St. Louis Park offers several focal points for a stay: a paved regional trail, an expansive natural area, recreational activities including water sports and ice skating, and a historic depot. To plan your visit, it helps to first decide what interests you most. Would you like to spend time cycling, include nature trails in your plans, or focus on recreation and local history? The area's features give you concrete points to consider.
Bike Trails with Different Focuses
The North Cedar Lake Regional Trail is 4.4 miles long, paved, starts in Hopkins, and runs through St. Louis Park. It is also connected to trails around Cedar Lake in Minneapolis. Its length, surface, and route provide concrete points to consider when choosing a route; its connection to the trails by the lake adds to these options. If you want to ride a particular route, check the trail's route before making specific plans.
Regional bike trails managed by the Three Rivers Park District also run through St. Louis Park. This gives you different options for cycling: a named route with specific details about its length, surface, and route, as well as other regional trails through the city. This can help you decide whether you want to focus on a single route or make cycling a key part of your stay.
Nature and Daily Planning
Westwood Hills Nature Center offers a different focus. The 160-acre natural area includes wetlands, forests, and restored prairie. These three landscape types make the area appealing if you want to focus on nature and diverse habitats. The trails at Westwood Hills Nature Center are open daily year-round from sunrise to sunset, which can help you plan your day.
Recreation at the Rec Center
The Rec Center brings together the Recreation Outdoor Center (ROC), the outdoor Aquatic Park, and two indoor ice rinks. The Aquatic Park has four-story water slides, a zero-entry pool, and a 12-foot-deep diving pool. The recreational activities therefore have different focuses: the outdoor area features water slides and pool amenities, while the indoor rinks are geared toward ice skating. If you want to plan your time around a particular activity, these specific features can help you choose.
A Cultural Stop in Jorvig Park
The historic depot building of the St. Louis Park Historical Society is located in Jorvig Park. If you would like to include local history in your stay alongside nature and recreation, you can add the depot as a cultural stop. Visits are available by appointment or during special events. Check in advance which visit option is available at your preferred time.
Choose the Focus of Your Stay
When planning your day, nature trails and a visit to the depot have different schedules: the trails at Westwood Hills Nature Center are open daily year-round from sunrise to sunset; a visit to the depot is possible by appointment or during special events. Plan your time on the trails within their opening hours and check on a depot visit in advance. If you are looking for hotels in St. Louis Park, first decide whether bike trails, nature, or recreational activities are most important to your stay. Then check the location of a specific hotel based on that priority.
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For the main travel overview: Hennepin.
