Lake in the southwest part of Minneapolis, just south of Bde Maka Ska and north of Minnehaha Creek surrounded by parkland as part of the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes

How to Get There

Overview

Lake Harriet (Dakota: Bde Unma, "Other Lake") is a lake in the southwest part of Minneapolis, just south of Bde Maka Ska and north of Minnehaha Creek. The lake is surrounded by parkland as part of the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes.

History

Lake Harriet is named for Harriet Lovejoy, who lived with her husband Colonel Henry Leavenworth at Fort Snelling. The two came to the area in 1819. The lake and surrounding land was last owned by Colonel William S. King, who donated the land to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board in 1885.

Recreational facilities

Lake Harriet is popular for recreation. It offers sailing, two beaches, and a system of bike and pedestrian trails (about 2.99 miles (4.81 km) for the bike trail and 2.75 miles (4.43 km) for the pedestrian trail). The trail and parkway system, part of the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway, connects with Bde Maka Ska on the north end of Lake Harriet, via William Berry Parkway, and with the Minnehaha Creek trail system at the southeast side of the lake.

The bandshell is used for concerts throughout the summer months. The bandshell complex also contains a picnic area and a seasonal outdoor restaurant, Bread & Pickle.

Other parkland near the lake includes a picnic ground just north of the bandshell, Lyndale Park, and the Thomas Sadler Roberts Bird Sanctuary on the northeast side of the lake. Lakewood Cemetery is located between the southeast side of Bde Maka Ska and the north shoreline of Lake Harriet.

Fish

The lake contains black crappie, bluegill, golden shiner, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and yellow perch.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lake Harriet (Minnesota)", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0