We have so many wonderful city parks in St. Paul and over the years I have taken quite a few photographs of them. I like living in the city but I also like to be near lakes and woods and the river.
Here are some pictures of lake Phalen park. I grew up in St. Paul and in the summer we would ride our bikes to the lake and go swimming.
So many of the photos on this site were taken in our beautiful city parks. This one was taken in Lilydale regional parks which one of the most beautiful parks as it has not been totally developed. There is heavy equipment in the woods but the bike trails are open and the wildflowers are blooming.
Here is some golden wart:
The spider wart is also in full bloom and soon the milkweed will open.
Park bench - LilydaleShame on me for calling those restored cars old but this weekend you will see cars from another era around town. Looking at old cars is almost as much fun as looking at old houses but we call the historic homes because that sounds better than old houses. For an up close and personal look at some really neat classic cars head to the Minnesota State Fair grounds:
Hours:
Friday: 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Saturday: 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Sunday: 6 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Admission:
Adults $10, Children 12 & under Free
Description:
The 40th Annual Back to the 50’s Car Show will feature over 10,000 street rods and custom cars along with commercial vendors, swappers, crafters, entertainment and much more.
For more information visit www.msra.com or call (651) 641-1992.
The annual lighting of the tree and opening of the Wells Fargo skating rink takes place today in Rice park at 5:00 PM. The gigantic tree with 30,000 energy-efficient LED lights that will be lit up and left on until be left on until January 1. It is really lovely the whole park is lit up and decorated. At this year’s Tree Lighting Ceremony, Make A Wish Foundation® of Minnesota will be selling candles with a portion of proceeds going to grant the wish of a Minnesota child.
Here are some photos from previous years.
If you want to photograph the park all lit up one of the best times to do it is on a Sunday morning.
Remember how snowy 2010 was?
If you see me in the park say hi. I’ll be the one with the tripod.
Last weekend I road my bike on the Cannon valley trail which goes from Cannon valley to Redwing. The trail is fairly flat so the 20 mile ride is an easy one and it is beautiful as it goes through farm land, and woods and along the Cannon river. The trail is also in excellent shape and fully opened after the July storms.
I plan to go back in the fall when the leaves are turning.
A $4.00 wheel pass is required to use parts of the trail. Although I enjoyed the ride very much we have amazing bike trails right here in the Twin Cities that go through the woods and along the river. There are some great places for bird watching, wildflower hunting and of course photography.
It is a little over 10 miles by bike from the downtown St. Paul area to the St. Anthony falls area in Minneapolis. There is a bike path along the river but I rode on Summit avenue and cut over to Marshal and crossed the Mississippi on the Lake Street bridge. I took this picture from Father Hennepin Park.
Sometimes people who live in St. Paul can’t find Minneapolis. They should try harder.