Cedar Lake- May 20th

Lizzie here. Dave’s on hiatus for this post, since Cedar Lake is really my great Minneapolis love.

As Dave noted, each Twin Cities lake has its own special tagline. If Lake Harriet’s motto is: “Oh Right, Lake Harriet,” Cedar Lake’s motto is: “Never heard of it.” For some reason, even many longtime Twin Cities dwellers seem to have no idea that Cedar Lake exists, which is bizarre, since it’s about a 10 minute walk from uber-popular Lake Calhoun. Those who have heard of it tend to identify it solely with the debauchery of Hidden Beach, a one-time “illicit nude beach and hippie hangout.”

When we first moved to Minneapolis, I used to go running around Lake of the Isles all the time. At some point I heard that there was a bigger, quieter, less inhabited lake over to the west, and decided to check it out. I wasn’t disappointed. On the east side, you run through the woods next to the train tracks. The lake appears and disappears to your left as the trail winds around. The north side is the best: suddenly you’re out of the woods and in a giant field of prairie grass as tall as your head. (Erm, if you’re 5’1”, anyway). It’s just you, the wind, the prairie grass, and the trail.

Dave and I went over to go for a swim on Wednesday night. Instead of going to Hidden Beach (which is no longer so hidden), we went to Point Beach, one of the major ones with a parking lot, etc. Given that it was 93 degrees out, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see it clogged with people. But it was just us, a surly dad in the lifeguard chair, and his preschool-aged daughter, flopping around like a fish on the beach. It was lovely.

You really should check it out sometime. Or, erm, maybe not. Wouldn’t want it getting crowded.