| Last
updated: July 21, 2008 |
|
Minnehaha Park & Falls Area |
 |
Minnehaha
Park Overview
located
at the intersection of Minnehaha Avenue, Minnehaha
Parkway and Godfrey Ave,
just east
of Highway 55/Hiawatha Avenue. ( Map)
Park Board's Minnehaha Park page
Minnehaha
Park is 193 acres with a 53-foot waterfall, limestone
bluffs and river overlooks. The Park contains
oak, elm, silver maple, basswood, hackberry and cottonwood
trees as well as native and prairie woodland wild flowers.
The
Park's Pavilion features
indoor and outdoor picnic areas, gifts, and the Sea
Salt Eatery.
Rent several styles of bicycles
and surreys by the hour. Just east of the
Pavillion is the bandstand which
features free outdoor concerts of all musical styles,
weekly through Labor Day (see the Pavillion
section for a link to the 2008 schedule). The
newly rebuilt Wabun
Picnic area located within the
park contains 4 outdoor
picnic
sites and
a picnic
shelter
with cooking & restroom facilities. The
John H. Stevens House,
the first wood-frame house in Minneapolis built West
of the Mississippi, is open
during select hours for tours.
In
the summer visitors enjoy the abundant activities
including concerts, picnics, walking and biking trails to the
Mississippi River and of course, viewing the falls.
In the fall, walking the lower trails reveals beautifully
changing leaves and spectacular views of the river
and the Ford lock and dam.
In
addition to natural beauty, the park is home to sculpture.
A mask of Chief Little Crow is positioned
near Minnehaha Falls. The mask commemorates the chief,
who was killed in the year
following the 1862 Dakota conflict, and is in an area
considered to be sacred to American Indians. A life-size
bronze sculpture by Jakob Fjelde depicts Hiawatha
carrying Minnehaha across the creek--characters
from the poem “Song
of Hiawatha” by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Before
Minnehaha was officially a park, it was also a train stop
with as many as 39
train trips a day from the Minnehaha Depot.
In 1889, the State of Minnesota loaned the City of
Minneapolis $100,000 to purchase the park from its
private owners. The park was named Minnehaha, which
means 'laughing waters', for the falls as they were
dubbed in Henry W. Longfellow’s poem. Minnehaha Falls history.
Bicycling in Minnehaha Park (and in the City of Minneapolis). City bicycle on- and off-street trail map. (1.3 MB PDF download.) This 24x36" map shows city and park trails only. NENA also has free copies of the Hennepin County Bicycling map available at the office. Also, check out Todd Murray's online review of the Minnehaha to Fort Snelling mountain biking trails (International Mountain Bicycling Association website)
Canoing in Minnehaha Creek. Minnehaha Creek runs 22 miles from the dam at Grays Bay on Lake Minnetonka to Minnehaha Falls and then another 1/2 mile or so below the falls to its confluence with the Mississippi.
Copies of the new Minnehaha Creek Canoe Route and Watershed Map can be obtained by calling the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) office at 952-471-0590. Or download a smaller version suitable for printing ( .pdf). Current water conditions and flow rate are online here. If the rate of flow is more than 100cfs, canoeing is possible. Trails.com has more information on canoeing the Creek here. Daily canoe and kayak rentals are available from the Park Board at Lake Calhoun or from Ketter Canoeing in Brooklyn Park
Parking
information
 Top of page
Minnehaha
Falls Pavilion and Bandshell
4801 Minnehaha Ave S.
Minneapolis, MN 55417
Phone: 612 230-6400
Fax: 612 230-6500
Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The
Park's Pavilion features indoor and outdoor picnic areas, gifts,
pedal-powered surrey and bicycle rentals, food, ice
cream, and beverages. There are several picnic tables and charcoal grilles in the vicinity. A
pay parking lot is located to the North of the Pavillion.
 In
the Pavilion is the Sea
Salt Eatery,
voted "2008 Best Seafood Restaurant"
by City Pages. SeaSalt is known for it's informal, outdoor
seating and fresh seafood. Enjoy a clam po'boy
or oysters on the half-shell and an ice cold Summit on
the deck. Sea Salt hours are Sunday & Monday,
11-7pm; Tuesday through Saturday, 11am - 9pm. Open April
through October. 612-721-8990
The
Pavilion's bandstand (left, bottom) features
free summer concerts many nights a week. Download
the printable 2008
concert calendar ( 96kb
pdf)
Bicycles and surreys are available May-September for hourly rental at the pavillion through Wheel Fun Rentals. Click here for more information on hours, rates, and inventory at the Minnehaha Falls location or call (612) 729-2660.
Top of page
JOHN
H. STEVENS HOUSE
4801 Minnehaha Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55417
Phone: 612 722-2220 Fax: 612 230-6500
www.johnhstevenshouse.org
Open Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays, May 24, 2008
through Labor Day, 1 -- 5 pm
While
the Godfrey House on the former St. Anthony (or
east
bank) side of the River is the oldest frame house in
Minneapolis, the Stevens House, built in 1850 near
St.
Anthony Falls, has the distinction of being the first
wood frame dwelling built west of the Mississippi.
It
was in this house that the name ''Minneapolis'' was
suggested and the government structure for Hennepin
Country established. The house has been relocated twice
since 1850. In 1896, over 10,000 school children
helped
pull the Stevens House from St. Anthony Falls to Minnehaha
Park. In 1982, children once again helped move the
house
to its current location. Now
restored, it is open during summer hours for docent-led
tours and by appointment.
Admission
is $3 for adults, $1
for
children 12 – 18 and free to members.
In
addition to its regular summer hours, special tours
may be booked year-round
by calling (612) 722-2220. . Official website
John
H. Stevens Day: Our big 2008
season opening event, featuring vintage games and toys, music,
refreshments,
and more!
Explore our display of photos and artifacts from early
Minneapolis. A great introduction to the history of
our fine City! Monday, May 27 (Memorial Day) 12 noon
to 4 p.m.
Free Admission!
2008
Sesquicentennial Events include
stories of Grey Cloud, Dakota Woman of Power,
Necohundah the Eagle
Catcher,
and The Love Flute, as told by Duke Addicks, master
Dakota storyteller, who will also provide some Native
American music.19th century American music will be
presented at Annual Founders'Fest by Amador Hill. Many
events this year are FREE! For more information click
here.
Top of page
LONGFELLOW GARDENS
Minnehaha
Parkway at Minnehaha Creek and Highway 55.
612 370-4969 Fax: 612 334-1243 (Longfellow House)
Open to the public until 10 pm. Free parking atop the
land bridge.
 Renovation
of the Longfellow Gardens section of Minnehaha Park,
begun in the fall of 2003, is now complete. A
variety of perennials and annuals are featured in a
paisley-shaped garden area—the
design and selection of flowers an homage to the Longfellow
Gardens of the early 20th Century. Although the trees
are young, the area provides
a picturesque backdrop to
weddings
and
special events.
The formal garden features a sundial and a pergola
and sits atop
of the Highway 55 land bridge (tunnel). Nearer the
creek, native shrubs, flowers, and grasses stabilize
the shoreline and provides
wildlife-friendly habitat. The steep incline to the
creek has become a gentle slope planted
with the prairie flowers and grasses of an oak savanna,
an increasingly rare plant community native to Minnesota.
Walking paths wind among the gardens and traverse the
site, providing a pedestrian connection to the
falls area of the park.
First
named by its owner, showman-entrepreneur
R.F. “Fish” Jones, Longfellow Gardens was
part amusement park and zoo, and part formal gardens.
Jones was reputed
to be a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow devotee, and he
named the park after the poet who memorialized Minnehaha
Falls in his famous poem, “The Song of Hiawatha.”
Top of page
LONGFELLOW HOUSE
4800
Minnehaha Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55417
Phone: 612 370-4969 Fax: 612 334-1243
Hours: 10am - 4:30pm, Monday through Friday
 The
Longfellow House built in 1906 for Robert F. (Fish)
Jones is a 2/3 scale replica of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's
home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The house has
served
a wide range of functions including a zoo, a library
and a haunted house. The house currently holds Park Board district offices and some interpretive
information for the Minneapolis Park System
and the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway.
You
can visit the Longfellow House for a tour of this
historical
site and to receive maps and information about the
Grand
Rounds National Scenic Byway.
Top of page
PRINCESS
DEPOT
4801
Minnehaha Ave S. Minneapolis, MN 55417
Phone: 612 230-6400 Fax: 612 230-6500
Open Sundays 1:30 to 3:30 with tours every half-hour
This
small Victorian depot, built in 1875 as one of three
stops on Minnesota's first railroad, was later named
the "Princess" by railroad crews charmed by
it's size and style. The depot was a historically busy
stop, handling as many as 39 round trips per day and
connecting with a major streetcar route, drawing passengers
from downtown Minneapolis, Fort Snelling and downtown
St. Paul. During the 1900's, the depot served as a staging
point for soldiers and supplies destined for World Wars
I and II. In 1963, the Milwaukee Road decommissioned
the Princess and transferred title to the Minnesota
Historical Society a year later. The Minnesota Transportation
Museum has assisted in the restoration of the building
and currently operates the depot as a museum. Admission
is free.
Minnesota Historical Society Minnehaha Depot page
Top of page
MINNEHAHA
FALLS PERGOLA GARDENS
4801 Minnehaha Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55417
Phone: 612 230-6400, Fax: 612 230-6500
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m
The
Minnehaha Falls Pergola Garden is located on Minnehaha
Avenue across from the Princess Depot and overlooks
the Glenn below. Installed in 1995, this perennial garden
features native wildflowers and grasses that border
the new pergola overlook at the falls. View the blooms
and the butterflies they attract from June through September.
The gardens are handicapped accessible.
Getting
there: Transit: MTC bus routes 27 and 55, along
with the LRT will bring you to Minnehaha Falls Park.
Parking: Since 2003, a limited amount of metered
parking will be available in our Regional Parking Lots.
All non-metered parking stalls within the Regional
Parking
Lots will require a Minneapolis Park and Recreation
Board Patron Parking Pass. Parking on the streets will
continue to be free.
Top of page
Minnehaha
Off-Leash Dog Recreation Area
5399 S. Minnehaha Park Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55417
Phone: 612 230-6400 Fax: 612 230-6500
Hours: 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
 This very large
dog park is on south end of Minnehaha Park and adjoins
the Mississippi River and woodlands with open fields.
Marked trails within the park lead to the off-leash area. Enter the dog park by turning east at 54th Street and
Hiawatha Ave (Hwy 55). Entrance to dog park is accessed
by walking down a marked path. There is a parking lot
just south of 54th Street.
In
order to use the Off-Leash Recreation Areas, pet owners
must first obtain a permit.
Top of page
NATIONAL
GRAND ROUNDS: MINNEHAHA DISTRICT
The Longfellow House Interpretive and Information Center
serves as an orientation area and trail head to the
Grand
Rounds National Scenic Byway. Whether you are looking
for information on walking paths or bike trails, historical
perspectives, bird guides, maps or directions, the
staff
at the Longfellow Interpretive and Information Center
can assist you.
 As
part of the 50 mile Grand Rounds scenic byway, the
Minnehaha
byway comprises 12.6 miles of Parkway, canoeing and
hiking trails. Experience
how recreation, history and nature blend together to
create the Minnehaha District.
Website for Grand Rounds Minnehaha District
- Picnic
and explore the Minnehaha Falls
- Wind
your way along Minnehaha Creek on foot, bike, or by
canoe
- Watch
the spring flowers as they emerge and bloom along
the parkway
- Play
golf at the Hiawatha Golf Course
Top of page
Wabun
Park and Picnic Area
4820 46th Ave S. Minneapolis, MN 55406 (map)
Phone: 612 230-6400 Fax: 612 230-6500
Picnic/Park Hours: 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Park
Board's Wabun page
The
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s first phase of improvements
at the Wabun Picnic Area in Minnehaha Park is
complete (June '08), and
the four new picnic shelters are
available for reservation. This fall, a second phase
of improvements will start in the west section
of Wabun. New site map.
Beautiful
scenic view of the Mississippi River from high on the
bluffs and overlooking the Ford Lock and Dam. Up until
the 1950's, Wabun Park was an overnight car-camping
area with several small cabins and a tenting area.
4
reservable picnic shelters with water and electricity.
Picnic areas with tables and grills, playground
and pay lot parking.
Top of page
 Return to Parks & Recreation Index Page |
Minnehaha Park
& Falls Area |
Minnehaha Falls Park Overview, Minnehaha Pavilion, John H. Stevens House, Longfellow Gardens, Longfellow House, Princess Depot, Pergola Gardens, Off-Leash Dog Rec Area, Camp Coldwater Springs, National Grand Rounds, Wabun Picnic Area |
|
Lake Nokomis
Area |
Lake Nokomis Overview, Nokomis Main Beach, Nokomis 50th St Beach, Nokomis Community Center, Naturescape / Wetlands |
|
| Other Nokomis Area
Recreation & Parks |
Bossen Park & Fields, Ed Solomon Park, Hiawatha Golf Course, Keewaydin Park, Morris Park & skate park, Bicycling, Fort Snelling State Park, Lock and Dam #1 (Ford Dam), Mn Valley National Wildlife Refuge |
Top of page
|
|
