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Loring Park
Rating Details »
1382 Willow St.
Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 370-4929
Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 370-4929
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
12 reviews for Loring Park
I worked at Emerson during the summers, and took students on prolonged trash walks (where we collected trash), that would often take us in and around this sweet urban green space.
There are so many stories I could tell, but I'll focus on just a few.
One time, I was playing basketball with two of my students in the early afternoon. If you've ever done this on a weekday, you're sure to be surrounded by quite a cast of characters, old-timers, youngins, dealers, G's, etc, all gathered to watch and critique the basketball ability of those still able to play.
Well, at one point, a rather bragadocious youth sauntered up with a few of his friends cradling a bottle of Grey Goose vodka. "Time to get my goose on boys!"
One of the old timers warned him, "You best be careful now. you know the police won't take kindly."
The youth, perplexed at the old-timer's lack of vision, retorted, "Man, I ain't got no problems, I AM the police." Maybe he was undercover, who knows. He walked past the courts, over to the small lake and found a nice patch of earth in the sun on which to enjoy his top shelf vodka.
At Loring Park, you will be faced with these types of situations. Get used to it, and don't try to intervene.
There was another time I took some students on a trash walk through the park a day after the annual Gay pride festival. I tell you what, we made a mint picking up spent cans of bud light. Unfortunately, I had a hard time explaining some of the other things we found (spent prophylactics, pee-drenched cell phones).
Despite the motley crews you will surely come across, Loring is one of my favorite of the city's parks. It's so close to so much (Walker, Basilica, Downtown, etc.) that you must make this a mandatory stop on any amble through downtown Minneapolis.
I live near Loring Park. I love the area. I'm within walking distance to downtown and Eat street, and today I was able to saunter over to "The Affair" event at the Mpls Convention Center. The only downside is the street parking. Thank God I have a teeny car.
Gorgeous park next to my church - always good to sit and relax there Sunday mornings - a bit of quiet next to the bustling city. Also right across from the sculpture gardens...Loring is worth the trip over the bridge if you are visiting the Walker.
The park is nice, they have free movie nights in the summer. Also, the park is very well taken care of and they are trying hard to revive it. Love the dandelion waterfall, so pretty. Walking around the lake you can get a nice view of the city and there is a little memory garden which is fun to walk around.
The people who frequent the park are another story. Besides the homeless people, there are always thugs there. Too many thugs and "ghetto" people who make disgusting comments and behave ...well you know. Avoid this place at night, too many crackheads.
Loring Park is a great park if you have never seen a park before; Also if you want to pay for parking to sit on a patch of grass.
And the squirrels are insanely obese.
Loring Park is in a prime spot in Minneapolis. It's located within walking distance of the Walker and its sculpture garden, the basilica, and good restaurants and bars in the neighborhood. It's also minutes away from downtown and on the edge of Uptown. It's more racially diverse than a lot of the other popular parks in the Twin Cities. There are tennis courts, basketball courts, a playground, and shuffle board courts open for use. There are also paths that meander through the park and plenty of green space on which to sit.
Here's a tip. There is a pond in the middle of the park. When one goes on the dock and is hidden by the reeds and other plants, it feels like one is no longer in the city, but rather in a tiny nature preserve. It's a good spot to isolate a date for some quiet time.
During the summer there is a series called music and movies in the park. Every Monday evening, I think, there's live music and a movie is shown right after. It's free and pretty chill.
Oh and there's a cool fountain there that looks like an old dandelion.
However, heed Dan S' warnings after it gets dark outside.
Loring Park is steeped in the urban mythology of Minneapolis.
One story claims that the park was once a nexus for late night hook-ups, and affectionately referred to as "whoring park". Gay-straight men would cruise other gay-straight men after the downtown bars closed, and the cops would catch a few of them entwined in various compromising positions.
According to another tale, Loring Park served as a convenient dump-site for victims of crimes of passion. One day, the park system decided to drain and clean the pond at the center of the park only to discover the remains of 20 bodies, each of them deeply implanted in the water bed silt.
Whether these stories are true or not is irrelevant; urban tales are usually attached to places, like the Loring Park, which are worth visiting. Who would bother inventing a story as captivating about a strip mall in suburbia?
The Loring Park is intimately connected to the communities and institutions surrounding it. South of it lies the scenic Sculpture Garden; the mighty dome of the Basilica towers over the west (along with the Harmon Place shops and MCTC); and the downtown skyline can be seen to its north. A seat on the sidewalk patio of the Dunn Bros. coffee shop on 15th street (to the east) offers a panoramic view of the scenery.
The beauty and location of Loring Park affords it a multitude of uses throughout the year, especially during the summer. From June through September, the park joins the Walker Arts Center for its "Movies in the Park" series. The annual Twin-Cities Pride Festival, which draws over 300,000 people over the course of two days, has been there for decades. In early August, the park is part of a trifecta of art fairs, each of which you can visit through a courtesy bus service. A well-used basketball court, two tennis courts, and a small flower garden are fixed features of the park.
Even with all the pleasures I find in Loring Park during the summer months, my heart grows fonder of it in winter. Amidst the brutal chill of the crisp Minnesota air, the park seems so refreshingly idyllic against the backdrop of a glass and steel city, as if to soften its edges:
buildings and tress blanketed in snow...
children skating on the frozen pond...
city lights illuminating the whitened landscape at night...
A perfect place to take a stroll and enjoy the nice weather (of the three months that there's no snow here.)
A wonderfully open, well maintained park with lots of mature shade trees. Park benches are plentiful if you just want to sit to enjoy the scenery and gardens. As Scott L. mentions - it does look a lot like the Lake Merrit area in Oakland.
So close to downtown and so close to perfect as far as any volunteer garden could ever get. This is such a beautiful circular garden. Very peaceful!
Places to walk, sit down. Zen near downtown.
Hours: 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/26/2008 First to Review
Nice open park, well maintained... even tho the grass has more weeds than blades of grass. Courts… Read more »
Loring Park is always a good choice for a nice afternoon walk or jog. It's located right in the city, so you get that city feel, but when you are deep in the center of the park, it almost seems far away from everything else. I always enjoy coming here. The best thing to do, if you get out of work early for some reason, and have nothing to do in the summertime. Go to Dunn Bros, get some coffee, then go sit in the park grass and watch the people around you.. It may seem creepy, but it is actually one of the most relaxing things I've ever done.
It's a great urban park, perfect for a Sunday afternoon walk or a lunch break retreat. Stay away at night, lest you be robbed by crack fiends or solicited by gay cruisers.
Loring Park is great park to go for a stroll or just lay around. During the summer they play movies in the park which are really fun. It has a great location were you can get to uptown or downtown very easily from the park. This is a great place for new or old romance or just a day in the park.
