State and City Parks

Minnesota has a lot of state parks.

A. Lot.

And even better, while daily admission is $5, an annual pass is only $25 (less than half the cost in Georgia).

Even better than even better? We live about ten minutes from one of these parks (and within forty-five minutes of several more).

You might know that Minnesota is the "land of 10,000 lakes" -- which is actually closer to 12,000. One of these lakes is a park just down the road -- and they rent out canoes.

Nearby Lake

Suzanne on our outing

 Just a word of reminder: canoeing is difficult if you're not used to it, and winds make it even more so.

Up near Suzanne's office, there is yet another park -- Fort Snelling. It sits at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers.

Hawk Feather at Fort Snelling SP

Minnesota River from Fort Snelling SP

Panoramic of Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers at Fort Snelling SP

Confluence of Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers at Fort Snelling SP

Fort Snelling connects via paved walking path to Minnehaha Falls, part of a long chain of city parks. One Saturday, Suzanne and I took full advantage of our annual park pass and free time to make the quick jaunt from the state park over to the city, down some stairs to the banks of the Mississippi, through some surprisingly rugged terrain (considering that it rests between the major cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul), to the falls itself. There were moments when the walking path rivaled parts of the Appalachian Trail -- not quite the paved, broad way that connects Minnehaha to Snelling.

Minnehaha Falls -- Paved walkways up top, rugged hiking path down below

The same park system that connects Fort Snelling to Minnehaha Falls permeates the Twin Cities. It's a metropolitan area which places high value on green space. (And, much like Germany, the paths are divided into pedestrian and bike lanes.) We met some of Suzanne's friends at a pub on Lake Street, but before dinner, we took the opportunity to explore some of the walkways and dip down from the hilltop to the lowlands on the edge of the Mississippi.

Panoramic of the Mississippi River

 Of course, as wonderful as the Cities are, we've come to enjoy our small town. Below, the mountain bike/trail running course just down the road from our house: