are spectacular and the wildlife is fun to watch. The walking paths around the lake are always well maintained and it's about a 3 mile loop around, with great views the entire time.

Lake of the Isles is a lake in Minneapolis, it's connected to Cedar Lake and Bde Maka Ska. It's…read morepart of the Chain of Lakes. It's a park area. There's a walk area, and around the lake there are fancy homes.

We had a great time walking thru the historic mill district and over the Mississippi River. It's a…read morenice place to get exercise as well. The views of the city especially at night will last a lifetime

Flour Power…read more Located alongside the Mississippi River across the riverbank from Downtown Minneapolis is a 1.4 acre park that celebrates water power and the historic flour mills. It is the Water Power Park. Situated on Father Hennepin Island, this is a gift from Xcel Energy, the primary energy company in the Twin Cities. As part of a deal to renew Xcel Energy as the primary source they were mandated to create a park overlooking Upper St. Anthony Falls. The upshot is that the tallest flora are powerlines that tower above the park and a transistor station at the Gateway to the park at Main Street. Although I relished spending time in the home of the current largest mall in America (Mall of America), I was truly at home alongside the Mississippi River. This is my latest review sharing the parks and trails alongside the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. With that said, when I explored Water Power Park, it was one of a series of parks and trails alongside the Mississippi from the Plymouth Avenue Bridge at the north to the Old Stone Bridge at the south. Just like a member in a legendary band, Water Power Park would be part of a whole that would make the Mississippi River Band awesome. It was our last day in Minneapolis that my brother and I explored Water Power Park. We had just walked through Boom Island to the north and were bound for the Old Stone Bridge. Ideally this park goes great with the far more natural Hennipen Bluffs Park at the south. The reason why I did not explore this park earlier in the vacation when I did Hennipen Bluffs Park was that it gave a poor first impression. From Main Street the transformer station dominates the entrance. This is the main sight walking north. Walking south is a different story. From northbound Main Street, we turned onto a trail that reminds me of a dock. The beginning is a slight downhill elevation with ramps. On our left was the Xcel Energy transformer station that brought to life the power lines marching alongside and over the Mississippi River. It was at the end of the primary trail that overlooks the source of the power. If I was interested in the vast information explaining Upper St. Anthony Falls role in providing power there were several kiosks alongside the trail. In all honesty I'd leave the teaching to Google later on. I was interested in taking pictures. Making my way through a flat topography where interspersed trees shared the land with powerlines poles, I walked what was now an smooth unpaved trail to the edge of the Mississippi River. It was at the Mississippi River where I took in spectacular view of the Upper St. Anthony Falls under the Third Avenue Bridge. This is the closest spot to the Upper St. Anthony Falls which is the only water falls on the Mississippi River. There were two prime spots to capture the falls. They were here at the conclusion of the main trail and where the intersection of the main and spur trail. The intersection view provides a close up perpendicular view of one of the falls. It was a neat sight watching a close up water fall at a perpendicular angle. Especially when it is a view of the Mississippi River with the historic flour and lumber mills with the Minneapolis skyline. Heading back towards Main Street I enjoyed a nice vista of grass reaching towards the Historic Pillsbury "A" Mill rising above the transformer station. Instead of seeing the Pillsbury Doughboy, we'd take a short trip on the short dead-end spur trail. This leads to a view of Hennipen Bluffs Park and the Stone Arch Bridge. The later serves as a very popular St. Anthony Falls overlook. There you have it. This review is a representation of first hand experience in a park showcasing water power and flour mills. Hopefully this review has provided knowledge on the Water Power Park. Because when it comes to power, "Knowledge is power."

The University of Minnesota Recreation Center offers everything students and faculty could possibly…read moreneed. This was my first visit for the purpose of volunteering at USA Swimming Junior National Championship. Parking can be a challenge for visitors. There is a nearby parking garage and very limited surface spaces. The area around the pool was clean. The building although dated to possibly the 70's is in great condition. The majority of the facility is the competition pool used by the University of Minnesota Swim team. The facility is nicely maintained. However, faculty and students can use the pool. The Olympic size competition pool is 50 meters with movable bulkhead, platform diving and well. The aquatic complex consist of approximately 145,000 gallons of swimming capability. The Long Course pool has eight lanes for competition.. The spectator area is expansive and spans the entire length of both sides of the pool and well. The public locker room area is large and pretty clean. There were two malfunctioning items. Great facility and hope to return for another event in the near future.

Honestly as good as it gets. Literally the best recreational…read morecenter I've seen in my life, I wouldn't even call it a gym because that would be history's biggest understatement. I would go as far to say that their services are better than Sydney's Olympic Park Aquatic Center. The Rec has honestly changed my life for the better. In my experience, the machines have always been clean and plenty to go around for everyone to work on any muscle or work on cardio. It can get a bit crowded at peak times; there's always space for everyone, even if you gotta wait a bit for a specific machine.

The University of Minnesota Recreation Center offers everything students and faculty could possibly…read moreneed. This was my first visit for the purpose of volunteering at USA Swimming Junior National Championship. Parking can be a challenge for visitors. There is a nearby parking garage and very limited surface spaces. The area around the pool was clean. The building although dated to possibly the 70's is in great condition. The majority of the facility is the competition pool used by the University of Minnesota Swim team. The facility is nicely maintained. However, faculty and students can use the pool. The Olympic size competition pool is 50 meters with movable bulkhead, platform diving and well. The aquatic complex consist of approximately 145,000 gallons of swimming capability. The Long Course pool has eight lanes for competition.. The spectator area is expansive and spans the entire length of both sides of the pool and well. The public locker room area is large and pretty clean. There were two malfunctioning items. Great facility and hope to return for another event in the near future.

All I wanted to do was get some help, instead, I was being condescended to, given really foul…read moreattitude, and made to feel a burden, all by the building manager who is supposed to address issues patrons has. This is a great center, until it's not. I go almost every single day. I've only ever had an issue twice. The problem is that they have almost no one to address issues. it could be as simple as asking patrons to follow the policy. member services apparently isn't allowed to do this. So, by the time a manager comes, the patrons violating the policy have caught on that you're complaining, and they run away. Then you're told, well they're gone now so....and if you don't accept their answer to basically deal with policy violations and move then why have the policy in the first place. You're even told to ignore those who were giving you a hard time and not following the rules and told "you could just go to another machine" I guess that's true if that wasn't my last one. I was then told, "well there's one other one on the third floor." Suddenly, it became a discussion of buts and should haves and not addressing my concern at all. It's so exhausting as a patron to be put down when I literally just wanted to use a machine when they were basically not using it and reserving it as a group. Only after it was escalated to higher up individuals (beyond - to reiterate - beyond the basic building manager - was my issue at least somewhat addressed. Again, almost always there is no issue, but when there is you won't get much help. I was berated, had eyes rolled at me, and other odd responses. What did they want me to do, escalate the situation with the patrons not allowing me to use an open machine? The reason I'm giving it one star is that this lack of basic support could be a safety issue at some point and demonstrates a weak infrastructure to enforce their own rules.

In Minnesota Vikings do not raid shorelines by the ocean; instead they raid NFL games off the green…read moreshoreline of a 4.2 acre park that bridges their home ship US Bank Stadium to the rest of downtown Minneapolis. Where the Minnesota Vikings do their 100 percent all to raid their way to hard-won well-deserved victories through sheer determination and fovus, locals and visitors do their best to raid their way from pressure with quality of life victories visiting parks like this one. I was one of those visitors when I saw it at least three times. Placed on two city blocks of greenery bridging US Bank Stadium to the Edition Building with the rest of downtown, it is truly the Promenade of US Bank Stadium. In place of a massive parking lot fronting the NFL Stadium is a picturesque green lawn overlooking overlooking it. When I walked in the southern section of downtown, the walks led me through The Commons. My walks here included exploring the skyway to near its southernmost point that dropped me off nearby, passing through it to and from a walk inside and around US Bank Stadium, walking the city streets towards US Bank Stadium, and passing through on Portland Street from the Mississippi River to the downtown core. From my firsthand experiences here, my favorite activity was taking in the green carpet of grass interspersed with young trees leading to the US Bank Stadium. From the northernmost reaches of the park at the Edition Building I enjoyed it over a cup of Starbuck's. From the opposite direction on the US Bank Stadium steps, I enjoyed the picturesque view of this linear carpet of grass leading towards the Downtown skyline. If I had not been saving my appetite for dinner, I would have enjoyed eating the food that the sundry of food trucks parked on Forth Street serve. Every time that I arrived here was by foot. However at the southwest corner of the park is US Bank Metro Station. From here you can ride the Metro for a reasonable price to a few downtown Minneapolis stations, City of St. Paul, Mall of America, and other stops. If I was tired it is nice to know that it is off The Metro Blue and Green Lines. You can bank on it that the park overlooking US Bank Stadium is a nice outdoor place to visit when seeing the southern section of downtown Minneapolis. The Commons does a fantastic job giving locals and visitors an outdoor space to celebrate the Minnesota Vikings and the city's parkland. I recommend seeing it.

The Commons is a lovely new park right downtown across from the newly remodeled US Bank stadium,…read morenewly built Edition apartments and Wells Fargo Bank towers. The downtown east area is just being revamped left, right, and center. On a beautiful day during the week it is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat from one of the rotating food trucks and sit out on the open patios. The open landscape is very inviting as you can see the downtown city skyline at every angle. After work and on the weekend you see teams playing games, people walking their dogs or others just lounging. As I have observed it serves many purposes and it is definitely a place people will continue to enjoy as a new green space downtown.

I enjoyed doing the passport program on the Grand Rounds. It's part of the Cycle the Summer…read moreseries. Most of the trails are well marked. I did get a little confused in the NE Minneapolis section near the Columbia park golf course. I made it to all 8 of the locations and picked up my prize.

Wonderful view of the Great Mississippi River. A nice place to people watch a have a great meal…read morenearby ( just turn your head--literally). People will be running& walking in groups and with pets. You may catch an old classic strolling down the street. Parking depends on the time of day. You may have to park a few streets over. Medicinal plants are strategically planted for your knowledge. The only reason why I give it 3 stars instead of 4 is depending on the direction of the wind, those who smoke will have their choice of plant wafting in your nostrils.

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.

After a wonderful dinner at Gai Noi, colleagues and I took a stroll of Loring Park. It's a pretty…read morepark with a lake, walking pathways, and nature all around. We also encountered a variety of birds, and I saw one of the cutest and chubbiest squirrels I've ever seen.

We rented a 26-foot trailer for an event at River Edge Campground, which Fractional Toys set up and…read morelater removed. On the third day of our stay, the toilet backed up, and we contacted Fractional Toys for assistance, but they were no help. Thankfully, a friend staying with us helped unclog the toilet, allowing us to use it for the rest of our stay. After we returned home, Fractional Toys called to inform us that the toilet was still clogged. They said they wouldn't charge us the $250 fee because we had reported the issue earlier, acting as if they were doing us a favor. The trailer was provided to us with a clogged toilet, and there was no way we could have clogged it that badly in just two days, especially since we were only at the trailer for a few hours each day and took care of our business elsewhere. I will never rent from them again, which is unfortunate because we attend this event every year.

Fractional Toys sold us a 2014 Class C Motorhome. We honestly could not be happier! Rick,…read moreTenille, and Dean were so down-to-earth and friendly. Not only did we get an unbelievable price, but they went above and beyond for us!! They thoroughly went through the camper, had it professionally cleaned, repaired things that weren't 100%, replaced things without raising the price, and threw in a new ladder for the bunk just because it was missing!! We HIGHLY recommend this business and will definitely return to them for any repair needed on our motorhome in the future. Check them out!! Jeff & Lisa

Usually included as part of the Sculpture Garden, the Cowles Conservatory is its own animal, a…read morestand-alone greenhouse that boasts a phenomenal, quiet, beautiful display of greenery, even in the wintertime. Filled with succulents and ferns and vines, this place is the perfect place to hang out when you're headed to the Walker in the deeps of winter. PLUS, the Palm Room has a gigantic 22-foot-high glass fish sculpture by Frank Gehry. It's absolutely breathtaking. It's also a total DREAM of an event space- it suits up to 150 people for standing events, and the acoustics are lovely. It's only $500 to rent for weddings (CHEAP, folks, MAD CHEAP) and it's open pretty much any time, including Sundays. As someone who once had to move an outdoor event indoors FAST (a Great Gatsby event in the Sculpture Garden that was threatened by mist/cold/rain), this place saved my event and instead of having to cancel we basically upgraded to an even classier venue by moving indoors here! I'm so grateful that Minneapolis has so many beautiful nooks like this scattered throughout the city- as an event planner, it's a pure delight to be able to hold interesting gatherings in truly one-of-a-kind places.