Twenty years ago or so, I hung out at Silverwood park, a former Salvation Army camp, a couple times and I have to say, it’s like a completely different place now. In fact, I keep second guessing myself that I was really there so long ago. During my first visit, I only remember that there was a parking lot and a beach and nothing else really to see. Not long after I went back and explored a bit more by walking around the trails, but it was being worked on so trails and trees and fields were all torn up.

Last year I attended a wedding here and was blown away at the transformation. It’s hard to imagine that it was once so disheveled as it looks as if it’s been this lush for hundreds of years. Even though it was cold at that time, I knew I had to bring my family back to explore the trail at some point in time.

Hike #: 21

Trail: Silverwood Park

Location: St Anthony, MN

Trail surface: paved, with a few offshoots of dirt and wood chips.

Date: 7/21/19

The trail here is mostly paved, which usually results in a less favorable review (or authentic feeling hike), but there were a few trails of wood chips and a bridge that took you onto an island. The park was very well maintained which is mostly the case in the Minneapolis area, but this one seemed especially well taken care of. Plus, there were butterflies everywhere and that just added to the overall ambience.

An additional plus was that there were random sculptures along the trail (there is a walking tour online where you can learn more about each artist and their work). Riley can sometimes get bored on these walks so she seemed very appreciative of these points of interest… but so did Jesse and I. It felt very thoughtful to add these artistic touches in a way that wasn’t too disturbing to the nature around it.

As I mentioned above, this one was a winner for us. There was a lot of established trees, clean trails, interesting things to see, and it was a pleasant day.

Jo: ★★★★★

Jesse: ★★★★

Riley: ★★★★★