Eden Prairie is a city located 12 miles southwest of Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Known as a family-friendly community with a high quality of life, Eden Prairie offers many beautiful parks for residents and visitors to enjoy. From large community parks with sports fields and wooded trails, to small neighborhood greenspaces, there are around 50 parks spanning over 800 acres of land in the city.
This article will highlight 12 of the top parks and outdoor recreational areas in Eden Prairie. For each park, details will be provided on the location, size, amenities and activities available. Whether you enjoy sports, walking trails, picnic areas or scenic waterscapes, you’re sure to find a park in Eden Prairie to meet your needs.
1.Purgatory Creek Park
Purgatory Creek Park is one of the most popular parks in Eden Prairie. Located southeast of Pioneer Trail and Flying Cloud Drive along Purgatory Creek, it comprises around 200 acres. Visitors to Purgatory Creek Park are treated to wooded areas, wetlands, restored prairie land sections and a meandering creek.
The park features three miles of trails for walking, running and biking, including a scenic section of the regional Southwest Regional Trail that connects several cities. You’ll also find picnic areas, fishing docks, archery ranges and an 18-hole disc golf course at Purgatory Creek Park. The Eden Prairie Outdoor Center sits along the east side of the park and offers equipment rentals for activities like cross-country skiing in winter.
2.Staring Lake Park
If water activities are your preference, head over to the scenic Staring Lake Park. Encompassing 150 acres adjacent to Staring Lake, amenities include a popular white sand swimming beach, fishing piers, boat rentals, a playground and picnic shelters. Visitors can enjoy a meal at the Beachside Grill and Tiki Bar restaurant open during summer months.
Extensive trails surround Staring Lake Park, including the 1.8 mile Wood Duck Trail that circles the lake through prairie and woodland habitats. The trails connect to a greater regional trail network crossing Eden Prairie. Wildlife like songbirds, waterfowl and deer frequent the well-forested park with its small islands and peaceful lake views.
3.Round Lake Park
For another scenic lakeside recreation option, visit Round Lake Park near Singletree Lane and Technology Drive. Highlights include a half-mile walking path around Round Lake, grills, picnic tables, fishing dock and smallchildren’s playground.
Mature trees populate the 17 acres surrounding Round Lake, making it one of the more intimate natural settings among Eden Prairie’s parks. Visitors often comment on the serene, peaceful atmosphere perfect for reading a book or having a family picnic.
4.Riley Lake Park
Stretching for 35 acres between routes 101 and 212, Riley Lake Park provides athletic fields and courts along with open green spaces. Baseball and softball diamonds accommodate youth athletics, while soccer and lacrosse teams utilize the multipurpose fields. You’ll also find basketball courts, playground equipment and a parking lot.
A segment of the Dakota Rail Regional Trail passes through Riley Lake Park, connecting users to an expanding regional trail corridor over 15 miles long. The trails provide excellent areas to jog, bike, cross-country ski or take a leisurely stroll while enjoying natural scenery around Eden Prairie.
5.Oak Point Park
Oak Point Park offers recreational facilities coupled with natural wetland areas spanning 200 acres southwest of route 212 and Mitchell Road. Athletic amenities include six baseball diamonds, five softball fields, three multipurpose fields and four tennis courts. The park hosts games and events for Eden Prairie’s youth sports associations.
Visitors also enjoy roughly three miles of trails at Oak Pioneer Park running through open fields, wildlife habitats, restored prairie and wooded sections. You may spot songbirds, butterflies, small mammals and deer while walking the peaceful trails perfect for birdwatching. Oak Point also features picnic areas and fishing access to small ponds within the park grounds.
6.Edenvale Park
Conveniently located downtown adjacent to Eden Prairie Center shopping mall, the 10-acre Edenvale Park has picnic shelters/tables, playgrounds, walking paths and open green spaces often utilized for community events. The park runs east of route 101/Prairie Center Drive between routes 62 and 5 along Edenvale Boulevard.
Young families take advantage of children’s attractions like the “Enchanted Forest” playground inspired by fairy tales. Fitness enthusiasts will find a Parcourse-brand outdoor fitness trail at Edenvale Park, alongside connecting walkways through prairie landscaping to the mall and nearby residential areas making the park easily accessible.
7.Bryant Park
Resting along Bryant Lake between Eden Prairie Road and Valley View Road sits Bryant Park. Spanning just over nine acres, Bryant Park’s features include a playground, basketball court, baseball field, trail/walkway system and open space for field games. Mature oak trees populate the park adjacent to the Bryant Lake Nursery shopping center.
A highlight of Bryant Park happens each winter when the adjacent nursery sponsors an elaborate holiday lights display. Visitors enjoy walking through the colorful botanical lighting scenes accented by the park’s tall, mature oak trees covered in thousands of twinkling lights. The walk-through winter wonderland display typically runs from late November through December.
8.Lucerne Park
Lucerne Park provides a popular gathering spot and recreation option for families in southern Eden Prairie near Lucerne Boulevard. At 16 acres, the park houses athletic fields for baseball, softball and soccer surrounded by open space. You’ll also find basketball courts, playground equipment, walking paths and a reservable picnic shelter at Lucerne Park.
Mature trees coupled with rolling hills around the fields give Lucerne Park a pleasant, secluded atmosphere. Connecting trails link the park to the regional Southwest Hennepin Light Rail Trail spanning nearly 14 miles to connect Eden Prairie with neighboring Hopkins.
9.Riley-Diffley Park
Boasting one of the area’s top outdoor skate parks, Riley-Diffley Park near highway 5 and Prairie Center Drive offers wheeled sports features coupled with attractive prairie landscaping. The cement skate plaza contains various bowls, ramps, rails, ledges and stairs to accommodate skateboards, in-line skates, freestyle BMX bikes and scooters. Surrounding skate park features, you’ll find open green space, prairie planting beds and connecting trails.
Riley-Diffley Park spans about 13 acres with shelters available to reserve for gatherings. The park sits adjacent to Eden Prairie High School and hosts events like the annual Riley-Diffley Jam youth skateboard competition. Visitors enjoy watching skilled local athletes perform gravity-defying aerial tricks and complex rail/ledge skating maneuvers on their bikes, boards and skates.
10.Cummins-Phipps-Grill Woods Park
For a more secluded, wooded park experience, venture over to Cummins-Phipps-Grill Woods Park southeast of Singletree Lane and Technology Drive. Most of this 75-acre park remains undeveloped to preserve woodland, wetland and prairie acreage home to various wildlife species. A segment of Mitchell Lake also falls within the park boundaries.
While Cummins-Phipps-Grill Woods Park lacks recreational facilities, a gravel trail cuts through the woods to provide a shaded nature hike perfect for bird watching. Informational signs identify indigenous plants and animals found in the area like migratory songbirds, owls, turtles and frogs. You may also spot white-tailed deer wandering the forested park.
11.North Eden Park
Located along Dell Road between Shady Oak Road and Scenic Heights Road, North Eden Park delivers open green space coupled with convenient neighborhood accessibility. Encompassing about five acres, the park features a playground, basketball court and multipurpose field often used for soccer practices. Visitors will also find plenty of room to toss footballs, play catch, fly kites or lay out picnic blankets on the expansive open lawn.
Connecting sidewalks join North Eden Park facilities with nearby apartment complexes, businesses and single-family homes. Mature trees bordering the flat, open park provide summer shade. The location next to large parking lots by shopping plazas also ensures accessible parking options.
Conclusion
From amateur and high school athletics to family picnics and nature walks, Eden Prairie’s plentiful parks system has something for everyone. The 12 parks detailed in this article highlight the diversity of recreational options and natural scenery accessible around this thriving southwest Minneapolis suburb. Whether you enjoy field sports, winter skating, wooded trails or open green spaces, Eden Prairie’s parks offer an array of facilities suitable for all ages and interests.
The abundance of high quality parks and preserved natural areas scattered among residential neighborhoods and business districts make the city a very attractive place to live, work and visit. Eden Prairie’s parks not only provide recreation but also promote health, environmental awareness and a sense of community. So get out to enjoy some of Minnesota’s most beautiful parks this year by exploring the scenic treasures Eden Prairie has to offer.