Centennial Lakes Park - Edina, Minnesota - Par with Lake and Various Recreational Activities

Centennial Lakes Park is located at France Avenue in Edina, Minnesota and is approximately 11 miles from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Visitors can get here by driving from Interstate Highway 494 and France Avenue, moving north on France for two blocks, then taking the first right turn after 76th Street. Here visitors can park in the lower level of the parking ramp.

This 24-acre park and pond offers various recreational opportunities including more than one and a half miles of paved pathways. These take visitors around the 10-acre lake and provide wonderful walks through landscaped grounds with seating areas, swinging benches and fountains. There are also beautifully kept lawns for playing croquet and lawn bowls with courts available to rent by the hour.

The park also houses an 18-hole putting course surrounded by sand traps, ponds, boulders and planter beds, which is open to players of all ages. The putting course and the lawn games areas can he rented for group gatherings and tournaments up until 5pm Monday to Friday. A relaxing way to spend time here is by taking a ride along the waterways of Centennial Lakes on four-person paddleboats, which take visitors past the putting greens and under bridges to provide a great way to see the park.

Depending on the weather, from mid December to mid February the park hosts ice skating on the 10-acre lake. At rink-side is a warming house furnished with indoor and outdoor fireplaces, restrooms, concessions and skate rental, and here skaters can also enjoy hot chocolate, pop, popcorn, hot dogs, chips and candy. The rink opens from noon during weekdays for people with their own skates, while the skate rental and concessions open from 4pm to 9.30pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 9.30pm Saturdays and 12 noon to 9.30pm Sundays and most school holidays.

Meetings, weddings and other special events can be catered for in the Park Centrum Building, with room to accommodate up to 120 guests. This area can be segregated into two rooms holding 72 and 40 people respectively at 60-inch round tables, and any licensed caterer is permitted to provide food for the event with plated meals, buffet or drop-off service. The Centennial Lakes Amphitheater is surrounded by trees, shrubs and flowers and provides a popular location for outdoor wedding ceremonies.

The park also hosts various cultural events throughout the year with free concerts held indoors at the Edinborough Park Amphitheater. Other performances are held outside between June and August at the Maetzold Amphitheater, which are again free of charge. Should the weather be bad the outdoor concerts will be moved to the indoor Amphitheater.

A fishing clinic designed for children aged six and older is held at the park and teaches them about angling through interactive games, site studies and handling bait. Should visitors need to stop for some lunch there is a salad bar in France Avenue called Q Cumbers. Slightly further afield other eateries include Romano's Macaroni Grill and 5 Guys Burgers and Fries, both of which are less than 500 meters from the park.