Update On The Upper Minnehaha Creek Corridor Project

The Upper Minnehaha Creek Corridor extends from the creek headwaters at Gray’s Bay for six miles through the city of Minnetonka, encompassing nearly one-third of the creek’s length. This area is unique in many ways—most notably, about 85% of the adjoining land is either publicly owned or controlled.

Recognizing that this represented an extraordinary opportunity to collaborate on creating a premier natural resource for residents to enjoy, the Minnetonka City Council and Park Board, Minnehaha Creek Watershed District Board, Three Rivers Park District Board and Hennepin County’s area commissioner met nearly five years ago to discuss a shared vision for the Upper Minnehaha Creek Corridor.

Since then, the most visible improvements have taken place in , surrounding the .

A serpentine stone wall has been installed on the property, featuring etched stones with icons representing Minnetonka’s history. This area is known as “Heritage Gardens.” This spring, a blue stone patio areas and an extension of the boardwalk connection within the large stonewall circle of the Heritage Garden has been completed. At present, the boardwalk stops just short of its planned connection to the site of a future pedestrian bridge over Minnehaha Creek that will provide access from the Baker Road and Minnetonka Boulevard intersection. Construction of the bridge abutments began in May, and installation of a wrought-iron arbor is also planned in this area.

Improvements to this area have been funded not through taxpayer dollars but through interest from the city of Minnetonka’s Community Investment Fund. This fund was created to be used solely to pay the capital costs for projects of general benefit to the residents of Minnetonka. Examples of other projects for which the Community Investment Fund’s interest has been used in the past include construction and/or renovation of the , the , , and the Minnetonka Public Works building.