Boom Island

724 Sibley St. NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413

When: July 17, 2010

How:
By bike it is very easy to reach Boom Island via West River Parkway. You can also make the trip via East River Parkway, but take note that there are some train tracks just south of Hennepin Island Park and the 10th ave bridge. To navigate around them, you may have to detour on SE University Ave. Other that that one detour, you will rarely have to ride next to car traffic if you take East or West River Parkway towards downtown Minneapolis.

By transit the closest bus route is the #11, which drops you about 2 blocks east of Boom Island on 2nd St NE (only a block west of NE University Ave). The #11 runs straight through downtown Minneapolis along Nicollet and Hennepin Avenues.

Ease:
Boom Island Park, between 1st Ave and 8th St, is pretty hidden. Hugging the Mississippi River and located in a residential area, it is helpful to keep some signs in mind for its whereabouts. 1) St. Anthony Falls and Nicollet Island are popular locations very close to Boom Island. 2) If you area coming from West River Parkway, it is very easy to spot the park on your right after you cross the 8th St. bridge. 3) If you are coming from East River Parkway and Main Street, you can enter the park on your left at the large open field.

Worth Doing:
Boom Island’s view of downtown Minneapolis is exceptional. Just across the river from the hub of the city, this park is very much a part of an urban landscape, and is a hot spot for local residents. The Sierra Club outing to Boom Island attracted local Northeast Minneapolis residents, St. Paulites, a Ceder Riverside Sierra Club member, an innocent bystander with his pug, and an Anoka resident (who took the Northstar to join us!).
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Our outing wasn’t a typical walk in the park, due to the inclusion of Sally Grans, a local citizen activist. Sally gave us an overview of the local issues surrounding the development of Boom Island. In addition, Minneapolis Park Board Commissioner Scott Vreeland led an interesting discussion about the history of the area. Scott was ready to hear from locals about what they appreciate in urban parks, and took some notes regarding local suggestions. The group then toured the park, learning more about different features of this special place.

Photos - Boom Island Outing

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Fort Snelling State Park

How:
By bike the park is easily accessible via the Mississippi River Trail which runs south from Minnehaha Park and into the state park below the fort.

By transit two possibilities are most obvious, neither of them perfect, both requiring walking through urbanized areas. 1) By LRT to the Fort Snelling LRT station. Follow Minnehaha Ave., Federal Drive and Bloomington Road south and east, under hy 55 into the fort area. From here take a walking trail down the slope to the state park visitors' center. Distance from the LRT station to the visitors' center is about 1 mile. 2) By the #84D bus in Saint Paul to Buca's restaurant on Gannon Road. From the bus stop walk along Shepherd Road to the staircase that leads to the sidewalk on the north side of hy 5 (West 7th street). Cross the river and you're at the fort. Distance from Bucas roughly 3/4 mile. Once at the fort you again take the walking trail down to the park visitors' center.

Ease: You definitely have to know the area in order to use these routes into the park. The walk from the LRT station is not trafficky but is not interesting either until you reach the fort area. From the St. Paul side, Shepherd Road is pleasant, but the traffic on the hy 5 bridge is intense. (You are separated from it by a barrier.)

Worth Doing: Well worth biking. As for using transit, if you don't own a car, it's your only option for visiting one of our nearby urban wild areas. Pity it's not more transit friendly.

Como Park Native Woodland

When: Saturday, May 15.

How: Various means. Mostly bike and walking. One bus trip originating in Anoka involving two buses, one transfer in downtown Minneapolis. The Woodland is on the #3A busline along Horton Ave. Some car pooling.

From Where: All points of the compass: downtown St. Paul, Roseville, Falcon Heights, Anoka, Uptown, South Minneapolis, Mac Groveland (St. Paul) and the Como area.

How Long: Rich's trip from Anoka using #852 and the #3A with a half hour layover in dowtown Minneapolis is probably the longest. Bike trips and walking were under one hour.

Ease: In the right weather, access is mostly easy from points within the cities by bike, from nearby walking, and along the #3 bus line. While no one in this group took it, the Como Park shuttle is an important addition to the transportation picture at Como. It is designed to run from parking lots to the west, near Como Ave. and the fair grounds, to the Zoo and Conservatory entrance. Check it out at Como Park's website.The biggest problem with the #3 bus is the once-an-hour Saturday schedule requiring careful planning. But it does run year round, where the shuttle is summer season only. The new interactive map on the Metro Transit website is very helpful for visualizing the bus route and finding stops. One complaint of bicyclists coming from Minneapolis: intermittent bike striping on Como Avenue.

Worth doing: On a sunny, spring day getting to the park without a car is definitely worth doing. In the winter, if you're near the bus line it's also possible to get to the park for skiing. Skis are allowed on the bus. The entire park has much to offer: Como Lake, the zoo, the Conservatory, golf course, picnic grounds. And the woodland, of course.

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About 38 people came to the old streetcar station at Lexington and Horton for the tour of the woodland on the south side of Como Park. The group included students from nearby Como High. Welcome, students! The day was beautiful and sunny after a week of mostly rain. There is definitely a lot of interest in what's happening in Como, as witnessed by the many questions for Bryan Murphy, our guide. Bryan is a planner with St. Paul Parks and Recreation, and he developed the renovation plan for this somewhat unknown corner of the park. We strolled through the current oak woodland which needs some work to remove invasives like burdock and buckthorn and spent time examining the huge, dilapidated fireplace built during the WPA era.

Bryan laid out the vision of what could be if funding (beginning with a bill on Gov. Pawlenty's desk) comes through: outdoor natural classrooms for inner city students, including the oak woodland, an ephemeral wetland, a sedge meadow, a tallgrass prairie, and a coniferous forest. Trail work and restoration of the big fireplace and an historic - but now well-hidden cascades - would also be possible. Not least, Bryan's remarks made us aware of how cars affect the park. He spoke at length about the need for careful attention to road layout to mitigate traffic and reduce the need to take more green space for parking. (Hence the Como shuttle, mentioned above.)

So, a lot of money is needed to bring this vision to life. But wait--NEWS BULLETIN: just got word a day after the outing - the bill Bryan spoke of awaiting the governor's signature was signed, and so the first installment of $$ for the woodland classroom is coming through. Shall we do another ttgs outing in a year or so to see the progress?

Addendum on the shuttle bus: It's free (funded in part by a federal grant), and frequent, one every 10 to 12 minutes. Is this the way of the future to save our parks from excessive traffic and parking lots? Circulater buses to parks certainly seem like a good idea. One drawback in this case is that the shuttle is still quite car-oriented, so that it doesn't help youth or other populations without drivers licenses and cars. The fair grounds lot however can be accessed relatively easily by people using the #84 bus on Snelling Ave, which is pretty good on weekends. Check the schedule for details.

Photos - Como Park Native Woodland

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Wood Lake Hike: How To

When: Saturday, April 17.

How: #4 Bus from Downtown Minneapolis

How long: Just under half an hour depending on your origin point. Twenty minutes from the heart of Uptown.

Ease: Wood Lake Nature Center is easily accessible from downtown/uptown Minneapolis. This route runs every 20 minutes (‘Hi Frequency’) and therefore any route that connects into downtown Minneapolis has an easy transition to connecting to a 4 line. This route drops you ½ block east of the Nature Center parking lot.

Worth doing: Yes, Wood Lake is an easy, central location that has a lot to offer. Take in nature literally in the middle of the City, spend some time inside the Nature Center brushing up on your local biodiversity knowledge or enjoy a picnic throughout the wooded and wild trails! Wood Lake also offers snowshoe and cross country skiing opportunities in the winter. A great amenity in our metro area worth exploring!


A handful of dedicated TTGS’rs spent part of this gorgeous Minnesota spring day exploring wildlife throughout the Wood Lake Nature Center. Bus, bike and carpool allowed outing attendees to join in from as far away as Anoka (thanks, Rich!). While we may have been a week or two too early for a lot of Spring blooms, the wildlife did not disappoint. The easy hike concluded with a picnic, fresh air and discussions of taking TTGS outings abroad. Now, we just need to find some sponsors….

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Wood Lake Outing: April 17, 2010

Join TTGS for another exciting outing and discover this urban amenity literally located in your backyard!

About Wood Lake: Until being drained in the 1950's, Wood Lake was a thriving recreational lake located in the middle of Richfield. In 1969 the City of Richfield converted the drained area to a Nature Center, and has supported it for over 30 years. Today the Wood Lake Nature Center provides hiking, walking and educational opportunities in the heart of the Twin Cities.

Event Details:
*Please note, bicycles are not allowed on park trails. This event will consist of hiking on paved/moderately paved trails only.

Meet: 11:00AM, Wood Lake Nature Center
Wood Lake Nature Center
6710 Lake Shore Dr.
Richfield, MN 55423

Hike around trails- 1.5 hours

Break for picnic lunch: 12:30-1:00 (bring your own lunch)

1:00-2:00- continue hiking/exploring nature center as desired.

Contact Andrea if you need help determining metro transit routes! andrea.long@northstar.sierraclub.org