The Grand Rounds Byway is 50 miles of open space surrounding Minneapolis. Today’s walks took me to these byway districts: Chain of Lakes, Minnehaha and Downtown Riverfront.

Chain of Lakes

The day started with a walk around two lakes near my AirBnB: Bde Maka Ska (formerly Lake Calhoun) and Lake of the Isles.

Flora and fauna around the lakes.

Minnehaha

After breakfast, I headed to Minnehaha Park.

I followed Minnehaha Creek to the Mississippi River.

Then I made quick stops at Lake Nokomis and Lake Hiawatha.

Downtown Waterfront

After lunch my friend Tom took me on a walking tour of the Downtown Waterfront. We started at St Anthony Main with buildings from the late 1800s. The area is home to Pillsbury A-Mill, the largest flour mill for 40 years; and Water Power Park.

Stone Arch Bridge was built by railroad magnate James J Hill (his house was on the St Paul tour).

We crossed the bridge to the Mill District (“Mill City”), which has been home to sawmills, flour mills and textile mills. It is currently home to Mill City Museum, Mill Ruins Park, North Star Woolen Mill building, the Guthrie Theater and Gold Medal Park.

First Bridge Park is the site of the first permanent span of the Mississippi River. Pilings and suspension anchors from previous bridges are on display under Hennepin Bridge.

We crossed the Hennepin Bridge to Nicollet Island and then the Merriam Street Bridge back to St Anthony Main. We stopped at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (originally a Universalist church). We ended our tour at Kramarczuk’s Sausage Company, an East European deli and restaurant established in 1954.