I’m sort of embarrassed at how many local trails I haven’t explored in my 48 years, but luckily this hiking challenge is putting an end to that. I’d heard of Lake Phalen, knew it was on the other side of the river (for non-Minnesota folks, that would be on the St. Paul side while I’m on the Minneapolis side of the Mississippi), but never found a reason to venture there. Due to COVID-19, a lot of businesses are still closed which has forced us to either stay home or find something outside to entertain ourselves with. We live close to a couple lakes on the Minneapolis side that get quite crowded so I hoped that this lake would have less people to run into.

Turns out it was a good gamble. Plus, it had been a little wet recently so I selected a trail that was paved to avoid a muddy hike. This park had plenty of places to picnic, fish, a beach and beach house (currently closed), and a Chinese garden.

Hike #: 28

Trail: Lake Phalen

Location: St. Paul and Maplewood, MN

Trail surface: paved

Date: May 10th, 2020

Jo: ★★★

Jesse: ★★★

Riley: ★★★★★

Riley made up a story based on the name of the lake and deemed this a great place to boost your imagination hence her high score. I liked it well enough for a city, paved trail and would like to go back when more of the plants and flowers are in bloom.