Super pleasant park. I had some time during the week to take a stroll along the River here. There…read moreare lots of benches and plenty of grassy areas to sit down and just let the stresses slide away while enjoying this quiet pleasant park.

Loved this place! Beautiful sunset view. Calm place with many local restaurants! Had a beautiful…read morewalk and then got ice cream in the area.

Great little slice of heaven we stumbled on by accident after the beach at Willow River was a bust…read more Highly recommend!

great spot in the township of Troy (I know that for a fact since the warning signs for trespassing…read moreon the neighbor beaches is listed by them as $295 fine). Please see previous warning about the undertow in the river, out from the other side of the buoy-it IS dangerous further out. Near the shoreline, it is nice and shallow. We found this little slice of untouched St. Croix River a wonderful place to enjoy on a hot summer day.

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!

When I drive by in the summer the park looks very busy as there is plenty of parking room for beach…read moregoers to spread out. This beach is between Prescott and Hastings and has all the amenities you should expect. The rest of the year the area is open and a neat place to just sit around.

Great little beach with clean restrooms, garbage and recycling bins. We go during off times and…read moreit's perfect to enjoy the space when it's a little less crowded and we have space to spread out on the beach. There are plenty of picnic tables, shaded and grass areas if you prefer to stay off the sand.

Riverfront park with sidewalks, bridges, a bandshell (that hosts various events), and the cool…read moreHudson sign. If you walk a little farther, you will find the small beach area to swim and play in the sand. My brother also brought my kids to a "playground," which ended up being a collection of body weight exercise stations across from the library. :-) There are benches, tables, and green space throughout to enjoy reading under a shaded tree or a picnic with the fam. They were setting up for a concert when we were there and there was a bunch of seating and green space directly in front of the bandshell. This is a small, easily walkable park, adjacent to all of the cool riverfront restaurants and charming downtown shops.

The front half of a larger park, that has a handful of pedestrian paths with good views of the lake…read moreas well as the river. It has more lawn than the back half, several decorative monuments and it's adjacent to some of the nicer restaurants in Hudson.

We wanted a spot that offered outdoor fun with a nearby city for lunch, and this park delivered!…read moreIt's huge.... offering hiking, camping, biking, swimming, and even skiing in the winter. There's always something to do no matter the season. Parking is $8, and on busy days you might wait a few minutes, but it's worth it. At the entrance, you'll get a helpful map (also available online) that shows all the trails and recreation options. We parked near the boat launch and took the 1.5-mile loop to the waterfall, a beautiful, family-friendly walk with no complaints from the kids! The waterfall itself is stunning. We kicked off our shoes, dipped our feet in the cool water, and climbed around the rocks above the falls. There are more challenging hikes if you're feeling adventurous, and it's only about 10 minutes to great Hudson riverfront dining afterward. We left smiling and saying, "That was so fun maybe we should get an annual pass!

Fantastic! A short drive from the Twin Cities, this is a lovely site to take a walk in nature or…read moreuse for camping. This is my secondary visit where we came for a short hike to the falls with our dogs. If you are not from WI, be prepared to pay a few extra dollars more as a non-resident. My family parked near the entrance and used the trail next to the parking lot. There is a giant hill leading down to the falls which means the hike back is tough and almost breathless. I personally feel like seeing the falls makes it all worth it. When arriving at the falls, there are such a wide variety of humans who are climbing, swimming, sitting in nature, enjoying picnics, taking pictures and even knitting. While we typically do the quick falls hike, know that multiple trails exist and that maps will be provided upon entry. Enjoy!!

I've enjoyed all seasons at this state park: in the winter, I've snow showed, in the spring/fall…read moreI've hiked, and in the summer I've enjoyed the beach. I've been to all 69 state parks in MN, and this one is my favorite near the metro area. There is something for everyone, although the hike to the beach includes a steep incline which can be a bother if you are carrying lots of gear (chairs, umbrella, water toys, etc).

Always amazed by the beauty MN has to offer and my friend took me on a scenic trail walk around…read moreAfton State Park. Everything was beautiful and the grounds are vast with summer flowers everywhere you look. Love the view of the St. Croix River as well. There are camping grounds here as well, which looks like a lovely getaway.

A spacious sandy beach. Too bad I'm exploring in November but I'll keep this location in mind come…read morenext summer. There are three parking lots and one has a kiosk with a sign saying a pass is needed. I'm not sure for what, perhaps for boating. The other parking lot has no such warning. Just walk in head to the beach and enjoy.

A clean swimming lake in Washington County. There is a charge for parking your car (unless you…read morehave a Washington County Park Pass). Two parking lots. Now with a kayak rental station on the lake by the lower level landing. This park offers: a sandy beach and swimming area, fishing pier on the north side, .5 mile hiking loop near the top of the park, changing rooms/bathroom building (no showers in building), an outdoor rinse station by beach.

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.

This is a park on the Wisconsin side of the St Croix River. We have been here in the summer which…read morewas nice. It is completely different in the winter. The trail down to the river is very steep. It is a long climb up. The river when it was frozen allows you to walk along the swampy area and see several bald eagle. It was also very quiet and peaceful.

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

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.