MSP Family Recreation & School

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General Sites
Family travel files: Minneapolis
Family Times GoCityKids
Downtown Mpls (maps)
Summer of Fun
City Pages: Best of TC Dining
Strib: Movies Entertainment

Library/Gym/Services
SP Library: Hours Google books Requests
Ramsey County Libraries
Maplewood libray
Saint Paul JCC
FLN News & Ref

Parks & Rec

Three Rivers Parks
Ramsey County
Saint Paul Park Maps
Cottage Grove & Wash Cty
Fort Snelling
Batting Cages - Rice & Arlington

MSP Grand Rounds (pdf)
Eagle's Nest (New Brighton)
Edinborough Park
Wisconsin State parks
see also ... excursions

Ice Skating
Centennial Lakes
The Depot
Richfield Arena
Highland Arena
Roseville Oval
Saint Paul Rinks (RH: Refrigerated)
Minneapolis Rinks

Sledding/Tubing
Afton Alps ^[1]
Wirth Park
Green Acres (Lake Elmo)
Skijoring
Saint Paul Sledding
Minneapolis Sledding

Museum
Bell Museum
Children's Museum
History Center
Science Museum
Train Museum & Osceola Train

Other
Como Zoo & Conservatory
Hiawatha Light Rail
MN Zoo
Goodrich Golf Dome

Ski/Bike
Saint Paul Ski
Hyland Ski and Snowboard
Lebanon Hills (mtn bike)
Elm Creek Park
Battle Creek Park
Ramsey Trails
Hennepin Bike Maps
St Paul Trail Maps
TCBC

Swimming
Oxford Pool
Depot Water Park
Tropics Shoreview
Grand Rios

Inline Skating
Roller-Dome
Saints N Family
Roller-Garden(note)
Minnesota Inline
Friday Skate
Places & Trails

Music and Radio
Artist's Quarter
Dakota
Twin Cities Jazz
Prairie Home Companion

School & Cubs & Sports
Expo School
MN Special Hockey
HGRA Soccer/Baseball
HGRA Blog

Introduction

This is where we put links and notes about local resources and recreational facilities that we use. It is a family page, but the information may be of use to others. Most of the links above go to other pages, but some go to the notes below.

Regional Excursions & Parks

Lebanon Hills

very good mountain biking, including beginner loop

Battle Creek Park

Ramsey Description
Winthrop Street site has lighted trails for cross country skiing

Elm Creek Park

Elm Creek Park site (has map)
enter off of 81, south entrance
For bike outing, park at first left lot and go round Mud Lake to the play area. In summer there's a swimming pond (beach). Play area is a bit run down, but lots to do. Good number of kids, very active group. Can buy snacks by pond including ice cream treats (no cones). Terrain is a bit hilly, mosquitoes bad some years.

Hudson - St Croix - Mississippi loop

map
start @ 11am. Picnic lunch in the Hudson park that overlooks the St. Croix river.
drive east to newer (MSP sprawl) parts of Hudson, cross and follow County F to Wisconsin side across Point Douglas
stop at Kinnickinnic state park (park map) and go for a swim
decide whether to head back on north or south shore of Mississippi (not yet explored by us)

Crystal Cave, Wisconsin

Crystal cave web site
Good rainy day outing. About 1 hour drive.

Summer ideas: A 2006 list

MN Zoo, also swan boats
Kayak on Minneapolis Lakes (rental)
Renaissance Fair (Sept)
Highland Fest (3rd w/e July)
St Anthony Park concert series
Cottage/Inver Grove drive-ins
Tennis & Racquetball

Cascade Bay
Bunker Beach Wave Pool
Highland Pool
Biking
Como Park concer series
Afton Alps bike trails

Inline Skating
Ice Skating (Depot)
Fishing
Fort Snelling (reenact)
Aquatennial
MN Twins Sun games

Camping
MN State Fair (LD w/e)
Lake Harriet Rail
St Croix Valley Railway
District del Sol movies
Como Town rides

Winter ideas: 2008

UMN Indoor Tennis
JCC Racquetball
Roller-Dome

Bowling
Driving Range
Hyland Ski

Groveland Hockey
Winter Carnival
Water parks

Macy's Minneapolis Christmas display (Minn downtown)

Notes and Details

Roller-Garden

This place can be a mind-boggling zoo during a Saturday pm skate. The party volume is amazing Try the < age 12 10am-1pm Saturday skate. It is one of the most ethnically diverse recreating areas in the twin cities. Wooddale community center (Woodbury) also has roller/inline skating for kids, as does Saints North.

Footnotes

[1]	Have to be 42" tall and > 5yo.

Author: John G. Faughnan. The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. Pages are updated on an irregular schedule; suggestions/fixes are welcome but they may take weeks to years to be incorporated. Anyone may freely link to anything on this site and print any page; no permission is needed for citing, linking, printing, or distributing printed copies.