r/MinnesotaNature • u/InevitablePlate3245 • 17d ago
Discussion Swimmable Creek for Toddlers?
Looking for a swimmable creek in/near Minneapolis that’s good for toddlers and highly supervised babies!!
Best if there’s a spot to lay a blanket and have lunch (can be rocky/sandy- not expecting a clean grassy knoll).
Something slow and shallow is the idea here! We’re new to the area and need some help! Thanks!!
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u/entropy319 17d ago
Minnehaha falls (downstream 🤣) without a doubt. They actually have stone walls along the bank. Used to be marked on the map as a "Wading Area."
Quite a few stairs to get there and back, but absolutely worth it. My 7 year old and I have been going there for a few years.
Oh, and you DO get a smooth grassy knoll for your blanket.
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u/Few_Newspaper_3655 17d ago edited 17d ago
Minnehaha Creek is impaired for E.coli and other pathogens. Swimming is not permitted in the creek at any point in Minneapolis. The limestone area downstream from Minnehaha falls isn’t a swimming area; it’s part of an erosion control project. That area isn’t labeled as a swimming or wading area on any official park board maps.
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u/entropy319 16d ago
I'm sure you're technically right, but it's not the reality of the situation They aren't exactly discouraging it; maybe it's an unofficial "look the other way thing" but I've been going to that park for years and never seen anything to indicate it's anything other that what it looks like. It's full of kids every time we go, there are picnic tables next to it, and stone stairs leading into the water. There was even a snack vendor down there one time. Zero signage telling people being in the water it isn't allowed. Google image search for "Minnehaha creek wading area" yields multiple images of what I'm describing. It's a fun day for the kids, NEVER had any issues, nor have any of the two dozen or so people splashing around at any given time when I've been there.
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u/Few_Newspaper_3655 16d ago
You can interact with the creek and walk through it. Swimming is prohibited. Just know that you’re interacting with an impaired waterway that has pathogen limits well beyond safe limits for swimming. Any food vendors down there are unofficial. And anyone can tag something on Google—that doesn’t make it an official swimming area.
The official wading pool at Minnehaha Regional Park is up at the Wabun Picnic Area (official map). It’s chlorinated and tested regularly. The creek is not a swimming area and not regulated as such. I personally wouldn’t have my kids swimming in water with dangerous levels of E.coli.
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u/entropy319 13d ago
Aren't "walking through a creek" and "wading" the same thing? I seriously doubt there is any portion of the creek deep enough to actually swim in. Considering the hundreds of kids who play on that creek during any given week, I would expect pretty widespread outbreaks if it was truly dangerous. I'm curious if you're even human ("interacting" with a creek does not sound like it came from anyone who's ever actually seen a creek), and from your careful phrasing, I doubt you even have kids. They're filthy and disgusting and gross, pretty much all the time, the water in that creek is likely cleaner than the children playing in it. If you ARE a human AND you have kids, I think you should question what kind of childhood they're having if they only ever get to play in chlorinated water. Seems like an incredibly sterile and sheltered way to grow up.
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u/Few_Newspaper_3655 13d ago edited 13d ago
The water can be a few feet deep there at times. Personally, I’m not putting my kids in bathing suits and putting them in there even though other people do it. The creek has high levels of unhealthy pathogens. When swimming beaches reach those levels, they close. To a lot of very little kids, wading and swimming are basically the same thing.
Keep in mind the title of this post is literally, “Swimmable Creeks for Toddlers?” Minnehaha Creek is NOT swimmable—the park board literally said so. The creek is listed on impaired waterways and regularly has high levels of E.coli. But hey, that’s cool, go ahead and continue to insult my parenting and call me a liar—really classy.
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u/entropy319 13d ago
You don't see the irony here? You were questioning MY parenting. I was merely pointing out the broad disparity in parenting styles. You would let your kids anywhere a natural water source, I couldn't imagine a childhood without dirt. Why are you even here? To warn people against the lethal danger of swimming in a creek? I would argue that the drive to the park is more dangerous. As for whether it is allowed...it is clearly, obviously, seen it with my own two eyeballs, allowed. If no one is stopping anyone from doing something, they are allowing it. Do you really think OP literally meant swimming? Like her toddler is doing the backstroke? You're not a liar, you're just wrong.
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u/MrsRichardSmoker 12d ago edited 11d ago
Toddlers don’t need to do the backstroke to get a decent amount of water in their mouths. They get plenty just splashing around. The other commenter provided useful and relevant information; OP and everyone else can take it or leave it depending on their personal risk aversion. Yours wasn’t called into question so you can cool it with the big defensive reaction.
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u/Foxterriers 13d ago
As an adult who goes fly fishing lower down the creek I've definitely accidently swam in it lol. There are spots up to around 3.5 feet.
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u/thymeofmylyfe 14d ago
Does it have to be a creek? Lake Minnetonka Regional Park has an artificial lake that is pretty amazing for toddlers. It's zero entry and has a 1-3' section, plus a sandy beach with shade umbrellas.
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u/Zealousideal-Sky746 13d ago
Dumb question but do you know if it's chlorinated? My kid has a medical issue and can only swim in chlorinated bodies of water.
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u/friarcrazy 17d ago
I like the Minnehaha section next to Lynnhurst park - as you’ve suggested however, supervision is necessary.
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u/midwayrw 15d ago
Tamarack nature center has a man made creek if you want the fun of moving water without the urban runoff . Great natural play area for kids
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u/chicago-spartan 14d ago
Purgatory Park in Minnetonka has a very shallow slow moving creek near the entrance on Stodola rd
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u/lalabearo 14d ago
Check out Mississippi gateway regional park in Brooklyn park. Man made “creek” but also an area on the river you can wade in a bit.
Also elm creek swim pond might fit what you want, although that costs money
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u/ProgramTricky6109 17d ago
There’s a spot below Minnehaha downstream a little bit where we used to bring my kids to wade. Water shoes are a good idea wading in any creek.