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Parks: a regional treasure

The Twin Cities’ system of regional parks and trails is regarded by many residents as one of the treasures of our metropolitan area.

In 1974, the Legislature created the system, designating 31,000 acres of existing city and county parks as part of the regional system. It also authorized up to $40 million in bonds for park land acquisition and development. The Council’s first regional open space plan designated 12 “immediate action sites” for acquisition. Within a decade, all 12 sites were acquired.

Dave Durenberger, who chaired the advisory committee that developed the regional parks plan and later served in the U.S. Senate, says the legislation was designed to ensure that “invaluable natural resources” would be preserved and that metro area residents would be able “to enjoy the recreational opportunities that go with living in our community.” In doing so, it built upon visionary efforts of those who created the Minneapolis and St. Paul park systems, he says.

At the time, some of the proposed park sites were being eyed for other purposes. For example, what is now the 2,200-acre Lake Elmo Regional Park was being considered as a possible location for a regional shopping center or a landfill.

Today, the system consists of 49 regional parks and park reserves, 28 regional trails and six special recreational features (such as the Como Park zoo and conservatory). They are operated and maintained in partnership with 10 city and county park agencies within the region.

This 53,000-acre system provides opportunities for active recreation – such as walking, biking, swimming and boating – for more than 33 million visitors a year. It also protects irreplaceable natural features such as lakes and wetlands, hardwood forests and native prairies.

“If you ask residents of the metropolitan area – and we do ask them every year – the thing they treasure most about our region is our parks and trails,” says Peter Bell. “By any measure, we have a system of regional parks and trails that is second to none.”