Battle Creek Ski Outing, Sat., Feb. 6

Easily accessible by bus from downtown St. Paul! Check details at the Sierra Club North Star Chapter Website.

Upcoming 2010 Outings

Join us for upcoming 2010 outings! Dates are listed below (these are subject to change, but should be confirmed by February). Please check back for updates and further details on our outings.

Thanks,
Andrea & Deb

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February 6, 2010: Ski/Hike at Battle Creek Park. St. Paul, MN
April 17, 2010: Hike Wood Lake Park Reserve. Richfield, MN
May 15, 2010: Como Park walk. St. Paul, MN
June 19, 2010: Big Lake bike outing(via the Northstar!).Big Lake,MN

Ultimate transit: Iguazu Falls, Argentina

Some far away places are easier to get to via transit than parks in the vicinity of our big cities. Take Iguazu Falls in northeastern Argentina for instance. In November 2009 we took a luxury bus overnight from Buenos Aires, about a 17 hour trip, (1288 kilometers) to the town of Puerto Iguazu, located where Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay meet. After being served a meal with wine, we were able to completely recline for the night with pillow and blanket. The next morning we had breakfast,and then arrived around noon in the town. From here we took a bus to our hostel and settled in. The next day we walked up the driveway to the road and took the same bus the 20 kilometers or so to the national park. This local bus runs every half hour to and fro between the town and the park, picking up people along the way. The cost at this writing is 5 pesos, roughly $1.25. The falls at Iguazu and surrounding rainforests and wildlife are truly wonderful. Check them out for ultimate car-free travel. A word of warning though: watch out for the "pigeon poop scam" near the big bus station in Buenos Aires. Google it if you're curious - happy travels!

Mississippi Riverfront

When: Saturday, November 7, 2009
How: Bus/Bike/LRT/walk/carpool. Group met at Gold Medal Park, located right along the Mississippi River in Downtown Minneapolis and conveniently adjacent to multiple transit lines.
From Where: Attendees arrived from all around the metro area: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Crystal and Anoka.
How Long: Commute length was dependent on trip origin and modes/connections made.
Ease: The centrality of the outing location (downtown Minneapolis) made this outing one of the most easily accessible outings we have conducted. Downtown Minneapolis is well connected by frequent and proximate bus and light rail service- even on weekends! Further, trail connectivity for bikers and walkers enhanced the multi-modal accessibility for outing attendees.
Worth doing: Definitely; ease and frequency of transit services make the Mississippi Riverfront one of the most accessible green spaces to metro area residents and visitors. A plethora of trails, bridges, museums, historical structures, theaters and (seasonal) weekend farmer’s markets further enhance the downtown Mississippi Riverfront experience for visitors.
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Nearly 40 people attended this outing- an attendance record for TTGS!
November 7th turned out to be a beautiful fall day that attracted bikers, walkers and transit riders alike to this outing. Our riverfront tour was graciously guided by Minneapolis Parks Commissioner Scott Vreeland. Commissioner Vreeland guided the group along the riverfront, explaining area environmental, historical and economic significance. The river’s ecological habitat, water quality, power, industry and amenity values are so vast that we ran out of time for discussion after just making our way across the Stone Arch Bridge!

Our formal organized outing lasted for 2 ½ hours. Many people stayed around after wards to enjoy the Riverfront or other amenities present in the area. When visiting, we recommend allotting for more time to take in are views, culture and the myriad of informational boards located through the Mississippi Riverfront area.
Outing attendees arrived via multiple modes.

Popular bus routes (the 4 and 6) brought attendees from South Minneapolis to the park. Windy and Rich each traveled from Anoka and then made their way through Minneapolis. Lynn rode the Hiawatha LRT over to the Metrodome Station and walked a few short blocks to join the group. A lot of attendees rode bikes- Tom receiving the distance award as he biked from Crystal. Ken took the opportunity to enjoy the fall weather and walked along the Mississippi Riverfront trails from the Prospect Park (Minneapolis) neighborhood. Finally, a group of students from Como Park High School carpooled to join us- bringing great insight and energy to our tour.

Overall attendees’ experiences in arriving at our meeting point were quite easy. Whether via bus or LRT transit, biking, walking or carpooling, the Mississippi Riverfront’s central location, high level of transit and trail accessibility and wide-ranging resource values made it our most widely attended and easily accessed outing yet.

We welcome your comments on experiences in accessing the Mississippi Riverfront and hope that you will join us in 2010 for more Transit to Green Space adventures!

Photos - Mississippi Riverfront

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Lebanon Hills Regional Park Outing

When: Saturday, October 24.

How: Bus to the Minnesota Zoo from Mall of America, #441 with Minnesota Valley Transit. About 3/4 mile walk from zoo entrance to the entrance on the west side of the park on Johnny Cake Ridge Road.

From Where: Group departure was from the Mall, but people arrived here from various points around the Metro: St. Paul, Minneapolis and Anoka. See below for how they did it.

How Long: The ride to the zoo takes under 25 minutes.

Ease: Transit to the Zoo from the Mall is easy weekdays and on Saturday; there is no bus on Sunday. The drawback is frequency: the #441 (and weekday #440) runs once an hour, both going and returning. It does run all day however, from morning through early evening, so if you miss a bus you are not necessarily skunked, you can always hang out at the zoo and catch the next one. Another drawback: the zoo stop puts you about 3/4 of a mile from the westernmost park entrance (see map). You walk along major roads, albeit on a bike/ped path, to reach it. If you can make the trip on a weekday, however, it's a different bus and route entirely (#440) which would drop you right at that western park entrance.

Worth doing: Definitely; especially for people with easy, one-shot transit to the Mall. For them this transit to green space trip is quite efficient in terms of time spent in travel. And, Lebanon Hills Park is a real jewel: large, with many lakes and trails and a wild feel that city parks simply cannot emulate. It's also an unusual regional park in that it IS accessible (relatively) via public transit, not the case for the majority of outlying regional parks. Check it out at Lebanon Hills.

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Eight of us made the 6 mile hike on a mostly sunny day, a break amid many rainy ones. The map shows our entire route, both getting to and from the park, and within the park itself. Temperatures were perfect for a moderately paced walk, and leaf colors spectacular. To give an idea of timing, we spent a little under 5 hours on the outing, including round trip to the Mall. This included some pauses and a lunch stop overlooking Jensen Lake, but we did have to hurry at the end to make the return bus.
Of course, people arrived at the Mall from other points; here is a sampling of how they did it. Rich takes the prize for distance and most arduous trip: he drove down from Anoka, more than an hour of fighting road construction and traffic delays, and then confusion in the mall complex itself. He just made the zoo bus. Tom, by contrast, came from Uptown by bus on 38th street and the LRT. His 40 minute ride was uneventful ("I stepped off the bus onto the waiting train"). Becky and Raja arrived from downtown St. Paul on a great route, the high-frequency, partly express #54, which runs down West 7th street, then to the airport and Mall. Some of the bus shelters even have heat! Paul and Deb also took this bus, but biked to it, not wanting to risk possible delays due to tranfers. Debbie drove to the mall because she had shopping to do and needed to leave her purchases; Lyle drove from the east side of St. Paul because of timing, though he regularly uses the bus to go to work.

So who has easiest access to Lebanon Hills Park via transit? People near the Light rail in Minneapolis, people near the #54 bus in St. Paul...and maybe some others we don't know about. Please comment if you know of other good transit routes to the park.

Photos - Lebanon Hills Regional Park

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