City: Minneapolis, MN

Category: Parks & Recreation

Telephone: (651) 266-6400

Description: Hidden Falls Park dates from 1887, when the area was identified as one of four major park sites for the city of St. Paul. The park got its name from the small, spring-fed waterfall hidden deep inside the park. Today hiking and biking trails run along shady, wooded bottomlands next to the river and along the marshes of the lake before connecting to the trails along Mississippi River Boulevard. The park features a well-developed picnic area with pavilion and modern toilet facilities, a boat launch ramp, and picnic sites. Panfish can be caught in the Mississippi River. In October outsize ghoulish puppets and fire-spewing monsters take over the park for the annual BareBones Halloween Show.The hiking/biking trail, which converts to a cross-country ski trail in the winter, takes users along the Mississippi River, where the flora and fauna of river life can be observed up close. Songbirds migrate and nest nearby, and deer and rabbits can be seen in the thick wooded areas around the park. At points along the trail, historic Fort Snelling can be seen on the high bluffs across the river.