I'm not sure what I mark as the official start of summer. Is it Memorial Day, June first, or the last day of school (ecfe)? Or is it the first picnic, the first popsicle, first boat ride, first ripe watermelon? I'm just not sure. But whatever it is that officially marks the start of summer, I believe it is here! Which is a little confusing because our peonies have yet to bloom, but based on all I listed above, SUMMER IS HERE!
My ecfe teacher made a gigantic list of things to do with kids during the summer. The list is awesome and at first I was going to make it into my summer bucket list. But then I typed it out below and decided this can be my "at some point while the kids are under 18 we'll do these things..." list. Because it's pretty huge.
I thought I'd share it as an awesome resource for those of you in the twin cities/south metro looking for something to do this summer. And Sunday afternoon as the kids napped for three hours (!!!) I spent some time creating some links for the list. Happy Summertime!
PARKS
Murphy's Landing in Shokopee (we love this place!)
Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater (can't wait to go here)
Antler's Park in Lakeville
Carleton College Arboretum in Northfield
St. Olaf College picnic on campus in Northfield
Centennial Lakes in Edina
Chutes and Ladders, Hyland Park Preserve in Bloomington
Lutz Railroad Garden in Eagan (3rd Sunday of the month, 1-4pm. Mark it down, Dad!)
Minihaha Falls
Sculpture Garden in Minneapolis
Zumbrota Covered Bridge, log cabin and playground (looks so fun for a day picnic)
STATE PARKS AND OUTDOOR DESTINATIONS
Afton State Park
Nerstrand Big Woods State Park
Sakatah State Park in Morristown
Whitewater State Park in St. Charles
William O'Brian tate Park in Osceola
Rice Lake State Park
Fort Snelling State Park
Lake City/Lake Pepin
NATURE CENTERS
Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington
Hyland Park Nature Center in Bloomington
Woodlake Nature Center in Richfield
River Bend Nature Center in Faribault
Thorncrest Farm in Dundas
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chanhassen
MUSIC AND SPORTS AND FOOD AND ZOOS AND FAIRS
Minneapolis Outdoor Music
St. Paul Saints Game (so excited to get to a game this summer)
Twins Game
Red Barn Pizza Farm in Northfield (great pizza, sort of spendy)
Farmer's Markets
Dundas Ball Park
Minnesota Zoo
Como Zoo
County Fairs
Valley Fair
MOVIES
Minneapolis Outdoor Movies
Centennial Lakes Outdoor Music and Movies
Lakeville Theatre (free kids movies on Wednesdays)
Elko Speedway Drive In (I'm so excited about this!!!)
Outdoor Movies and Concerts at Burnsville Civic Center
SWIMMING AREAS
Outdoor pools in Kenyon and Farmington
Northfield Swimming Pool
Faribault zero entry pool, fountains, playground, slides
Crystal Beach in Burnsville
Apple Valley Water Park (Ivar talks about the AV Water Park nearly every day...)
Cascade Bay in Eagan
Lake Minnetonka Swimming Pond
Lake Harriet (trolley rides, rose garden, music, beach. My favorite place in the summertime.)
Lac Lavon Park in Brunsville
SPLASH PADS
Kelley Park in Apple Valley
Civic Center Fountain Park in Burnsville
Minnesota Zoo
BIKE TRAILS
Cannon Falls to Redwing- 20 miles
Faribault Bike Trail- starts at DQ along hwy 60, trail goes to Sakatah State Park to Mankato
INDOOR
Mill City Museum
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Wild Rumpus Bookstore in Linden Hills, Minneapolis
Science Museum and Omni Theatre (museum closed Mondays)
Gymnastics open gym in Northfield
ABC Toy Store In Burnsville
Pump it Up in Burnsville
Red Balloon Books Store on Grand Avenue in St. Paul
Serengetti indoor water park in Owattona
Skateville in Burnsville
Nerstrand Meat Locker
Brunswick Zone in Lakeville
Edinborough Park in Edina
Good Times park in Eagan
Local Library
Water Park of America in Bloomington
Bowling
So what did we miss? Any glaring omissions that I forgot?!!
12 comments:
Prior Lake? Where your pictures were taken?
Prior Lake? Where your pictures were taken?
YES! For everyone who has in-laws with a pontoon on Prior Lake! Don't forget to go boating as often as possible! :)
love this, thank you for sharing! I shared it with some of my "mommy friends"!
I'll add one, too - Heart of the City in Burnsville. We love their splash pools!
Rachel, I'm so glad you added Heart of the City in Burnsville. I googled everything and could not figure out what it was called. I was trying Burnsville Civic Center Splash Pad, but I couldn't find the link. I'll add it now!
Tomorrow I'm putting up things to do at home with kids. It's another super fun list. :)
Great list, love it!!! Thanks for sharing! =)
Great list, thanks for sharing!!! =)
Love this!! We are so excited to fill our Summer days with fun!
A few additions -
Mall of America has free movies-
Tuesdays at 11:30 for toddlers, and Saturdays at 10 for bigger kids.
The History Center in St. Paul is one of my ladies absolute favorite places to go! In the same vein as the Mill City Museum.
And Playworks in Prior Lake has one of the best indoor play structures we've been to. And bonus - Adults are free!
Bring on the Summer!
Great list! I want to go to some of these places myself.
What is the Nerstrand Meat Locker?
You could come check out the Medford Pool. Also, for indoor stuff you could do the RAD Zoo in Owatonna.
GREAT list! We should totally plan a swimming play date for Park and Ivar at either Kelley Park or the AV water park.
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