coon rapids dam regional park

I kayak. This place scared the hell out of me on the water when I came within five feet of going over an unmarked and unprotected side-spillway. It can be a somewhat peaceful place to throw a line in the water and have a little look around to better understand the river. If you do like to kayak, it's a good middle point to hit on the way from Hwy 169 at the river and downtown Minneapolis. I kayaked it in about 3 hours total and I'm not very fast - fat maybe, fast, no.

The Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park is located a few miles north of Highway 610 (directly on the banks of the Mississippi River) in Brooklyn Park. There is no cost to enter this Three Rivers Park but if you go to the sister Anoka County Park on the east side of the river there is a $5 fee for a motor vehicles. The walkway across the Coon Rapids Dam is currently closed for construction so you cannot walk from one Park to the other park. There is a nice fishing pier near the dam walkway (and people seemed to be catching fish). The pier is a great place to view the dam and the river. I enjoyed relaxing and watching an Osprey flying over the river.I went with my wife in late July and was not impressed at all by this park. The parking lot and the area around the visitor center seemed run down (maybe it was due to the construction). The park is on the Rush Creek Regional biking trail and my wife and I arrived from Elm Creek Park by way of the bike path (on our bikes). This Regional Park is a great place to park your car if you want to bike the Rush Creek Trail. When the walkway over the river is reopened you can also bike in the other direction.Overall I enjoyed the great views of the Mississippi River but was not overly impressed with this Park. I have been to most of the Three River Parks and this one is not my favorite (in fact I liked it the least). Even though I did not enjoy the visit I will give this Park one more try after the walkway construction has been completed.