Was in the area and wanted a quick little hike; this spot certainly turned the trick. It took me…read morehalf an hour to get around the entirety of the lake at a reasonable clip while stopping for lots of photos, so I reckon it's maybe only a mile distance. The trail is paved all the way around and the asphalt is in good condition. There are three benches along the trail too. You won't get the world's most amazing views, considering that there is residential surrounding the entire lake, sometimes cozied up right to the park border (you could walk into someone's backyard if you felt like it), but it's still a nice bit of nature in an otherwise populated area. I saw lots of ducks and geese playing in the water, as well as squirrels frolicking about. The parking lot is somewhat small, approximately 16 spots, most of which were full when I arrived. There is a port-a-potty as well as trash and recycling bins. A short distance is a small playground, nothing fancy, just some climbing and slides, as well as a gazebo with a few picnic tables and a grill. A bit further is a boat ramp for small water craft like kayaks or canoes. I'll have to bring mine by and drop it in sometime next spring.

This recreational park was one of my favorite places that we stopped while I was in town. There is…read moreample parking and the park was pretty empty but, it's was a cooler fall day. There is a playground that has equipment for all ages, swings, basketball courts and a skate park. There was also pavilions, arbors and a beautiful gazebo. The lake runs through this park and there was plenty of benches on the walking trails. I took the shaded trail that leads down to the lake front beach and it was absolutely gorgeous. Tree covered pathway through the forest and the crisp fall air whipping by is enough to make anyone's stress melt away. There is a map at the bottom of the trail near the lake that shows the various trails throughout the park. It does circle around no matter which outlet you take back into the main park area. Since it was a paved trail it was an easy hike and a great opportunity to take in the leaves changing colors. The beach park was small but, it did appear to have bathroom facilities and enough room to take a dip during the summer. Unfortunately it started to rain so, I didn't get to walk the trail to the front where there was a nice walking bridge.

This park was a park that I happened to find on Yelp while eating some lunch in Shakopee. I saw…read morepictures that an out-of-towner posted which made me want to check it out. What a nice park. I was surprised that this park was so large with everything to do there, they have trails, lake, beach, all kinds of sports fields and play sets. There is something for everyone. I took a lot of pictures because I would round a bend or come over a hill and see the park is bigger and with more to offer. This park is well kept and well marked. I can't wait to stop back to capture more photos and some sunshine. Have a great day. Keep Yelping! Enjoy the photos and maybe I will see you there. Make sure that you say HI.

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!!

Minnesota has always impressed me with the effort it puts into its green spaces, parks, trails and…read moreespecially its playgrounds. There are a lot of good ones scattered throughout the Twin Cities, but the Hyland Play Area is operating on a different scale. The first thing that hits you is simply the enormity of it. A landscape photo barely does it justice. This isn't a playground with a couple of oversized structures--it's an entire playscape built around elevation, exploration and seemingly endless ways for kids to disappear upward and reappear somewhere completely different. There are distinct areas that make it approachable for kids of different ages, select water features, and plenty for younger children to explore without making the bigger kids feel like they've outgrown it. But the stars are those towering structures and enormous climbs spread throughout the park. If you've got a kid who needs to "get their zombies out," this ought to do it. A determined child could probably accumulate the equivalent vertical ascent of Minnesota's Eagle Mountain before lunch. What impressed me almost as much as the playground itself was how well the space handles people. There can seemingly be hundreds of kids here and somehow it doesn't feel like hundreds of kids. The scale absorbs everyone. Instead, you get this constant background soundtrack of giggles, playful screams and kids absolutely exhausting themselves. And somebody clearly thought about the adults. There are huge umbrellas providing shade along with benches, tables and places to settle in while the kids go explore. You quickly understand why the crowd is such an interesting mix: stay-at-home parents making a morning of it, grandparents with their grandchildren, friends meeting up with their kids, and even remote workers squeezing in some laptop time while periodically looking up to make sure everyone is still accounted for. It's less "take the kids to the playground for 30 minutes" and more pack some food, bring water and make this the destination. We're only reviewing the play area for now, but based on this alone, Hyland deserves the five stars. It's enormous without feeling chaotic, ambitious without forgetting the little kids, and thoughtfully designed for the adults who inevitably spend half their day here too. Minnesota does parks exceptionally well. This is one of the ones worth going out of your way for.

Hyland Lake Park is one of my favorite places to rent a kayak and fish for bass in the Twin Cities…read more The lake is never too busy and the bass are always biting :) I easily rented a single-person kayak online and walked up to the rental booth to pick up my life jacket and paddle - off I went! There is a nice sandy beach, and other boats available to rent (including paddle boats!) This is a must-stop for your summer itinerary in Minnesota!

Perfectly adequate experience for hiking. Definitely got the impression that this park is more…read moregeared towards winter cross-country skiing purposes. Though there is also a mountain biking path. There is both an East and a West entrance to this park. The East entrance seems to more be the main entrance with a tennis court, hockey rink, children's playground, and little free library. The West end however has a younger children's playground and a gazebo with ample picnic tables and a grill. Both ends have trash/recycling bins and a port-a-potty. No plumbed toilet facilities and no water fountains (this fact admittedly lowered my rating of the place). Trails are all pretty wide (again, to accommodate the cross-country skiers), and there are a decently number of maps posted periodically along the route to help you keep track of where you are. The outermost loop is 3.2 miles, so this would be a decent place to practice your 5k, especially if you want frequent elevation changes. I didn't find the scenery to be all that stunning compared to some other spots I've found around MN, but it was still reasonably pretty here and there. Nice large parking lots on either end.

I love this Burnsville area! Feels like I am hours away from the city. The trails here were nice…read more Took my dog around the loop. Very peaceful....

This starts off in a fairly standard kids playground and park, but the trail will take you through…read moresome nice scenery, with thick vegetation. A few of the trails go over a nice wooden bridge and through deeper woods. Other than Bloomington, I haven't seen such nice parks south of Minneapolis.

This is a beautiful park/trail system that meanders around a couple lakes while getting to see some…read morenice homes and yards. The trail is completely blacktop, no dirt, perfect for bikes. The reason that I stopped here is during the development of this area, I watched the trails and lakes being developed. I always wanted to check them out. As we were driving by, my dog started going crazy like when she gets excited for a nature walk, so my wife and i stopped and took a walk around for the first time. We went around both lakes, there is a bridge crossing between the 2 lakes. It is a couple miles around both lakes. My wife and I want to stop back. This trail system connects to Lake Community Park that you can also find on Facebook. I will check to see if it is on Yelp the next time. That is a good park to park your car at to go into walk/bike. Be sure to look at the photos i took. Very polite and friendly people walking around this lake/trail system.

A beauty hidden gem in the southeast metro that I would recommend if you are looking for a close to…read morehome walk/bike with some varied terrain. We hiked this the first week of March and we both wish we would have worn spikes or brought poles- if you get off the main trail, there is some really great up and down. I did not have my cross country skis with me but the trails looked amazing and are groomed for both skate and classic! Highly recommend if you need to get outdoors and want some up and down!

I was in the area the other day and decided to take advantage of the nice spring weather. I wasn't…read moreexpecting a $7 day fee to enter, but I decided to consider it a donation to the parks system, fed it my debit card and got a ticket to put on my dash. There were three parking lots to choose from, but I drove all the way down to the third and last one by the park office and playground. Decided to do the approximately six mile loop on the dirt path trails (also used for skiing when there's snow on the ground). It was nice hiking through the various groupings of pine trees. I could still hear the freeway noise, but it was mostly in the background. The prettiest part was definitely at the beginning beside the lake though (but perhaps in other seasons, like fall, it might be even prettier). Some mild elevation change, nothing too challenging by any means. There was also the option to walk on a paved path with many benches if you do need something less strenuous or you aren't hiking. The playground was really cute with relatively new equipment. Lots of climbing options, slides, and one large swing (very comfy to lean back in and admire the lake). There were picnic tables around along with barbecues and trash/recycling bins. There's a dock for fishing off of, and another (at the second parking lot) for canoe/kayak launching (which I'll have to come back and try when I have some free time this summer). There were two port-a-potties available for when the park office isn't open. The park office has many a toilet, all singletons so non-gendered, which was lovely. They were clean and well-stocked. The park office didn't have much going for it from what I could glean, but there was space in the lobby to sit and relax if desired, as well as a large backroom that seemed like it was probably for classes and such. It wasn't very busy while I was there; likely because the weather was predicting a storm, but I lucked out and it never came the two hours I was there. I came across a couple that had their dogs off leash, which the park rules state you're supposed to keep your dogs leashed... People, man.

My brother, our friends and I used to come here in high school, long before they paved the place…read moreover. It had a lost, haunted, abandoned feel to it then. We had to hike through a graveyard and find a hole in the fence. We used to have campfires, even in winter. Once, we raided my friends' parents' liquor cabinet and filled a few two liter bottles with a mixture of red wine, cheap brandy, and kahlua. Don't laugh! At age 16 it seemed like quite a score! After we were done vomiting around the campfire, my brother wanted to see how sharp his brand new pocket knife was. He ran it along his thumb to test it out and--surprise! He immediately began to bleed all over everybody. I think he said, "oh, f--k, is that MY blood?" Though drunk and disoriented, we never lost our way back there, not even on starless nights without the benefit of flashlights or clear cognition. We got my bro to the ER, and I don't remember if they gave him a new thumb or just stitched him up. What a scene! We always had an ear out for the cops, close as we were at times to busy Roselawn Ave., but they never came, and even if they had, they would never have found us. They didn't know those trails like we did. It was our secret place, and we were its kings. I loved the Reservoir. I knew every inch of it and enjoyed it in every season. I collected medicinal herbs there that helped cure people. I buried a dead pet there. It was like having a forbidden, abandoned state park right in the burbs. But unlike state parks, which are highly regulated, manicured places, the Reservoir was like a refuge for the select few people who knew how to appreciate its depth and diversity. There was prairie, old-growth pines, ponds, owls and pileated woodpeckers, a small herd of deer. Not to mention the actual reservoir itself, a creepy, unnatural hill with ancient brick buildings on the corners like the entrance to Druid burial vaults. We used to ascend its bare plateau and sit silently and smoke cigarettes as we gazed at the view of distant, downtown Minneapolis while we thought about the past and the future. We did a lot of other things at this place that I will not mention, except that none of them were harmful to the land or other people, and they were equally the doings of carefree, misspent youth, and also formative experiences that helped us grow up. I always felt a sense of belonging here, a peacefulness. I still do, even though it's paved over with trails. I married my brother and his wife here in a tiny, shotgun ceremony. A stranger's excitable dog came bounding up to us at the conclusion of the ceremony, and we all petted it and laughed. It was during the last snowfall of the season, in April, 2011. That was the last time I was there.

There are two sides to enter Reservoir Woods, I was on the dog park side and drifted to the paths…read moreof the Reservoir. Some steep hills and winding trails with mostly easy paths. There are a few interpretation signs including wildlife sightings of Deer and Coyote. You probably won't see much more than a few squirrels but best to keep you Pug pup on a leash.