Need to know:

This free trail was a great little hidden gem! It’s part of the Spring Lake Park Reserve and it sits right on the Mississippi River. I honestly can’t believe I haven’t been here before since it’s so close to home. Well, I lied, once I got lost bringing my boys to YMCA day camp and ended up here but it was short lived when I didn’t see any signs of day campers!


There is a paved trail next to the main parking lot with a beautiful river view. They also have a big picnic area, pavilion, restrooms and a playground. We always seek out the dirt trails though, the kind that weave and wind through the trees, over rocks and by water, they are our fave. We took the trail behind the playground and close to the river. Sorry, I’m no good with that north/south/east/west crap, I base my directions off landmarks.


Another thing you should know about me going forward is that I’m not a planner. I usually look at the trail map (if there is one) to get a general idea of where to go but then we just start walking and see where it leads us. It sometimes drives my kids crazy because they’ll ask how much is left and I just shrug.

The water is always a winner!

This particular day my youngest son didn’t want to walk far. He’s always the one to say he doesn’t want to hike, whines a bit but then always ends up loving it the most. I’m going to give you my best tips for hiking with youngsters in a future post, but I knew that going down closer to the water was going to win him over. It always does! There are a few paths down to the river but I warn you, if it’s a wet day you’re going to slide around a bit if you’re not careful. If you’ve got real little ones, I’d hold a hand going down. I think at least one kid wiped out on the way down but that’s nothing new. I expect dirty pants after EVERY hiking trip.


The river had big chunks of floating ice and that was perfection for (all three of) my boys! They could’ve stayed there all day throwing rocks in and breaking the ice. I absolutely love the sweet sound of the clinking ice chunks on the water, although it was muffled by the sweet sound of my overly loud children. I swear that’s why we hardly ever see any wildlife on our hikes!

You may be lucky and have the trails to yourself!

We did see a few people on the trail since it was a Saturday but it was not busy by any means. In conclusion, I would definitely come back here again and I’m looking forward to the snow because they keep the trails open for winter hiking and snowshoeing (you can ski on some as well). Hastings is a gem of a city with much more to offer than just this place so if you’re making a day of it, check out downtown Hastings or head over to Vermillion Falls (check out my post on Vermillion).

Please let me know in the comments if you’ve explored here before!

Happy exploring!

More Info:

• Dogs welcome on leash
• No admission fee
• Open year round
• Restrooms available (doesn’t somebody always have to poop when you arrive?)
• They’ve got a good sized playground close to the parking lot
• Over 6 miles of paved trails & 5 miles of dirt trails