The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is a 72-mile (116 km) and 54,000-acre (22,000 ha) protected corridor along the Mississippi River through the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro in the U.S. state of Minnesota, from the cities of Dayton and Ramsey, to just downstream of Hastings. This stretch of the upper Mississippi River includes natural, historical, recreational, cultural, scenic, scientific, and economic resources of national significance. This area is the only national park site dedicated exclusively to the Mississippi River. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is sometimes abbreviated as MNRRA (often pronounced like "minn-ruh") or MISS, the four letter code assigned to the area by the National Park Service. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is classified as one of four national rivers in the United States, and despite its name it is technically not one of the 40 national recreation areas.
What a treasure in the middle of the city! We kayaked from East River Flats Park to Harriet Island and were in awe at the beauty and peacefulness. Very cool experience going through Lock and Dam #1. Get out and enjoy!
Very nice park! We didn't go inside the pavilion, so I can't speak to that, but very nice views of the river. We accessed the bike trails from here and really enjoyed the whole experience.
This is an urban National Park with great trails and river life. It is sometimes hard to believe this great resource is right in the middle of two great cities! Priceless!
Last weekend April 21-23 2018 we went hiking with our dog. Beautiful scenery along the river, and finally warm weather. The state park was great we walked 5 miles through the woods off trail trying to exercize the 2 yr. Old German Shepherd and tire her out. Yesterday we went back but our previous starting point was all under water. We found a spot a few miles down the road its beautiful and so relaxing!
You and the kids can learn a lot from the rangers there. About the outdoors. They have kids outings all year round. They Supply all the things you need to use for that day. My As you can see, I have pictures of four different seasons. The trails are always peaceful. You don't know what you may run into. So take your camera. Snap a few pictures. Most of all, respect the park, take your trash with you
It's a wonderful place lots of walk paths Shady faces Open Spaces room for frisbee or football or soccer maybe not a full field. Great place to have like a picnic especially if you're like a church or a larger group or you're having a event like a anniversary or a reunion. There is ample space along the river to fish or just enjoy the scenery as the water floats on by. When I went the river is swollen and moving relatively fast because of all the rain we've been getting. Mosquitoes medium fierce, keep that in mind if you go. I can't imagine why anybody wouldn't want to go if you were somewhere in the area and you needed a place like this this is a wonderful place. Probably not even over use because it's probably well under known even amongst the locals. Please respect our parts remove any Trash you find including your own.
Busy location since it shares an enterance with the science museum. Despite its small size there's quite a few hands-on activities. Does not have the usual informational video nor a gift shop. Pay to park or plan on hiking a ways.
The Visitors' Center (very atypical for a Natl park) is in shared space with a children's museum; the rest of the park is made up of miles of land and trails ( not necessarily contiguous) along the Mississippi. The Great Parts: -Super, $-saving idea to share space with a Children's Museum. -really nice ranger gave me a nice bound book of maps to use once she knew I was a serious hiker. (Be sure to ask) -Lots of nice hiking along the river and near the river... If you can find the trailheads. Not Great: -Lacks the usual NPS Visitors Center amenities like a film, ranger talks & hikes, trail maps. - Metered parking required for Visitors Center and many of the hiking trails. -Some trail access areas poorly marked. -Volunteer at visitors center a bit grumpy.