Enjoy paddling and exploring the Chain of Lakes in Minneapolis.
Receive basic canoe safety and paddling instruction before your group hits the water in Wilderness Inquiry's 24 foot Voyageur Boats. Paddle from lagoon to lagoon learning about native plants and animals. Stop for lunch on the beach, maybe take a quick dip in the lake, and play games
with your friends before you paddle back to the take-out location to head home.
Sample Itinerary
Please note: While the itinerary presented is an accurate depiction of what your trip will be like, it is only an example. Our trips are real adventures in the outdoors--not pre-packaged tours that happen on a schedule.
Trip Start Time 00:00: Meet your group at the designated meeting spot at your designated meeting time for a brief introduction to your day and to your guides. Climb into the WI van to shuttle to the Thomas Beach area of Lake Calhoun.
00:30: At Thomas Beach you will receive basic canoe instruction as well as safety tips about loading boats and paddling the Lakes. Lake Calhoun phosphorous levels reduced by more than 66% in 1999. Note the newly landscaped ponds and wild areas planted with native flowers and grasses as well as the new bridge and walking paths added to Lake Calhoun ponds.
01:00: Paddling north, you will enter the man made lagoon that join the Chain of Lakes together. You will first paddle from Calhoun into Lake of the Isles. This lake was made when the swampy wetlands were dredged in the early 1900’s. Native grasses are being planted in an effort to increase water clarity and to reduce the number of Canada Geese inhabiting the area. There you will enter a second set of lagoons that forms the link to Cedar Lake.
01:30: Cedar Lake is a spring fed lake and has had a dramatic increase of water clarity in the past few years. Cedar Lake water clarity rose from 5.7 feet to 14 feet of depth clarity in the last three years. Part of this is due to native wetlands being restored in what is now known as “Cedar Meadows”. Up until 1999, this area was covered by grass baseball and football fields. From Cedar, you may also enter Brownie Lake, the final “link” in the Chain of Lakes.
03:00: Returning back along your initial route you will bring boats out of the water at back at Thomas Beach and gather together one last time to share paddling thoughts and reflections about the day.
03:45: Return home, explore the area, or join WI for a picnic lunch.
Travel, Terrain, Etc...
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Wilderness Inquiry is proud to serve Caribou Coffee on all our trips. Great food, great coffee, and great company are just some of the ingredients that make Wilderness Inquiry trips special.
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[ Dates & Fees ]
The Chain of Lakes is a district in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is one of seven districts that make up the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, a greenspace circling through the city. The Chain of Lakes was formed in the early 20th century when the young city purchased all of the land surrounding the lakes from which Minneapolis takes its name and nickname (the "City of Lakes"), preserving the lakes as public parks.
The Chain of Lakes district consists of Lake Harriet, Lyndale Park, Lyndale Farmstead, Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, Cedar Lake and Brownie Lake. It is also part of the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway.
For more information, visit these links:
Chain of Lakes (Minneapolis)
[ Dates & Fees ]
WI leads trips to this destination but currently has no dates scheduled. If you have a group of people interested, we can set up a customized adventure just for you! Please contact us if you are interested in a group trip to this destination.
info@wildernessinquiry.org
612-676-9400
800-728-0719
(Join our waiting list to be notified when WI schedules a trip to Minneapolis Chain of Lakes)
