Walk & Talk: Winter Water Works

Exploration led by Minneapolis Parks Foundation Executive Director Tom Evers
Sat, Feb 4, 10 am
Water Works Park Pavilion

Difficulty: Easy half-mile meander with some steps and paved slopes.

The Mississippi River’s only natural waterfall tumbles through the community’s civic and social center, a sacred place for Dakota and Anishinaabe people for millennia, and a source of power for European immigrants who carved out a milling empire here beginning in the 19th century. Called Owamniiyomni in Dakota—St. Anthony Falls in English—this is the dynamic backdrop to the city’s newest gathering place, Water Works at Mill Ruins Park. The complex site has multiple levels, trail connections, and programmed features, all layered with historical, contemporary, and natural elements.

This guided walk starts and ends at Water Works Park Pavilion, going across the Stone Arch Bridge and Hennepin Ave Bridge to create a 2 mile round trip loop, exploring Water Works at Mill Ruins Park, the Stone Arch Bridge, St. Anthony Falls, Father Hennepin Bluff Park, Nicollet Island, and additional riverfront sites.