The Hiawatha Line and Minnehaha Park

The metro service between Target Field in downtown Minneapolis and the Mall of America to the south of Minneapolis-St Paul airport mostly runs alongside Hiawatha Avenue, and is thus known as the Hiawatha line. There is a park, accessible from the metro called Minnehaha Park, which contains a large waterfall. I visited the park on Friday briefly, to look at the falls and to see what was there, and then again properly on Saturday.

On the Saturday, I followed the trail alongside Minnehaha Creek from the waterfall to the creek's confluence with the Mississippi. The park is in two sections - an upper part that is maintained and looked after, and the lower glen which is largely left to its own devices, although essential works to shore up the banks and the steep sides is done. Whilst at first the path was sometimes difficult to follow, it was just like a normal walk through wooded countryside alongside a fast-moving river. However, in some places, the gravel had been washed away leaving large muddy section with lots of puddles which were very slippery and carried the risk of falling into the creek itself. However, it was possible to get around the blockages most of the way until the end. Thoughtfully, a boardwalk section had been installed along a latter part of the walk which, although uneven, and with some small puddles, was easy to follow, until it just stopped at a swampy section! It was necessary to clamber up the slope and hang on to the trees to get past the worst section, which took some time, but after that part, the path was dry and easy to navigate until it came out on a beach at the confluence of the Minnehaha Creek and the Mississippi River.

Minnehaha Falls

I decided to return on the other side of the creek, which was a much easier route and not flooded at all. As a result, the return journey was much quicker than I had anticipated and I got back to the park entrance well ahead of when I needed to be back in order to get up to the ballpark for the 3.10pm game.