Quite possibly the best “splash pad” in the Twin Cities award goes to NICOLLET COMMONS PARK in Burnsville, a water feature so pretty I’m reluctant to give it the splash pad label. It was, however, built with the hope that the community would do just that – jump right in and splash away the hot summer months.
It was crowded enough the day we visited; however this might have been thanks to their “Thursday Rockin’ Lunch Hour”, an ongoing weekly event throughout the summer. We arrived about halfway through Wendy’s Wiggle, Jiggle & Jam set, at our picnic lunch on the grassy amphitheater-style seating, and then the kids and I spent the next couple hours cooling off.
The draw to this unique park is the stream that tumbles, flows and occasionally splashes through the town-squarelike urban space — bound by businesses, residences and the Ames Center for Performing Arts. I can personally attest that it’s a lot of fun to start at one end of the meandering waterway and pick your way through the shallow rock pools and waterfalls, skirt the spraying frogs and fish, and track the kids all the way to the lagoon at the end.
For our master list of splash pads and wading pools across the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area, click here. Or, super-size it with our complete guide to TWIN CITIES BEACHES, OUTDOOR POOLS, WATERPARKS & SPLASH PADS.
About Nicollet Commons Park
12550 Nicollet Avenue, Burnsville 55337
Admission is free and parking is free on side streets. Get the annual summer lineup for Thursday Rockin’ Lunch Hour concerts here. Traditionally, Thursday Rockin’ Readers begins at 11:15am with kid-friendly entertainment to follow. Select Friday nights during the summer, Flicks on the Bricks screens at dusk in the park.
Find more summer fun in the Twin Cities
Ultimate Guide to Summer in the Twin Cities
Top Twin Cities Beaches & Playgrounds to Try This Summer
Twin Cities Summer Family Festivals & Parades
Free Summer Community Entertainment
Find hundreds more things to do in Minneapolis & St Paul with kids!
Need a break from this hot weather? Find tons of fun indoor games for kids you can play right at home.