This has got to be one of the most fun parks I have taken my boys to in awhile!…read more There is free street parking and a small parking lot down the street. This park has all kinds of things to climb, swing and explore but it also has... TOYS!! What kind of a park has toys!? The best kind of course!! As far as what is surround the playground, it's wood chips and the vast majority of the playground it wood. The entire playground is fenced in with only one way in and out, truly a parents dream haha!! There is a big sand pit to the left and alllll kinda of trucks, push toys and things to ride! There are several benches and picnic tables as well! This was a clean and well maintained park! If you are in the area, it's definitely worth the stop!

I know this place as "Wood Park". As in "Can we go to Wood Park, please please please ...". After…read moreall, its made mostly of wood. But to the city of Rochester and the kind people that made it happen, its know as the Field of Fun. Its located just a hop and a skip from the Soldiers Field Veterans Memorial. This park is small, but is a great place to take younger children. The play area is enclosed so they cant stray to far. There is a separate area for the toddler set with toddler sized play gear. For the 4-8 crowd there are more advanced slides, poles, and other climbing do-dads (even a climbing wall). There are even some picnic tables up front. if you were 4, wood it get any better than this?

Multi-use trail (biking, hiking, skating, horseback riding & mountain biking on the side of the…read moreasphalt trail, snowmobiling), stretching 12.5 miles from Pine Island to Rochester. Relatively flat (an abandoned Chicago Great Western Railroad spur) with an unpaved natural trail alongside it. Wonderfully shaded and scenic views! Trailheads in Rochester and Pine Island with plentiful parking. Named after the tiny town of Douglas, it is a great spot to stop and explore the Douglas Saloon & Social Club. This is a free State Trail and worth checking out!

When you live in Rochester and you have a boat--this is one of the nicest places to get it wet for…read morea couple hours as you don't always have time to drive north ---We have used this lake many times just to get out of the house and drop a line--and I have caught a few fish but always thrown them back. There is a waterski show on the lake typically every wednesday night during the summer. It gets busy with tubers, skiers, and fishing. It is a small lake but the summers are short in MN so you need to get your boat out every chance you get even if it's just for a few hours.

went here to beach with grandkids and daughter in law. park, beach and swimming. restrooms far away…read morefrom beach area. kids just go in the lake along with babies in soaked diapers. Is the city going to put in a restroom closer to the beach?

been going here for about a week, and the walk around the lake is so peaceful and serene. took me…read more43 minutes to go around with short legs and a steady walking pace. 2.1 miles long I think, totally recommend fishing and walking around here

St. Marys Park is roughly a ten-minute walk from St. Marys Hospital, which is a part of the Mayo…read moreClinic. I decided to drop by on a rainy Saturday afternoon, just before the temperature dropped and freezing rain happened. I don't know why there isn't an apostrophe in St. Marys. I find it weird. What's interesting about this park is that it's on a hill. If you like killing yourself doing a brisk walk up an incline, come here. You cannot miss a water tower that is at the top of this hill. It's made of concrete and is cylindrical. It was built in 1924 and has a capacity of 200,000 gallons. It's on the National Register of Historic Places. There were roughly four parking spots at this park when I visited. You get free parking for two hours. I don't know how often this parking period is enforced. There was a slide and play area for kids. I saw a couple of squirrels having a nice time climbing up trees. I have a feeling that a lot of staff and students at the Mayo Clinic take advantage of this park when they need a break. It's probably nice to check out in the summertime, as opposed to my doing it when it's Winter. It was a cool find. I'd like to come back and check it out when it's much warmer. (503)

I started my new job at IBM in June many moons ago in Rochester, MN. A few weeks later, there was a…read morehuge outdoor barbeque at IBM Woodside Park for employees. IBM was quite the force back then, occupying a campus of over 3.1 million square feet. It had the reputation of being the largest IBM facility that manufactured and shipped an entire product from start to finish under one roof in the world. Times have certainly changed. IBM sold most of its property to Industrial Reality Group (IRG) and leases a handful of buildings these days. During this pandemic, I have been revisiting places that I once frequented. I remembered the park next door and decided to drop by. Back then, my manager drove me and two other colleagues in his Subaru Forrester to this park. This visit was my first time driving myself. There were plenty of parking spots on a Saturday afternoon. I backed into a spot and walked around. I noticed the IRG sign. The park is now called IRG Park. It's a private park these days. You need an employment badge to visit it. I was essentially trespassing. Considering that I was the only person there, I decided to take my chances. If the evil IRG folks wanted to ban me from visiting this park, I was okay risking it. It felt the same. There were picnic areas where you could barbeque (grill is the more common word used down here) and places to sit. I didn't pay attention to the play area back then. I loved the swings and spent a bit of time swinging on one. The basketball and tennis courts are still there. They looked like they were in good condition. The trees felt familiar. They still make me happy looking at them. I did not get reprimanded for trespassing. It was nice walking around and remembering a daddy longlegs crawling up my pantleg while I was eating a hamburger. I was oddly not mortified. I had never seen one before. "That's a daddy longlegs. It won't hurt you," my manager said. He was a gentle soul, just like the daddy longlegs. My former manager wrote a letter of recommendation for me when I moved back to Winnipeg. I have always been thankful for his kind gesture. He passed away several years later. I was assigned a mentor when I joined IBM and he was mine. I was fortunate to have ended up with a kind man with tons of wisdom and guidance. He was genuinely sad when I got laid off from the company and had to move back to Canada. "It should have been me, and not you, Mary," he said. That entire conversation is still fresh in my head. I had to console him about being laid off. He arranged my farewell lunch. I still have a coffee mug from the team as a parting gift. I worked on the Java team. It was meaningful and fitting. It was nice to think of him fondly as I walked and swung on the swing here. This park will always hold special memories. It was nice being back. (112)

The park itself is great. The people that run it and make the rules...not so much. How can you…read moreclose this park off to the public? What a waste of a great disc golf course. Out of the couple hundred people that are elidgible to use the park...I'm guessing less than 30 people actually use it.

This is my second time floating this river with Zumbro Valley Canoe Rental and I cannot say enough…read moregood things about the experience. The staff and owner were great and made sure we had a safe and enjoyable trip on the river. We saw bald eagles, giant blue herons and other wildlife.

The float from Zumbro Falls to Hammond is a beautiful, peaceful 3 hour trip in kayak or canoe. That…read moregave my rating the fourth star. The establishment itself is a 3 star because the overall condition of the kayaks. The kayaks are Old Town which when new were high quality. However, most of the kayaks here are in pretty rough shape. My wife and I had two that were ok, but several had missing peddles and/or major damage to the fiberglass. So beware, before you pay make sure your kayak meets your approval. After all you're going to be in it for 3 hours. The canoes looked in better shape. The price of $35 per kayak was reasonable and Sully gave us excellent advice on how to navigate the river.

I was hoping for a large park where I could take my dog for a long walk. What I found was a quaint…read morefor kids to play in when there's no snow. There is a path about two blocks long. The best feature is a long yet low hill. It would be perfect for looking at stars, clouds, or a nice picnic. Parking isn't great.