Baker Park Reserve, Baker Park Road, Maple Plain, MN55359Bryant Lake Regional Park, Rowland Road, Eden Prairie, MN55344Carver Park Reserve, Grimm Road, Victoria, MN55387Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park, Juniper Avenue, New Prague, MN56071Cleary Lake Regional Park, 18106 Texas Ave, Prior Lake, MN55372Crow-Hassan Park Reserve, 12595 Park Dr, Rogers, MN55374Eagle Lake Regional Park, 11000 Bass Lake Rd, Plymouth, MN55442Elm Creek Park Reserve, 12400 James Deane Parkway, Maple Grove, MN55369Fish Lake Regional Park, 14900 Bass Lake Rd, Maple Grove, MN55311Clifton E. French Regional Park, 12605 Rockford Rd, Plymouth, MN55441Gale Woods Farm, 7210 County Rd 110 W, Minnetrista, MN55364Glen Lake Golf Course, 14350 County Rd 62, Minnetonka, MN55345Hyland Lake Park Reserve, 10145 E Bush Lake Rd, Bloomington, MN55438Kingswood Park, 7301 Kingswood Rd, Minnetrista, MN55359The Landing—Minnesota River Heritage Park, 2187 County Rd 101, Shakopee, MN55379Lake Minnetonka Regional Park, 4610 County Rd 44, Minnetrista, MN55364Lake Rebecca Park Reserve, 831 Rebecca Park Trail, Rockford, MN55373Mississippi Gateway Regional Park, 10360 W River Rd, Brooklyn Park, MN55444Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve, 15501 Murphy Lake Blvd, Savage, MN55378Noerenberg Memorial Gardens, 2854-2992 N Shore Dr, Orono, MN55356Silverwood Park, 2500 County Rd E, St Anthony, MN55421Spring Lake Regional Park, 15851 Skuya Dr NW, Prior Lake, MN55372
763-559-9000
Scroll to the bottom for a Registration Link
Details:
The Three Rivers Park System is the regional parks system that replaced the Hennepin County’s program sites. While much of its region is still Hennepin County, it now manages some parks in other metro counties. It’s mission is to “promote environmental stewardship through recreation and education in a natural resources-based park system. It encompasses over 27,000 acres of parks and trails and serves millions of visitors annually.” It achieves this by providing outdoor recreation opportunities throughout its acres of park reserves, regional trails and natural areas.
Three Rivers Playgrounds – What’s Open, What’s Not
French Regional Park playground. Image courtesy of Three Rivers Park District.
Three Rivers Parks have some of the best play areas in the Twin Cities. Parks with playgrounds include:
Baker Park Reserve
Bryant Lake Regional Park
Carver Park Reserve
Cedar Lake Farm Regional Park
Cleary Lake Regional Park
Elm Creek Park Reserve
French Regional Park
Hyland Lake Park Reserve
Lake Minnetonka Regional Park
Lake Rebecca Park Reserve
Unfortunately, most are closed for the snow and ice season. Each spring park staff complete a thorough inspection prior to reopening each playground. We recommend checking the Open/Closed info on the Three Rivers site (link at the bottom of this page) if you are in doubt – especially in early spring and late fall. The playground pictures below link descriptions of each park:
List of Three Rivers Parks & Nature Centers
Named for the three big rivers that converge on the Twin Cities metro area – The Mississippi River, The Minnesota River and the Crow River, the combined acreage of the Three Rivers Parks is almost 27,000 acres*. These parks offer everything from winter activities like downhill skiing & snowboarding, to farm education, to horseback riding trails, to the largest playgrounds in Minnesota, and so much more.
Bird Banding at Lowry Nature Center. Courtesy of Three Rivers.
The parks managed by Three Rivers change from time to time. Three Rivers continues to acquire new parks and sometimes it helps manage parks in collaboration with other park districts for short times. For instance North Mississippi Regional Park used to be jointly managed by Three Rivers and Minneapolis, but eventually Minneapolis Parks took complete responsibility for that park. It currently works with the City of Robbinsdale to provide programming at Sochacki Park.
Farm Camp at Gale Woods Farm
Recently, the Hennepin County Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park changed its name to Mississippi Gateway Regional Park to avoid confusion with the Anoka County park on the other side of the river with the same name.
Three Rivers Parks
Currently, Three Rivers manages the following parks. Follow the links to learn more about each park.
Parking is free at most Three Rivers Parks. It does require fees or passes for some activities, but scholarships are available.
Bryant Lake Regional Park (image courtesy Three Rivers Parks)
Summer Camps at Three Rivers Parks
Many of the Parks in the Three Rivers System offer Summer Camps from June through August. Camps can be searched and signed up for through their registration link below. Find more summer camp ideas in our annual summer camp guide.
Image courtesy of Three Rivers Park System Summer Camp Programs
The Family Fun Twin Cities Directory is the most extensive collection of companies, organizations, activities and places to find things to do with kids in the Twin Cities.