Elm Creek Park Reserve
Elm Creek Park Reserve
Local Treasure
I have a feeling that people who live near or visit Elm Creek Park Reserve may not truly grasp how lucky we are. At around 4,900 acres (in the metro area!), it boast miles of paved and grass trails, a large swimming pond, several small lakes, a disc golf course, archery, and a wide variety of wildlife and all at no cost of entry. Perhaps I’m wrong and it’s just me, but it’s easy to take this park for granted all summer and winter.
We live only a few miles from the park and have biked into it as often as we have driven. I’ve also used the trails to train for marathons (one of the larger loops gives you 13 miles). This is also one of the few spots in the northwest metro with hills.
The park is also somewhat therapeutic for us. My wife’s mom had recently passed away and we spent hours walking the trails talking, laugh, crying, and just remembering. Those walks were part of an important part of the grieving process. We had also lost our dog, Louis shortly afterwards so it was a tough year, but walking the trails helped with the healing.
Our special pup, Louis.
He lived to be 17 and we enjoyed every single minute of him.
Hitting the Trails
Elm Creek is large enough where we are still finding new trails we haven’t walked yet or know very well. There are many unpaved paths that double as horse trails but you really don’t see many riders at Elm Creek, unlike at Crow Hassan. This works for us since we like to walk those horse trails. This is a bit out of necessity as we recently adopted Henri from the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley. He has some unique quirks, like being terrified of bicycles,
In the summertime, it’s difficult to find paved paths without bikes. The poor guy just freezes in fear and looks for the quickest way off the path once they ride by. We adopted him at 2 1/2 years old and we don’t think he had a lot of exposure to anything so everything is new to him. Unpaved paths it is then. This way he can walk relatively stress free and enjoy the smells and luckily for us there are plenty of unpaved trails and some of my favorite photos of trails are above.
Our new special pup, Henri
He is truly coming out of his shell in the most rewarding way (as long as no bikes are going by).
Water & Wildlife
Besides Elm Creek, there are a few other creeks that flow within the park: Diamond and Rush Creeks. There is a good balance between the trails and ponds within the park boundaries that keep the general public away from where (I presume) the heart of where many of the animals are. That’s not to say you don’t see any wildlife, but the layout of the park doesn’t make the water the main attraction, but rather spots you discover along the way.
It is much more rewarding this way because spotting wildlife here seems more natural than forced. It doesn’t make the photography aspect easier, but if you do happen to get a decent shot, it’s one you’ll cherish longer. Above are a few I’ve captured while exploring the different waterways and ponds. The wildlife there is not used to being closed to people, which is how it should be. And if I don’t see any wildlife, finding a simple composition of water can be just as fun.
All Seasons
Winter hiking isn’t the easiest at Elm Creek. They groom many trails for cross-country skiing and snowmobiling, and the rest of the paths are left alone. It’s fun being the first out after a large snowfall, blazing the path as you go, but after a while you can feel it in the legs. If I had to find one negative about this place, it would be they don’t care about hikers in the winter. Perhaps like seeing wildlife, getting a nice picture after a good, hard walk makes you cherish it more.
We’re now entering spring and we literally just got back from a walk near the Bottineau House (there is an older picture above), where it’s mid-April, the trees are starting to bud, the geese are being all territorial, and it is was snowing very hard. Such is life in Minnesota, but it is what makes this park so beautiful.
We’re lucky to live so close to such an expansive and beautiful park and one that is part of a larger network of parks (Three Rivers Park District). Despite visiting this park over the past several years, there are sections I have yet to explore, but perhaps that needs to be part two of this blog.
