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.

A nice little park in front of Twin Lakes...and happens to just be in my neighborhood... I can just…read morewalk there from my patio! I love the paths and enjoy walks around the lake on a weekday evening. The area is safe, quiet, lovely and serene. I feel blessed to have this in my neighborhood.

I love this park and consider myself so lucky to live close by. The walking and biking trails…read morestretch for miles and seem almost endless. They also follow the Mississippi which makes for a truly calming and serene experience. The playground is huge! There are things for every age group. My only dislike is that it is a sand playground but the kids love it so I can't complain too much. There are picnic shelters and a lot of unsheltered grills with one picnic table which I don't believe require reservations. The interpretive center building is a great place for kids to play and explore. It has a little golf putting area, animal costumes and so much more. You could easily spend an hour in there and the staff are so nice. We're excited to try the wading pool this summer!

North Mississippi Park convinced me to live in North Minneapolis…read more I come here for the playground, which is a bit larger than your typical Minneapolis playground. It is rarely crowded, maybe bc not many people could walk here. I always bring my camera bc it is so freaking gorgeous by the river. The park get busier when the wading pool opens, but we have wading pools closer to our house. I also love taking my kids right down to the shore. Too bad I'm not any good at skipping stones. On the south side of the park is a great Nature Center. Kroening has some great programs and many of them are free! It also has a little history information on the neighborhood which is cool.

My kiddos love this park! Both boys, one 4.5 and the other 1.5, both have a blast whenever we go…read more The play structures are very new. Looks like they have been replaced within the past few years. The main structure is fairly large. I believe it has 3 or 4 slides and a tall 'rock wall' for climbing. My little one can navigate but it's high in the air so I prefer to accompany him up there. The smaller platform, for tots his age, has wide steps, a steering wheel, a gradual slide, and a hiding place underneath. Then there's this yellow globe type thing that they can crawl into bed spin. Neither have been much into it but I've seen a lot of older kids enjoying. Four swings, two regular, one for infants, and I believe an accessibility swing, too. Other aspects of the park include a covered picnic area, tennis courts, softball field, and a lit soccer field turned ice arena in the winter. Great for all ages!

Great splash pad, cool playground and lots of green space. My girls love coming here on a hot day,…read morethe water area is pretty big with plenty of seating along walls, benches and a pavilion area. Nice bonus having the concessions and changing/restroom area close by.

My boys requested to go to a park they hadn't been to yet and we found this place! Definitely worth…read morevisiting! The grounds are huge! Footballs fields, volleyball courts, baseball fields! This place has a splash pad, large playground, a tots play area for the little kids, bathrooms, and an area that sells snacks (I'm assuming during the summer months) There is a TON of parking and the grounds were clean! My kids had a blast here!

I am not from around and already a huge fan of this trail. I am visiting friends for a weekend and…read morethis is right opposite to where they live. On the first glance you'l know right away that this is a huge forest reserve. This one had a very big bike trail(I was told something around 15 miles), Ofcourse shared by people who is here for a run/hike/walk/picnic etc. Guessing by the signs, looks like there are few spots where you can actually ski. Consists of multiple loops/small trails if you want to walk or hike, both paved and unpaved. I've also located few picnic spots and the scenery at places is quiet refreshing and amazing. A very pleasant get away from the everyday noise, surprisingly you won't even hear any traffic once you are inside(depends how far you are away from the road). The main trail splits into small loops, you'll be fine if you can keep track of these. There's also a dog park as well multiple parking spots across the way based on which side of the trail you are accessing it(I used the one at intersection of Territorial and Fernbrook).

Love this place! Tubing, snowboarding, skiing, cross country skiing! We did the snow tubing and…read morethey had 10 nicely groomed lanes and even at max capacity there was not that long of a wait. Easy to go online and reserve your two hour time slot which is plenty of time. Staff was friendly and helped give a push to start off if needed.

Enjoyed a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Palmer Lake Park to attend "Arts in Autumn" event. Fun…read moreart activities, flowers, and music hosted by Brooklyn Center Recreation. The park has the perfect space for this lovely event, and I had so much fun at this lovely park, I need to remember to visit here more often!

On the North shore of Spring Lake (in Spring Lake Park, MN) you can find this little gem of a 11.8…read moreacre park. There are picnic tables/shelters/benches, a fishing pier ("no good" fishing per the teens fishing there during my visit), sand volleyball courts, playground, walking trail, softball field, beach. On my visit the beach was closed to swimming (maybe lack of lifeguards?). Off street parking lot, as well as nearby street parking. Mature trees to offer shade. Both Moundsview & Spring Lake Park run this park jointly.

Kind of a little hidden gem neighborhood park. There's not a ton of parking, like 4-6 spots total…read moreand it's kind of back in the side streets. Playground equipment is pretty new though, nice area for bigger kids and another space for toddlers. Cool the toddler area has artificial grass, unique touch. There's some covered picnic tables and a little trail loop that goes around the lake. I've only been a couple times now and there was no one else around.