Home / Parks in and around Minnesota / Twin Cities Parks / Battle Creek Park

Battle Creek Park

Waterfall | Battle Creek Park, MN | View enlarged image

Not ten minutes from the heart of Downtown Saint Paul, Battle Creek Regional Park offers visitors a scenic walk among verdant woodlands and rushing waters, and a chance to see deer, fox, hawks, owls, and migratory waterfowl. The Creek itself, which feeds into Pig's Eye Lake, was named for the Battle of Kaposai, a skirmish between the Ojibwa and Dakota tribes which took place in 1842.

There are two actual sections to the park divided by a stretch of suburban housing. They are linked by a hiking/cycling trail, and there are parking lots by both. The Southern portion runs along the bluffs that trace Battle Creek and offers access to mountain bike trails. The Northern portion is more forest, with a few ponds and small brooks. Wood Ducks and Mallards usually stop here to nest and have their young, and we've spotted numerous herons, egrets, and other waterfowl. The trails are dotted with Wild Geranium and Rue Anemone in the spring and early summer.

There is a limestone cave near the Southern entrance to the park that is closed to the public; Saint Paul authorities report that the caves had to be bricked off after some teenagers died in a cave-in.

Directions:

Location: Hwy 61 & Lower Afton Rd.

(From I-94) Take 694 South to Valley Creek Road, and take a right. Valley Creek Road will turn into Lower Afton Road as it crosses Century Avenue. The Parking Lot will be about 2 miles down on the right.

Distance from St. Paul, MN: Approximately 6 Miles

View Map

Regulations:

Multimedia:

Spotted Salamander | Photo Credit: Robert Wicklund | Battle Creek Park, MN Wild Geranium | Battle Creek Park, MN Cave | Battle Creek Park, MN   Fall Colors | Battle Creek Park, MN

Add to our growing wildlife encyclopedia! Submit a photo or other footage of this species!*

*Submissions are full and credited property of their original owner. The name of the sender will be printed below the submission unless otherwise requested. BMS maintains one-time printing rights only. For legal reasons, all video and photography must be your own work. If there is a copyright on it, you must own it. Video, photos, and writing must have been created in Minnesota or surrounding area to be added to our database.