City: Victoria, MN

Category: Parks & Recreation

Telephone: (763) 694-7650

Address: 7025 Victoria Dr.

Description: Carver Park Reserve is one of the crown jewels of the Three Rivers Park District, with 3,500 acres and lakeshore frontage on six major lakes. One of the most popular places in the reserve is the Lowry Nature Center, which offers programs that focus on Carver’s abundant natural resources, ranging from fall bird migration and waterfowl watches to the springtime activity of maple-syrup making and summertime stargazing, as well as tracking mink, voles, and foxes and building snowcaves. The park itself is home to deer, foxes, owls, hawks, and many other animals that can be seen from roads and trails. Wetland animals can be seen from the more than 1,700 feet of boardwalk that takes you through tamarack marshes. Park facilities include a boat launch and a campground at Lake Auburn. Four of the park’s lakes are open for canoeing, fishing, and ice fishing, and the park has miles of trails for hiking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and snowshoeing. On winter weekends the park turns a wood-heated barn into a warming house, with snack counters and restroom facilities conveniently located nearby. Cross-country skis, Norwegian kick sleds, and bicycles can be seasonally rented from the park.