Mississippi National River & Recreation Area — Attraction in Saint Paul

Few know that there is a chunk of the National Park Service right in the heart of the Metro. While it doesn't have the charm of a Yellowstone or Glacier, nature and adventure are still easy to find.

Remove the Ford Dam and allow the river to flow free and we will have a treasure and a true beating heart for this park. The only "waterfall", gorge, and whitewater on the entire mighty Mississippi deserves to run naturally and show it's true power. Just imagine the sight of whitewater rafters, canoers, and kayakers cruising downriver in the heart of our great Twin Cities.

I am not opposed to hydroelectric power generation in general (far from it!), but there are a multitude of dams both upstream and downstream of the Mississippi gorge that would be better suited to providing power and would not continue to ruin this very unique landscape. The Army Corp of Engineers and the NPS need to recognize this fact and give this one part of the river back to us and nature.

It can happen, it should happen, and it will happen once more people wake up to the remarkable resources right at...

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...

This is a beautiful park on the river. There are some many activities here.

On the north end there is a picnic area with reservable pavilions. It has a playground and a huge grassy field. The wading pool is currently closed for repairs though.

Farther sound is a nature center. There are many programs that are run out of this building. Bird watching on Saturday mornings, frogs and tadpoles, insects. They usually have a family activity on Sunday afternoons.

Behind the building is the kayak rental run by the MN Paddleshare. You can rent single or tandem kayaks and ride them down to Boom Island.

At the south end of the park is a boat launch.

But all the way up and down the park are walking and biking trails. These trails connect the park at different points to the surrounding...