Natural Attractions In Minneapolis

Boom Island
No longer an island, this island was permanently annexed to the East Bank many years ago. Long a home to Soo Line Railroad switching yard, it now hosts the lovely Boom Island Park.

Nicollet Island
The island that forms the natural fording place immediately north of St. Anthony Falls. There's a lovely historic housing district on the north end of the island as well as a pedestrian bridge connection to Boom Island Park. On the southern end of the island in the old Island Boiler Works is a park with a pavilion and an outdoor stage. On the southeast side of the island, a piece of the old Broadway Bridge serves as a bridge over to the East Bank and Main Street. Hennepin Avenue runs across the island as well as railroad tracks that were one of the first railroad crossings of the Mississippi River in 1867. Natural caves can be found underground on the north end of the island, but these are closed to the public.

St. Anthony Falls
The reason Minneapolis is here. This is the only remaining naturally occurring waterfall on the Mississippi River. Today, the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam dominates the old falls, but the engineered falls now have a very stately feel to them. There's a 50' drop between the top of the V-shaped dam just ahead of the falls and the bottom of the main spillway. The V-shaped dam was built in the early 1860s to maintain a high water level to both the St. Anthony (East Bank) and the Minneapolis (West Bank) mills.

Upper and Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam
Installed after the numbering system was created, these dams date to the 1950s and finally realized the dream of Minneapolis to have a navigable river route through the city. The 8' channel extends up to the northern part of the city. The Upper Lock is the tallest on the river.

Lock and Dam Number One
Also called the Ford Plant Dam. It's located about 4 miles south of the falls and when it was built in the early part of this century, it extended the navigable channel all the way up to the base of St. Anthony Falls.

The Lakes:

Cedar Lake
The most remote of the big lakes in South Minneapolis, it features some of the only lake front property in the city. The northern end of the lake is still pretty undeveloped and the property is owned by both the City and the Railroad. There is a canoe channel connecting Cedar Lake and Lake of the Isles. Cedar Lake is also infamous for having an "unofficial" nude beach along it's northern edge.

Lake of the Isles

The prettiest of the lakes, Lake of the Isles is the only big lake in Minneapolis with an island and an irregular shape. This is what I would call the "family lake" as the traffic on the walking paths around the lake tend to be families. There is a canoe channel to Cedar Lake on the west end and a channel to Lake Calhoun on the south end of this lake.

Lake Calhoun
This is the see and be seen lake. If you've worked hard on your body, here is the place to show it off. Sailboats ply the waters here and there is a public swimming beach on the north end.

Lake Harriet
Call this the public lake. There's a band shell on the northwest end of this lake. A bit to the south is the Minnesota Transportation Museum's Como-Harriet Street Car Museum Site. On the east side of the lake is the Rose Garden.

Lake Nokomis
I'd call this lake the sports lake because of the many public ball fields on the north end.

The Creeks:

Minnehaha Creek
Made famous my Minnehaha Falls, this creek meanders through the south end of the city. There is a beautiful park on either side of it all the way through the city. It connects with Lake Harriet and then continues its way east to its falls.

Shingle Creek
Up in far north Minneapolis is this creek. It starts outside the city somewhere and eventually heads to the Mississippi River. It was named for the shingle mill located at roughly 43rd and Lyndale Ave N. It goes through Webber Park just before it crosses under Lyndale Ave in an engineered bed. It empties into the Mississippi through North Mississippi Regional Park.

Bassett Creek
This creek has been engineered for nearly 100 years. It is the creek that flows through Wirth Park and there it was engineered to have several small lagoons before flowing on. Just north of I-394 it turns toward the east. It flows in the open for a while, then runs into a culvert just west of Lyndale Avenue on Glenwood Avenue. It continues on culverted until about 100 yards before it flows into the Mississippi. It enters across from Boom Island in a little park.

I'm told by a reader named John that there is indeed a Bridal Veil Falls. It's on the east side of the Mississippi just north of the Franklin Avenue Bridge. This is just south of the University of Minnesota's East Bank Campus. John tells me it's an easy walk down on a paved trail and that the falls themselves are lovely.

There are many Parks to see in Minneapolis:

St. Anthony Falls Area:

Hennepin Bluffs Park
Reportedly this is where his Indian captors first showed Father Hennepin the falls he subsequently named after his patron saint, St. Anthony of Padua. This park is located on the East Bank of the Mississippi at the foot of the Stone Arch Bridge.

Mill Ruins Park
A project of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Mill Ruins Park explores the ruins of the West Side Milling buildings. The project has restored the tailrace openings, the tailrace canal and has installed a smallish waterfall at the end of the canal that leads back to the river. It's a lovely little park. One of the more obvious features are the remains of the old railroad trestle that ran across the back sides of the mills that were closest to the river. Here's the park's website. The park is an on-going project and changes seem to be happening every summer. This park is located on the West Bank just south of the foot of Portland Avenue and immediately east of West River Road.

Stone Arch Bridge
This bridge, finished in 1882 is the only stone arch bridge across the Mississippi and the only railroad bridge across the river with a curve built into it. This impressive span was closed to railroad traffic in 1981 and was opened to pedestrian traffic in the mid 1990s. It offers a great view of the Upper Saint Anthony Lock and Dam's workings, Saint Anthony Falls, and Hennepin Island.

Mill City Museum

The Minnesota Historical Society has acquired the Washburn Crosby "A" Mill ruins and is planning to install a milling museum inside the shell. I'm very excited about this museum. There will be an elevator tour of exhibits having to do with the milling industry at the Falls. It's scheduled to open in September, 2003

Boom Island Park
A lovely park about a mile north of St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi River. This park has picnic and docking facilities as well as a pedestrian bridge connection to Nicollet Island.

River Walk
This is the walking path that circles the falls and milling district. It's a healthy walk that starts up on the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, crosses Nicollet Island, runs down Old Saint Anthony Main, crosses the Stone Arch Bridge and continues back up river through the West Side Milling District and the West Bank river front

First Bridge Park
Not many people know that St. Anthony/Minneapolis was where the first bridge to span the Mississippi River was built. Back in 1855, a suspension span bridge spanned the distance between Nicollet Island and the West Bank. To commemorate this, in the space under only the 4th bridge on the site, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board have exposed the footings for the first two bridges built on the site. It's a cool little site that features not only the excavated and capped stone footings of the original bridges (built side-by-side), but the excavated cable anchors for the first bridge. This site gives a person an impression of what size the first bridges were. Here's the park's website.

Theodore Wirth Park
One of the biggest parks in the city, it remains rather secluded on the city's north and west side. Bracketing Basset Creek, Wirth Park includes natural areas, two golf courses, a tubing hill and miles of walking trails.

Victory Memorial Drive
This parkway starts at Webber Park at 43rd and Nicollet and then continues west to the edge of the city. It then turns south, ending at the north end of Wirth Park.

South Minneapolis:

Cedar Lake
See above.

Lake Of The Isles
See above.

Lake Calhoun
See above.

Lake Harriet
See above.

Minnesota Transportation Museum Trolley Site
A delightful display of our old trolley system. They offer rides most days during the summer.

Lake Harriet Band Shell
Live music on the shores of Lake Harriet.

Aviary
This is a bird sanctuary on the north end of Lake Harriet.

Rose Garden
This is a formal rose garden on the west end of Lake Harriet.

Lakewood Cemetery
The largest cemetery within the city, Lakewood is home to former Governors, and the movers and shakers of the city. Of special interest is the Cass Gilbert designed chapel and the monument to the millers who died in the 1868 Washburn Crosby "A" Mill explosion.

Lake Nokomis
See above.

Camp Coldwater Springs
This is a relatively unknown historic site on the city's southeast edge. This was the fresh water spring that supplied Fort Snelling with its fresh water. It also has meaning to the local Indian communities.

Minnehaha Falls
Probably the most photographed geographic feature of the whole city. Minnehaha falls is where Minnehaha Creek drops a good 50' or so. The creek then goes on through an abandoned channel of the Mississippi River to eventually join the Mississippi just above Fort Snelling.

Downtown Area:

Loring Park
Minneapolis doesn't have a town square. If there is an area that serves as one, this park would be it. Here is where the people of the city come to relax, see the sights, hear church bells and go to fairs. It contains many attractions such as a pair of small ponds, the Dandelion Fountain, a statue of Ole Bull as well as basketball and tennis courts.

Nicollet Mall
Created by the city planners in the 1960s, this is Downtown's answer to the suburban shopping mall. Nicollet Mall meanders through the heart of the city. It's a walking mall, on Thursdays it's a farmers market, during the Winter it's the site of the Holidazzle parade and it's also the transportation hub for most of downtown's buses. The mall is also crossed by several segments of the downtown skyway system.

West River Parkway
West River Parkway is part of the River Parkway system. Starting just north of Minnehaha Park in South Minneapolis, it continues up past Boom Island in the North. There are plans afoot to extend it through the industrial area in North Minneapolis to connect with the park system of Anoka County. There are bike paths continuously along the Parkway as well as a couple of springs, the Lock and Dams, the footings of the old Hennepin Avenue Bridges and the outflow of Basset Creek.

Peavey Plaza
One of the coolest downtown spots, Peavey Plaza lies adjacent to Orchestra Hall. There are many celebrations there over the course of the summer, but the biggest attraction is the massive fountain with brass risers.

Did I leave someplace out?

Tell me!