Lake Elmo Regional Park Reserve to expand facilities

Popular park serves growing east metro area

Aspiring archers will have more targets. Cross-country skiers will enjoy lighted ski trails on winter evenings. Nature enthusiasts will enjoy a new interpretive center and amphitheatre for educational programming.

The popular swimming pond at Lake Elmo Regional Park features giant umbrellas to provide shade around the sandy beach.

Laurie Etzler, South St. Paul, and Larry Gerbig, Stillwater, hone their archery skills at the park’s archery range. Plans call for moving and expanding the range because of its popularity.

A large play structure near the swimming pond is another popular attraction at Lake Elmo Regional Park.

These and other improvements are detailed in a new master plan developed by Washington County Parks for Lake Elmo Regional Park Reserve. The plan, approved in July by the Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission, goes before the Metropolitan Council in August.

This is the first master plan that has been developed for the 2,165-acre park reserve since its original master plan was approved by the Council in 1978. The park opened to the public in 1986. Its niche in the regional park system, particularly in the east metro area, is in providing a variety of camping facilities and large-scale picnic areas, an archery range and equestrian trails, said Jim Luger, director of Washington County Parks. The park also features a popular swimming area and boat launch on Lake Elmo.

“Washington County is undergoing rapid development,” Luger said. “The need for parks and recreation facilities will only grow in the future.”

Nature interpretive center, expanded camping among new features

The master plan details a number of facilities that, if adequate funding is available, would be developed over a period of about 10 years starting in 2008, Luger said. Highest priority developments include:

Install low-level lights (about 3 to 4 feet high) along one of the park’s popular cross-country ski trails.
Build a 7,000-square-foot nature interpretive center and 250-seat amphitheatre on the east shore of Eagle Point Lake.
Pave a trail around Eagle Point Lake to provide accessibility to people with mobility impairments.
Redesign and move the equestrian campground to the north farmstead area. Convert the existing facility into modern camping, adding 40 additional spurs with electrical and water hook-ups that can accommodate 50-amp recreational vehicles.
Relocate the heavily used target archery range to south of the farmstead area, and develop a new field archery range that simulates hunting conditions.
Develop a one-way, environmentally sensitive mountain bike trail.

Among other improvements proposed are adding more picnicking facilities for small groups; adding a second fishing pier on Lake Elmo; designating additional trails for snowshoeing and winter hiking; and paving access trails into the park from adjacent Oakdale, downtown Lake Elmo and Woodbury. The estimated total cost of the improvements, in 2006 dollars, is $4.5 million, according to the plan.

What differentiates a regional park reserve from a regional park is both its size (reserves are larger) and the amount of land (no more than 20 percent) that can be developed for park facilities. Lake Elmo Regional Park Reserve is by far the most visited of the seven regional park and trail facilities in Washington County, and in 2005 was among the top-10-most-visited regional park facilities outside of Minneapolis and St. Paul, according to Metropolitan Council estimates.

Council proposes large expansion of parks system

The 52,600-acre regional park system includes 37 regional parks, 12 larger park reserves, six special recreation features and 22 regional trails. The system is planned and operated through a unique partnership of local and regional agencies. The Metropolitan Council and Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission plan the system. The Council and state legislature provide funding to acquire and develop parks. Local units of government operate and maintain the parks.

Last year, the Council adopted the 2030 Regional Parks Policy Plan, which calls for the largest expansion of regional parks and trails since the system was established in 1974. It includes a financing plan for a park system totaling nearly 70,000 acres with funding from the Council, state, federal government, local park agencies and public/private partnerships.

“Regional parks are an important investment in the region’s quality of life now and in the future,” said Council Chair Peter Bell. “Even as we expand our park and trail system, it is critical to reinvest in our existing parks. Implementing the master plan for Lake Elmo Regional Park Reserve is sure to attract more visitors to the park for recreation while protecting and restoring natural resources."