Shady Oak Beach — Attraction in Minnetonka

My son and I traveled to the MSP area from Texas a couple of weeks ago. We were looking for a family-friendly swimming activity, and we came across Shady Oak Beach randomly on Google Maps. When I did, I had no idea that I had found what was going to be the best part of our entire trip.

We arrived on a Saturday at 2pm. We paid $14 for both of us to get in. As we entered, we saw a sign that told us what the water temperature was. "How convenient," I thought. Once we got it, we swam to our hearts' desires!

I loved the semi-open water and how cool the water felt on such a hot day. My son also loved the inflatable floating obstacle course they had. What we BOTH loved was the floating dock with the two diving boards.

When I got tired, I went back to shore, found a space in the shade and took a powernap. When we got hungry, we got a couple of hot dogs from the Snack Shack.

Later, we rented a couple of stand-up paddleboards for an hour. I had done that before, but my son had not. Well, he loved it, and I loved that it was a new shared experience.

When I decided for us to come to Shady Oak Beach, I figured we would get there, stay for a couple of hours, and go back to the AirBnb, but no. We stayed until it closed at 9pm. It was fantastic.

Coming to Shady Oak Beach was the best decision we made our whole trip. If I was a local, I would get a season pass for sure.

Now, I am back home, and I miss Shady Oak Beach.

Thank you for giving me such a...

I honestly don't think this beach is worth going to because of a couple reasons. First, there is an entrance fee which is $6 per person or $3 per person if you go at 6 PM or later. With the number of free beaches within the twin cities metro area, I really don't think it's worth it to go to a beach where there is an entrance fee. None of the amenities within the beach seemed worth it although there was a concession stand, lifeguards, and a diving platform in the lake. In my opinion, these were not worth it. Second, there isn't actually a lot of beach sand to set up a few towels/picnic area - on a busy day you will probably be struggling to find space. There is some grassy area but it is at a very steep incline and it didn't really make sense to set up a picnic spot there. Other tables and such are also there but again not too many and certainly not better than free offerings. I give the beach two stars because it was an enjoyable location, but honestly other beaches are probably much...

Favorite place to hang out with friends, because of the floating dock with the locally iconic high-dive, and lots of standing room. Thank goodness for that, because it’s always packed. Likely because the entrance fees are very low, there are always lifeguards on duty, and there are snacks (do not recommend if you are looking for something healthy in the slightest, since it’s all junk food for the most part). The season pass was only $18.00: incredibly cheap compared to to other guarded swimming destinations. There is a beach volleyball court, and free volleyball rentals if you just give them a shoe. There are boat and stand-up paddle board rentals if you’re interested, and have a legal adult. The park is decently nice, and if you keep walking down the path past the beach, there is a bridge overlooking the lake plus a friendly...