This is probably not a destination park, but if you find yourself near Hastings with the need to…read moreget out of your car for between 10 and 60 minutes, chances are you'll enjoy Vermillion Falls Park. There's a nice sized parking lot and the falls is literally two minutes away. WIN. If you have teens who like some light hiking and picture taking, they will love this place. The teens I was with happily took pictures of both the falls and the graffiti and I enjoyed the wildflowers. Several picnic tables, and port a potties.

Small park nestled next to a large loud factory. The bike/walking trail is nice. We put a lock on…read morethe love lock fence. We didn't stay long but it was nice to see a park in this small town.

This is an amazing playground and one of our favorites...not only is this a playground but it also…read morehas a splash pad. Madison's is named after a little girl who passed away when she was young. The cool part of this playground is that it is accessible to those who are handicapped. Lots of fun ramps, slides and more modern playground fun stuff. Try to score one of the trees to put a blanket under so you can chill in the shade.

Found this place on accident and very happy I did. The playground is very large and splash pad is…read moredirectly next to it. The location is clean and it has a very great story about why it was created. I highly suggest it

Yesterday my partner and I went to the raptor release event. Visiting the Raptor Center was one of…read moreour first dates so it was nice to see and learn more about the owls, hawks and eagles at the nature center. The main highlight was definitely the bald eagle release but I enjoyed all of the other educational activities. Besides learning more about birds I got to experiment with electricity at the 3M table, pet a turtle as well as snake, watch dragonflies being released, and received info about how to create pollinator habitat by using native plants in our yard. There's a new cost share program that may be available for MN residents. The trails seemed well maintained with some benches and scenic lookout spots. Thanks to all the volunteers that made sure this event went smoothly. It was really fun and I'm definitely bookmarking this nature center as worth plenty of revisits!

What a great spot for our afternoon family outing kids 4- years old and adults. Interesting and…read moreeducational nature displays inside of the building included live frog, toad, snake and turtle and a 2 D display of local watershed. Outside is woodland with trails and a patio with table and chairs. We were here in early fall but it would be great any time of year. It is very accessible for wheelchairs and those who may have other physical challenges or just move slowly due to age. We will return for other seasons. Oh, it's all free to the public. A party room/ meeting space is available inside.

This is a cute little park on the Minnesota side of the St Croix river. They have a few trails,…read moresome are paved and some are not. There is a beach trail that takes you down to the river and a dock and the trail runs along the river and then goes back up and around back to the Carpenter nature Center. The Carpenter Nature Center building is in this park! You can now enjoy the park and the nature center at the same time. They also have weddings and other events here. It is a good place to see bald eagles. There are some bald eagle nest to see also. In the winter, I saw 8 bald eagle frolicking on the ice of the river, it was fun to watch. If you are in the area, please stop by, they just opened up the building to enjoy the animals in the Nature Center. The only thing that is negative about this place is that they close the gates at 5pm and close the trails at 4:30pm. Other than that it is great!

A rather plain looking park. There is a large office which apparently is open all year. There are…read moreplenty of picnic tables protected from rain. Not much for hiking as there are a few trails that are not scenic. The main reason for the bland look is a lack of trees. Here we go again for a regional park. Wide open areas with crew cut grass which just burns in the sun all summer. There is a small patch of prairie grass which they more of, or else plant some trees.

First visit to Afton State Park this weekend and am already planning my next trip!…read more We did the South River Loop and it was the perfect mix of prairie and forest, with a large portion having a view of the river. We got a tip to do the trail counter clockwise due to where the elevation is on the trail, and it was helpful! The paths are wide and views spectacular. It was a great park to visit to view the fall colors.

Great park and many spots to explore! I stopped in with a friend for a quick hike and we walked…read moredown by the water and enjoyed some snacks by the river. It's nice that we have this park so close to the cities!

We live in walking distance of woodridge and we've been going here since my kids were little. It's…read morean adapted park so there is something for every kid to be included in play which makes my sped teacher heart happy! My kids are 7&8 and have so much fun here. We've even done a few birthday parties at this park. They do have an indoor area you can rent as well.

Came here for a baby shower and was amazed at how large the playground is with a variety of play…read morestructures, some that I've never even seen before. The grounds seem kept well and maintained and there are facilities for restrooms as well as rooms available to use for events. A good place to host and keep kids entertained.

Fabulous park right on the river, hence the "Levee" in the name of the park. Lovely bandshell that…read morelooks out over the river and yes, this is the Mississippi. Plenty of parking, plenty of walking paths and lots of benches. If you're looking for a place with a great background for your photos, this is it. There's even a public restroom! [Review 20726 overall - 137 in Minnesota - 1708 of 2023.]

Just a block off historic old downtown Hastings, with large free parking lots available. The Levee…read morePark is on the Mississippi River and you can view both bridges (Great River Road & old railroad bridges). Hiking/strolling/biking trail runs thru it. Clean public bathroom close to the parking lot.

Beautiful park near the city. Grabbed some take out and found an empty picnic table in the middle…read moreof the day - lots of parking! Watched a few boats launch, saw some geese, enjoyed watching people along the shore. Picnic tables near the water at the North Entrance. Check it out!

Trying to be more intentional about exploring parks around Minneapolis this year, and Hidden Falls…read moreseemed like the perfect place to start. We usually default to Minnehaha Falls across the river, but I'd never actually explored this side--which looks to be really sprawling with new townhomes and modular single family homes. We parked near the dam and walked along the trail to reach the stairs leading down to Hidden Falls. Heads up: the walk down is a little precarious since there's no railing for most of the stairs, but it's not very steep and the trek itself is pretty short. The falls themselves were a bit disappointing at the moment--more of a trickle than a waterfall--but it is early in the season. That said, the forested park area it winds through was really nice, and made the visit worth it regardless. I can already tell this place is probably stunning in the summer when everything is green and flowing! Even with the lower water level, it was a great way to explore somewhere new and great to see there were so many people already exploring the park with it being chilly still!

We went to this park after my daughter's daycare had a field trip here. What a little pearl. It's…read moresuch a fun park. I wanted to tell all my friends...but at the same.time want to keep it secret. It has some fun items that you dont see at other parks. One in particular is the circular monkey bars...so fun! My kids really enjoyed their time here There is also a spacious parking lot. Easy to find. And both a play structure for littles as well as a bigger one that goes up to 12 years old.

Beautiful Wisconsin state park that many don't even know exists! It's a short 9 mile drive south on…read morecountry road F out of Hudson, Wi. They have a wonderful well maintained trail system which traverses through wood, prairie, pine stands and ravines along the Kinnickinnick river. Many enjoy kayaking from river falls to the mouth of the St croix river. There is a nice beach located there but its a steep walk down a paved trail to get there. If you kayak there, be ready for a HARD port up the hill to the parking lot. I really like how the trails are marked with color banded posts. It's easy to figure out where you are at any given time. There is a nice variety of difficulty on the trails. The blue, orange and purle trails have some nice hills to climb while the green, red and yellow trails are easy. There is a hidden gem of a trail on the map called Hidden Falls (pink on the map). You need to drive a mile past the park road to 770th ave. About 1/2 mile west, there is a small lot. The hike starts in a natural prairie and enters a pine grove and then weaves through hardwood and pine stands. An amazing hike! A couple things of importance. 1) if you go there in june through august, wear ALOT of bug repellant. This park is worse than others for bugs. 2) The only modern bathroom is in the ranger station. The rest are vault toilets. This park is worth the drive, especially in the fall as the leaves change color!

We stopped here to do some geocaches and to check out the view of the St Croix River from the land…read more The day before we had boated by and saw the park from the river. The park does have a nice overlook down to the river and you can walk the path down to the beaches at the river level. If you have a boat you can tie-up here though I don't know it you can camp overnight in your boat. The park did not appear to have a campground though it did have a number of hiking trails. No surprise that this time of year also attracts lots of mosquitoes! Overall an OK state park.