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Old 06-30-2011, 07:16 AM
 
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Greetings,

Does anybody know of any pretty, off the beaten path swimming spots within an hour of the twin cities? I am thinking about ponds, lakes or rivers... Moved here from VT last yr and am trying to find some clean, quiet, public access swimming areas to go w/ my family this weekend. Thanks!
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Old 06-30-2011, 07:35 AM
 
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
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There are SO MANY that I don't even know where to begin, but you could start right IN Minneapolis or St. Paul -- there are several lakes and not all of them are teeming with people. Check Lake of the Isles, for instance. Otherwise, just about EVERY suburb has a lake or two of its own -- again, most are not super busy. Lake Minnetonka is extremely popular but there are so many bays and hidden beaches that it could almost feel private if you found the right spot.

For lakes with small beaches, you have possibly 100,000 options in MN -- no joke! Today's a good day to jump into a lake too -- 94 deg. for a high with heat indices approaching 105 deg.!
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Old 06-30-2011, 08:54 AM
 
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I am really looking for of the beaten path places - not city or suburban lakes...
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Old 06-30-2011, 09:27 AM
 
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I don't know of any because I've not been outside the Twin Cities in the last ten years. (That's another sad, story!) I'm sure there are a lot of places but, to be realistic, I don't think the word "clean" applies to any water anymore. Especially when combined with the word "public." Between the government and the public, I'm not confident that clean water exists anymore.

Still, I wish you the best in finding a fun place and hope you enjoy your weekend!
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Old 06-30-2011, 12:26 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tessypooh View Post
I am really looking for of the beaten path places - not city or suburban lakes...
You probably won't find anything like that-it's MN, we know the best swimming spots and so does everyone else . The cleanest lake in MN is Square Lake outside of Stillwater. It's part of the county park system now I think. There are a lot of swimming beaches along the St. Croix river, again, everyone knows about them though. Our kids are at Schultz Lake Beach in Eagan right now, it's packed. Any "off-the beaten path" type places are probably privately owned by now.
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Old 06-30-2011, 01:09 PM
 
Location: Chicago
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tessypooh View Post
I am really looking for of the beaten path places - not city or suburban lakes...
You're probably going to have trouble finding a place that you have all to yourself on a hot summer day within an hour of Minneapolis. I guess my best recommendation for that would be along the St. Croix? I like to avoid the crowds at the city beaches as well, so I always swim at Cedar Lake rather than Calhoun or Harriet.
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Old 06-30-2011, 01:47 PM
 
63 posts, read 188,031 times
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Originally Posted by golfgal View Post
You probably won't find anything like that-it's MN, we know the best swimming spots and so does everyone else . The cleanest lake in MN is Square Lake outside of Stillwater. It's part of the county park system now I think. There are a lot of swimming beaches along the St. Croix river, again, everyone knows about them though. Our kids are at Schultz Lake Beach in Eagan right now, it's packed. Any "off-the beaten path" type places are probably privately owned by now.

Thanks. I was not necessarily thinking I am going to find a place that is totally private. Just looking to be away from the crowds and find a spot that is actually scenic. Moved here from VT last yr and am so bummed out by the geography around here. Am considering making another move to get back to the mountains...
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Old 06-30-2011, 02:10 PM
 
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You might look into the Rice Creek Chain of Lakes park in Lino Lakes (or maybe Centerville or Circle Pines?, it's a big park). They do have a beach. I'd guess that would be crowded, but maybe not as much as the others in the north metro because it is reasonably isolated from most houses.

If you are not totally set on swimming, you can also rent canoes/kayaks at the Wargo Nature Center in the park. You'd have a good chance of being the only one on the lake (and no motors). Plus, you'd have limited signs of civilization from the lakes. On George Watch Lake I don't think you can see any buildings. You would have a view of a small section of 35W, but it feels off in the distance.
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Old 06-30-2011, 02:13 PM
 
Location: Bel Air, California
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We use to have fun swimming in the spring fed ponds along Long Meadow Lake in East Bloomington and I don't know why you still couldn't, look for "Bass Ponds" location on the map...
Parks and Recreation -- Park, school and public areas

Our favorite swimming spot was the spillway behind Post Road that caught the Airport's air-conditioning water and funneled it through a long culvert that ran under 494 and on down to Long Meadow Lake. We'd block the tunnel with a large piece of plywood and let the water dam up behind it. We'd then release the dam and ride the tidal wave through the tunnel and get ejected into the pond on the other side of the freeway. wheeeeeeee!
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Old 06-30-2011, 02:36 PM
 
20,793 posts, read 61,319,403 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tessypooh View Post
Thanks. I was not necessarily thinking I am going to find a place that is totally private. Just looking to be away from the crowds and find a spot that is actually scenic. Moved here from VT last yr and am so bummed out by the geography around here. Am considering making another move to get back to the mountains...
No offense but you DID move to the plains area. There are plenty of lakes around with nice scenery--I guess it depends on what you mean by scenery though. All the lakes we go to are surrounded by trees and are lovely. Anything along the St. Croix is going to be scenic as the river is a designated Federal Scenic waterway. Where are you swimming now that it is so bad?
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