Taft Lake Park has family-friendly amenities that includes a large playground, open green space and a one-mile walking path that circles Taft Lake. This is a good park to visit with a picnic, with tables, seasonal restrooms, and a grill available for patron’s use. Taft Lake is a popular fishing spot. The park completed an update project in August of 2018 in partnership with Three Rivers Park District. New features include a first-of-its-kind in the Twin Cities accessible dock that allows wheelchair users to transfer to kayaks and launch them using a system of rollers as well as an accessible path to the dock. Taft Lake is known as a “premier metro fishery.” One of the DNR’s Fishing in the City (“FiN”), it is considered a great fishing spot for children and beginners and has been a managed for over 40 years. Fish species include crappie, perch, northern pike and walleye. Portable ice shelters are allowed in the winter. For more ideas for Fishing in the Twin Cities, check out The Best Fishing Holes in the Twin Cities. In the winter, this park has both a pleasure skating and a hockey rink available, but does not offer a warming house. Rinks are lighted until 9 p.m. As with all outdoor rinks, availability is weather dependent and the City of Richfield encourages skaters to call the Weather and Cancellation Hotline at 612-861-9189, ext. #2 for up-to-date rink and program cancellations. Find other Twin Cities rinks, including Richfield rinks with warming houses at Skate the Twin Cities: Where To Find Free Outdoor Ice Rinks. Families can rent a paddleboard or kayak to take out onto Taft Lake through the Paddleshare Program. This program allows users to reserve a watercraft online for use on the lake for up to four hours. Rentals are available beginning Memorial Day weekend through the summer. 
Related Articles:
Fishing on Taft Lake
Taft Off-Road Bike Park
Ice Skating
Paddleshare at Taft Lake Park
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