Exploring Brickyards area of Lilydale regional park

I've recently visited the Brickyards area of Lilydale regional park a couple of times, and thought it was worth a blog post. Located just down the road from Harriet Island park in St. Paul, it is a great place to get away from town without ever really leaving town.

The Brickyard trail is named after the Twin Cities Brick Company, which used to be located on the property. You can still see remnants of this, for more info on the history, check out the NPS website.


Located on a hill, waterfalls are formed from small streams of water flowing in places where cliffs (due to the brick quarry) are located. In the winter they form large walls, which are great for climbing. I got the chance to go ice climbing there, and had a great time.

As I was snowshoeing along the trail, I noticed a couple of groups sledding down the trail, which is something I didn't do, but clearly would be a fun activity if you've got a sled sitting around. For one, it sure would speed up your trip down to the car if you parked on the bottom!

I definitely recommend visiting this trail to anyone interested in a nice hike through the woods.

Crashed Ice 2013

Its been a while since I last posted, but as I've explained before, that means I've been busy going on adventures! The one I'll be talking about today wasn't adventurous for me (I was a spectator), but for the competitors, it certainly was.

I wrote about crashed ice last year, and it was similarly a very busy weekend in St. Paul. In addition to Crashed Ice, there was a parade and some winter carnival festivities going on downtown. I was happy to hear that Red Bull would be putting the event on again, as it is really a unique event drawing many people to visit the twin cities.

The course was a little longer this year, but the idea was still the same: try to stay up on your skates, and if you fall, don't give up as someone else may fall ahead of you. That is probably over simplifying it, but if you ask any of the daredevil participants, they would likely give you a pretty similar take. The fact that falling could happen to anyone at anytime added to the excitement, and suspense of watching the racers fly by along the track.

If you want a taste of what Crashed Ice is all about, check out the youtube video below.

It was definitely a fun event to watch and I hope to see it back in Minnesota again next year!