“In 1911 Alphaeus B. Stickney . . . proposed that virtually the entire river valley within the city, including the Crosby, Pickerel Lake, and Pig’s Eye areas, become a continuous forest park . . .”
—Friends of the Mississippi River
The name sounds like it’s straight out of a fairytale, but Lilydale Regional Park offers very real connections to nature and the Mississippi River.
The road through the park beneath a canopy of trees has views of a lake on one side; a river on the other. Paved bicycle and walking trails weave through the floodplain forest. Fishing and boating on Pickerel Lake, hiking, birdwatching, a dog park, and a steel-framed picnic pavilion attract visitors to Lilydale, which is connected by bike trail to Harriet Island Regional Park.
The area was once the Village of Lilydale, established in 1886 and named for the lily pads that float on Pickerel Lake. Frequent flooding in the river flats was too much for residents, who sold their land to Ramsey County in 1973. The City of Lilydale moved up to the nearby bluffs. Eventually the county transferred more than 600 acres to the City of St. Paul in 1984 for the creation of a park. Cleanup
involved years of residential and industrial debris removal.
But a sense of history remains. Twin Cities Brick Company fired building materials there from 1894 until the 1970s. Brick-making kilns can still be found in the park, although much of “The Brickyard” area is restricted due to unstable slopes.
The recent Lilydale Regional Park improvement project was the first major initiative of the Saint Paul Parks Conservancy. Work culminated in 2022 with the construction of a 20-foottall Kasota stone monument. It marks the north entrance to the park and welcomes guests to experience all that nature
along the river has to offer.
Article written by Kathy Berdan. Pen & Ink drawing (you add the color!) by Jeanne Kosfeld.
Scheduled to be released on May 16, 2025, People & Parks is a unique coloring book that celebrates the beauty and history of Saint Paul’s greenspaces. The parks included in this first-of-its-kind book are: Boyd Park, Cochran Park, Como Park, Frogtown Community Center, Harriet Island Regional Park, Lilydale Regional Park, Mears Park, Pedro Park, Phalen Park, Raspberry Island, Rice Park, Sepak Takraw Courts, Summit Lookout Park, Swede Hollow Park, Upper Landing, Wakan Tipi /Bruce Vento/Indian Mounds.
Share your love of St. Paul’s parks as a sponsor at a level that you choose. Become a sponsor today!