Category: Parks

The Largest, Hardest-to-Find Park in St. Paul

Hidden behind industrial facilities and a maze of streets, Pig’s Eye Regional Park is St. Paul’s hidden — yet unpolished — gem. The park’s peaceful nature makes a visit more than worthwhile, yet it demands some revitalization and decontamination, efforts which are being pioneered by the Great River Conservancy.

Camping for Urbanists

Going all-in on urbanism doesn’t mean you have to give up on spending time in the outdoors; in fact, many urbanists love going camping! We’ll talk to a city planner about creating car-free camping opportunities, and then follow a group on a hare-brained winter bike trip to ski and camp at Afton.

Playing at the base of the falls, August 2018.

Hidden Falls, Hidden No More

This month, with the opening of a new tunnel and walkway under MRB, a new viewing platform, and the partial daylighting of Hidden Falls Creek, Hidden Falls is ready to be discovered by many more visitors.

Central Park in New York City in the fall. A wide path lined with lights and benches, covered by a large tree canopy.

National Links: Olmstead’s 200th Birthday

Last Tuesday would have been famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s 200th birthday. His thinking on design would change the way we think about urban parks and the restorative nature of green space in urban places. While most know of his most famous work of Central Park in New York City, he designed as part of his practice hundreds of other parks around the country. A new guide features some of these lesser-known spaces.

A Public Park Designed to Feel Private

By Anna Turner In 1873 at a Saint Paul City Council meeting, Horace W.S. Cleveland, the landscape architect responsible for much of the design of the Twin Cities’ original park system, declared his intention to designate a lot on Summit Avenue for the public. The sprawling views of downtown Saint Paul and the Mississippi River, […]

Rice Park

By Rose Giblin-Vance Background Rice Park is located in downtown Saint Paul, near an urban luxury hotel. Despite this, it felt fairly public and inclusive to most people. My main reasoning for this is the fact that it seemed fairly open to the public. It is located near public transit and although formal in appearance, […]