Clifton E. French Regional Park — Attraction in Plymouth

This is an excellent, well maintained park with a lot of activities ranging from free to reasonably priced. It would be hard not to be able to find something for everyone to do here. There are miles of both wooded hiking trails and paved paths (lots of shaded areas too for hot days) for plenty of walking and biking, a playground that looks like it would be a blast if you are a kid or have kids that need to burn off some energy, a nice public fishing dock, places to rent kayaks and other water activity stuff for a quick paddle around the lake, plenty of grills and seating for a nice family picnic, and loads of wildlife to watch. Oh, and it's also loaded with PokeStops and gyms if you are into that and/or need something to help motivate yourself into some walking like I sometimes do on a lazy day. Though there are no shortage of excellent parks in the area, Clifton E. French is my favorite for the multitude of trails and activities and the natural beauty of Medicine Lake and the surrounding wooded and marshy areas. Definitely worth a visit. Oh, and don't forget that if you have someone with you that is unable to make the walk down to the lake or other areas in the park they run a shuttle between a few stops in the park. I don't know the exact schedule for that because we haven't used it but I do see it passing by sometimes with passengers so keep that in mind of you have someone with you that might need a little assistance getting around this massive park. The visitors center near the main parking lot and the boat rental area have very well maintained bathrooms, staff is always super friendly, and they have some basic essentials like bug spray if you forgot some and want to hike the wooded trails without worrying about ticks or mosquitos. Highly...

The playground was designed so well I'm going to advocate for some renovations to our local playground. Large play areas for both bigger and smaller kids. Tables nearby have permanent canopies for shade and weather protection. There's an information center with concessions available right next to the playground.

The park also has a large area that can be reserved for bigger groups or activities which was in use by a youth group when I arrived.

Along the park is a nice paved walk/bike path that seems to be well maintained like the rest of the park. If you want to explore the nearby lake there's also a large swimming area with rowboat/kayak rentals available. There are restrooms and changing areas at the rental building. The beach is nice and has a few permanent umbrellas and showers too keep you cool and rinse off your feet or whatever you get sand on. The water levels in late August in MN are low this year but even so the entirety of the swim area was only knee deep and I'm average height at best but it is a nice sandy swim area on a decently sized lake. I'll be coming back again next time I'm...

This is a great park in general. Its free admission, free parking, great activities for all ages. Sometimes you gotta walk a little wee bit from parking. All in all doesn't seem to far or big recurring issue. The playground {which in my opinion down plays it in the name alone} is great! It's huge and has so so sooo much to do for kids. Plus it has a couple water sprinkler type things to cool down with on those real hot days. The beach area is keep nice and pretty clean for most part. Meaning moreso the breakdown my children and I went in swimming. They bathrooms/changing area is there and kept decent. Then you can rent kayaks, canoes, etc. Small fee but not outrageous. Can't recall exact price but recollecting was not bad. Nature trails for biking, walking, jogging etc. Bbq areas with picnic tables. Huge hills for sledding in winter [of course]. Much more I'm missing but check it out yourself! My family...