Hike - 15 - Big Willow Park

I’ve driven past these ballparks in Minnetonka so many times and had no idea that there were a bunch of trails behind them until my neighbor mentioned that it was a favorite place of hers. I finally gathered up my family one day after an especially lazy morning and we headed over to check it out.

Hike #: 15

Trail: Big Willow Park

Location: Minnetonka, MN

Trail surface: Crushed rock, dirt

Date: 9/30/18

Big Willow really was a huge surprise. I expected paved trails around the sports field, and that’s about it, but in reality it was like walking in the forest along a creek bed. There were a number of short off shoot trails that brought you back to the main trail as well which was nice.

Perhaps because our expectations were low we ended up all really liking this trail, but I think it’s a great near the city trail. It was clean, and near our house which is a bonus, but we’ve found that we tend to like trails that feel more like you are in the middle of the woods and this one fit that very much.

Jo: ★★★★

Jesse: ★★★★

Riley: ★★★★

Hike 14 - Eastman Nature Center at Elm Creek

Part of the fun of this challenge is exploring new places. I often narrow it down to a few different options and then Jesse and Riley weigh in on their opinion. Riley had the final say on this one and I think she made a good choice.

The path near the Eastman Nature Center is in the Elm Creek park which has a ton of trails, a great play area and a swimming pond. The nature center wasn’t open when we were there, but I’d love to go back and check it out some day.

Hike #: 14

Trail: Eastman Nature Center at Elm Creek

Location: Osseo, MN

Trail surface: dirt, wood chips, paved

Date: 9/9/18

Our favorite part of this trail was the one covered in trees with a dirt path as it reminded us of hiking in the forest up north, but the paved area was beautiful as well. There were some signs, but like many other trails we’ve been on this year, there could have been more or they could have been clearer. Again, the AllTrails app came to the rescue to keep us on our intended path.

In all honesty, I had to remind Jesse about this trail as he said he remembered the parking lot more than the trail. I don’t think that says anything against the trail, but he still only rated it a 2. I thought it was a nice trail and well groomed.

Jo: ★★★

Jesse: ★★

Riley: ★★★

Hike 13 - Osprey Trail

There are so many places to hike in the Black Hills, and there were a number I wanted to try, but wasn’t sure my 8 year old would be up to hiking that far. Plus, I felt like I was dragging energy wise all week, but it was important to me to get in one more hike before we left South Dakota.

I originally planned to hike the Osprey trail the day we camped at Pactola Lake since this trail is right next to the campsite, but rain delayed this plan until later. This trail has a couple loops and another short trail we accidentally wandered down to make it about a 2.5 mile hike.

Hike #: 13

Trail: Osprey Trail

Location: Near Rapid City, South Dakota

Trail surface:

Date: 8/29/18

It was a warm day so it was nice to have shade, but there are plenty of open areas with full sun so you’ll want to make sure you have a hat and sunscreen. The trail was sometimes hard to find so I was grateful to be using the AllTrails app again to help us find one of the trail heads. As a side note, this app allows you to record your hike and gives you stats such as what your average time per mile was. Wish I discovered this earlier.

We saw a couple people on this trail, but for the most part we had it to ourselves which wins huge points for us. Also, having shade earns it points and it had a pretty view of the lake.

Jo: ★★★★

Jesse: ★★★

Riley: ★★