Parks
The parks worth crossing town for — the falls at Minnehaha, the conservatory at Como, the reserves with real wilderness on the metro's edge. Most are free and open dawn to dark, year-round.
See what's happening: Family Fun on the calendar →
Gold pins are our hand-picked parks. Zoom in to see every park in the metro (gray dots) — community-mapped via OpenStreetMap.
A Three Rivers reserve near Lake Independence in Maple Plain — a sand swimming beach, a golf course, a campground, and trails. Free day use.
Hours & details ↗A big east-metro Ramsey County park — paved and mountain-bike trails, a dog park, and the seasonal Battle Creek Waterworks splash park for the under-10 crowd.
Hours & details ↗Boom Island Park
FreeA riverfront park on the Mississippi in Northeast — a little lighthouse, a paddleboat dock, a playground, and the Nicollet Island footbridge into the old milling district.
Hours & details ↗Anoka County's 1,700-acre park in Coon Rapids — 10-plus miles of trails, archery, camping, and Bunker Beach water park in summer. (A vehicle permit is required to enter.)
Hours & details ↗The free zoo, the glass conservatory that stays 75 degrees in February, the lakeside pavilion, and a whole day's worth of paths around Como Lake.
Hours & details ↗St. Paul's largest natural park — nearly seven miles of paved trail through floodplain forest along the Mississippi and around Crosby Lake, below the Highland bluff.
Hours & details ↗The largest park in the Three Rivers district — 5,300 acres of trails, a swim pond, a nature center, and a tubing-and-ski hill, on the metro's northwest edge.
Hours & details ↗Gold Medal Park
FreeThe spiral-mound park behind the Guthrie in Downtown East — climb the 32-foot mound for a river-and-skyline view, best at dusk. Privately built, always free.
Hours & details ↗Bloomington's big Three Rivers reserve — the award-winning Chutes and Ladders playground, a visitor center, prairie-and-woods trails, and a chairlift-served tubing hill in winter.
Hours & details ↗A big south-Minneapolis lake with two swimming beaches, a paved loop for walking and biking, sailboats, and a summer concert stage. Free.
Hours & details ↗Dakota County's biggest park — nearly 2,000 acres of trails, lakes, a swimming beach at Schulze Lake, canoe routes, and camping on the metro's south edge.
Hours & details ↗River-bluff trails and fossil-hunting flats along the Mississippi below the West Side — quiet, wild, and minutes from downtown St. Paul. Free.
Hours & details ↗The 53-foot falls, the limestone bluffs, and the Sea Salt line out the door in July — one of the metro's oldest and most-loved parks, on the Mississippi at the mouth of Minnehaha Creek.
Hours & details ↗A 14,000-acre river-valley refuge along the Minnesota, with a Bloomington visitor center, boardwalks, and miles of trails right by the airport. Free.
Hours & details ↗Three Rivers' riverfront park in Brooklyn Park (formerly Coon Rapids Dam) — walk across the dam, watch for eagles, and hit the trails and interpretive center. Free.
Hours & details ↗St. Paul's East Side lake park — a swimming beach, a golf course, a paved loop, and a Chinese garden on the island. Free.
Hours & details ↗Silverwood Park
FreeA Three Rivers park built around art and nature on Silver Lake — a gallery and café in the visitor center, restored prairie and oak woods, and classes year-round.
Hours & details ↗The metro's biggest city park — mountain-bike singletrack, a wildflower garden, a swimming beach, and the Loppet's Trailhead for winter skiing, all a few minutes from downtown.
Hours & details ↗Afton State Park
PaidRugged St. Croix bluff country in Afton — 20 miles of hiking and ski trails climbing the river ravines, plus a swimming beach. A state-park permit is required.
Hours & details ↗Where the Minnesota and Mississippi meet — Pike Island trails, a swimming lake, and the old fort on the bluff above. A state-park vehicle permit gets you in.
Hours & details ↗A gentle family state park on the St. Croix near Marine — river paddling, sandy swimming, and rolling trails. A state-park permit is required.
Hours & details ↗