Tag Archives: city parks

Tour of Lakeville kicks off their fall art festival with free registration

Before the city’s 16th annual art festival, Saturday, September 21, enjoy the trails and bike lanes on the Tour of Lakeville. Registration is free thanks to the Lakeville Friends of the Environment, who will lead two rides of different lengths. Select between the 6 to 8-mile (kid-friendly) ride route or the 18 to 20-mile scenic bike trip on Lakeville’s trails and bike lanes. While touring Lakeville, gain a new perspective of the town’s beauty and closeness to nature, then enjoy the Art Festival.

Tour of Lakeville details

This year’s Tour of Lakeville starts and ends at Pioneer Plaza Park, a block north of where the Art Festival takes place. Pre-register at Lakeville Parks & Rec so you are ready to ride; it’s free. Remember to pump up your tires and bring a helmet and water bottle. Check-in starts at 9 a.m., and both rides leave at 9:30 a.m.

Your route choices

The 6-8-mile (kid and family-friendly) route is all on Lakeville’s paved trails.

The 18-20 mile route uses many quiet neighborhood streets that connect to trails meandering through new housing developments, parks, and wildlife areas. Enjoy the unique sculptures and art benches in several parks along the way, a highlight of the Lakeville art scene.

The Tour of Lakeville is a fun ride for all

Along the Tour ride, participants will discover many attractive segments of the community and many outdoor spaces that include:

Great views of Lake Marion as the tour passes the new outdoor performance pavilion in Casperson Park and the West Lake Marion Mountain Bike Trailhead.
The paved Juno Trail hugs the lake’s shoreline.
Views of the popular Antler’s Park, under construction and re-opening in the spring of 2024, with a swimming beach, picnic areas, volleyball, and horseshoes.
Enjoy listening to birds and seeing butterflies along the paved trail through the Steve Michaud Park-Conservation Area.
And more!

Don’t worry; no rider will be dropped on this family-friendly ride. However, all participants are expected to ride at a moderate pace so everyone can share their favorite ride stories after returning.

The 18-20 mile ride will last approximately two and a half hours. This time frame depends on the number of registered bikers and the route. Remember to pre-register so the ride has plenty of staff support – Thanks!

After the ride, make it a day at the Lakeville Art Festival

Take in the Lakeville Art Festival with over 90 artists exhibiting — Take in the Lakeville Art Festival, with over 90 artists exhibiting

Many consider this one of the finest art festivals in Minnesota. The Lakeville Art Festival is held annually on the third weekend in September. This year, the event will feature over 90 artists in an intimate and accessible setting. The artist booths are staged in a park-like atmosphere, allowing for a unique circular type arrangement to help showcase their work. Plus, many artists have scheduled demonstrations over the two days of the festival, September 21 & 22.

Another family-friendly highlight at the art festival is a stop at the “Young at Art” tent. This workshop area has plenty of art supplies, ideas, and experts to help the creative juices flow.

More on the new mountain bike trail in Lakeville

The Lakeville Cycling Association has constructed a mountain bike trail system on the west side of Lake Marion. Another family-friendly attraction, the new course, is approximately five miles long. The trail segments in the park allow plenty of fun features for beginning, intermediate, and advanced mountain bikers. This single-track, one-way trail system includes multiple switchbacks, berms, rollers, and fun for all to enjoy.

The new Lakeville mountain bike course is fun for the whole family.

See the map for this new, year-round mountain bike trail system. You can access the trailhead in Casperson Park by parking in the gravel lot north of the soccer fields at 19720 Juno Trail. Watch for trail updates and trail conditions on the clubs’ Facebook page.

For those visiting the area who want to learn more about connecting from the area hotels to the trails and fun things to do when not riding, see the At-A-Glance Lakeville and their map.

Bike Pic Sept. 11, ice cream smiles Sunday around the world!

This Bike Pic, Ice Cream Smiles Sunday, enjoy the last views of summers scenery while riding and enjoying stopping with friends for a sweet treat!

Get into the zone when continuing your time outdoors and your #NextBikeAdventure. View all the great ideas and bike destinations in the latest Iowa or Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide. Then plan your next outing with family and friends in one of Minnesota’s HaveFunBiking destinations. And now, check out more stories at Let’s Do MN.

Thanks for viewing our latest bike pic

Now rolling through our 18th year as a bike tourism media, enjoy! As we pedal forward, we aim to encourage more people to bike and have fun while highlighting all the unforgettable places you can ride. As we continue to showcase more places to have fun, we hope the photos we shoot are worth a grin. Enjoy the information and stories we have posted as you scroll through.

Do you have a fun bicycle-related photo of yourself or someone you may know we should post? If so, please send your picture(s) to [email protected]. Please Include a brief caption to the image, who shot it, and where. Photo(s) should be a minimum of 1,000 pixels wide or larger to be considered. You will receive photo credit and acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram if we use your photo.

As we continue encouraging more people to bike, please view our Destination section at HaveFunBiking.com for your #NextBikeAdventure. Also, check out the MN Bike Guide, now mobile-friendly, as we enter our 13th year of producing this handy information booklet full of maps.

Remember, bookmark HaveFunBiking.com on your cell phone and find your next adventure at your fingertips! Please share our pics with your friends, and don’t forget to smile. We may be around the corner with one of our cameras ready to document your next cameo appearance while you are riding and having fun. You could be in one of our next Pic of the Day.

Have a great day with a safe and memorable year ahead!

Bike Pic Aug 27, a picture-perfect day for a ride, pedal safe!

This bike pic Saturday, with the perfect riding weather, enjoy driving your bike as if it were a car and obey the rules of the road or trail and keep a social distance from others.

Thanks for viewing our latest bike pic

Have a great day with a safe and memorable year ahead!

Bike Pic Sept. 12, ice cream smiles Sunday around the world!

This Bike Pic Ice Cream Smiles Sunday, its another perfect weather day to be out riding and enjoying a memorable ride, stopping along the way for a sweet treat!

Get into the zone when continuing your time outdoors and your #NextBikeAdventure. View all the great ideas and bike destinations in the latest Iowa or Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide. Then plan your next outing with family and friends in one of Minnesota’s HaveFunBiking Destinations. An now, check out more stories at Let’s Do MN.

Thanks for viewing our latest bike pic

Now rolling through our 16th year as a bike tourism media, enjoy! As we pedal forward, our goal is to encourage more people to bike and have fun while highlighting all the unforgettable places for you to ride. As we continue to showcase more places to have fun, we hope the photos we shoot are worth a grin. Enjoy the information and stories we have posted as you scroll through.

Do you have a fun bicycle-related photo of yourself or someone you may know we should post? If so, please send your picture(s) to [email protected]. Include a brief caption (for each) of who is in the photo (if you know) and where the pic was shot? Photo(s) should be a minimum of 1,000 pixels wide or larger to be considered. If we use your photo, you will receive photo credit and acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

As we continue to encourage more people to bike, please view our Destination section at HaveFunBiking.com for your #NextBikeAdventure. Also, check out the MN Bike Guide, now mobile-friendly as we enter into our 13th year of producing this handy information booklet full of maps.

Have a great day with a safe, memorable 2021!

Bike Pic Sept. 03, a strange, but fun ride

Some cyclists ride the darnedest things. Here in this bike pic, this biker chick stopped in a city park looking for a new mode of transportation to drive. Do you have a favorite photo you would like to share?

Get into the zone when continuing your time outdoors and your #NextBikeAdventure. View all the great ideas and bike destinations in the latest Iowa or Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide. Then plan your next outing with family and friends in one of Minnesota’s HaveFunBiking Destinations. An now, check out more stories at Let’s Do MN.

Thanks for viewing our latest bike pic

Have a great day with a safe, memorable 2021!

Bike pic Sept 02, riding into the Monday morning sun

Today’s Memorial Day bike pic, we look at the fun everyone is still having on this holiday weekend, on September 2nd. In this photo, we captured this group of touring cyclist riding though Hopkins on a Hiawathatha Bicycle Club bike ride.

Get into your bike ride planning mode to continue your summer fun and your #NextBikeAdventure. View all the fun ideas and HaveFunBiking Destinations in both the Minnesota Bike/Hike Guide and the Iowa Bike Guide.

Thanks for viewing our ‘Monday’ Bike Pic

Now, rolling into our 14th year as a bicycle media, our goal is to continue to encourage more people to bike, while showcasing unforgettable places to ride. As we search for more fun photos worth a grin, share your stories so more can find their next adventure. Then, while out there if you see us along a paved or mountain bike trail, be prepared to smile. You never know where our cameras will be and what we will post next!

Submit your photos

Do you have a fun photo of yourself or someone you know that you would like to see us publish? If so, please send it our way and we may use it. Send your picture(s) to [email protected] with a brief caption (of each), including who is in the photo (if you know?) and where it was taken. Photo(s) should be at least 900 pixels wide for us to use them. If we use your photo, you will receive photo credit and an acknowledgment on Facebook and Instagram.

See our blog

As HaveFunBiking continues to encourage more people to ride, please see our media’s to find your next adventure. We are proud of the updated – At-a-Glance information and maps we are known for in the HFB Destination section on our website and in the guide. Now, as the Bike/Hike Guide goes into its seventh year of production, we are adding a whole new dimension of bicycle tourism information available for mobile devices where you may see some additional bike pics – maybe of yourself so.

Bookmark HaveFunBiking.com and find your next adventure – we may capture you in one of the next photos we post.

Have a great day!

Join the fun, discover a park by bicycle this Saturday, September 29

This Saturday, thousands of people will have fun exploring parks and public lands by bicycle as part of the third annual ‘Bike Your Park Day‘. Nearly 5,000 participants have already registered over 500 rides in 47 U.S. states, including Iowa and Minnesota. See events scheduled or plan your own ride to a park. Most green spaces offer free admission when you drive your bike vs. a car when visiting.

Many parks, (local, state and national) offer mountain bike trails.

Fun for all

“Bike Your Park Day is a great way to encourage visitors to explore their national parks and public lands by bicycle,” said Krista Sherwood with the National Park Service’s Conservation & Outdoor Recreation Programs. “Bicycling as active transportation and healthy recreation is a fun way to experience the setting in a more natural way while also promoting public health, resource protection, and other economic and social benefits while also reducing vehicle congestion and contributing to the quality of life for surrounding communities.”

The city park, around Lake Winona is an option in Southern Minnesota.

Planning a Bike to Park Day visit can be fun

People who want to participate in Bike Your Park Day can design their own ride — any distance, any style of bicycling, and any type of green space or public land that is open to bicycles. Participants register their ride for free at BikeYourParkDay.org, and an interactive map displays all of the rides taking place.

Bike Your Park Day’s interactive map includes many rides that are open for others to join. People can contact the ride organizer via the interactive website. Those who have questions about Bike Your Park Day can contact one of the Bike Your Park Day volunteer advisors based in 36 U.S. states and six countries. They can answer questions about bicycle safety, bike-friendly routes, and nearby parks and public lands.

Introduce a child to biking in a park. They will thank you in the years to come.

Plan your own ride

Tools are available for those wishing to share or promote their ride, including the Bike Your Park Day logo, sample social media posts and images, a template press release/newsletter article, and a downloadable fill-in-the-blanks poster. The Bike Your Park Day hashtag is #bikeyourpark.

In the past two years, the event has seen more than 20,000 people participate, from all 50 states and over a dozen countries.

Generous sponsors of Bike Your Park Day include Ridgeland, Mississippi, Amtrak, and Black Coffee Roasting Co.