Mississippi Park Connection

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Mississippi Park Connection

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We are the nonprofit partner of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. Rivers embody change. They invite discovery. Discover your river.

Not at a distance or in the abstract. But rather, discoveries that happen when you’re so close you can touch the river and see beneath its surface. When you can smell springtime returning or hear the whistle of a wood duck or shiver on a winter’s day. Mississippi Park Connection wants everyone to experience these moments, and they can — without ever leaving the Twin Cities metro area. At 72 miles long, the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area presents an infinite number of ways to connect with the river. And in each experience, Mississippi Park Connection sees opportunity — in education, recreation, science,the arts, community engagement and more. Strengthening connections is our mission for a park that’s a national treasure and a river of global acclaim. Ever flowing, always changing, the Great River offers endless promise.

09/30/2026

Thank you to everyone who spent National Public Lands Day caring for the Mississippi River with us! 🌱

Together with the National Park Service and Mississippi Park Connection, volunteers removed buckthorn at Crosby Farm Regional Park. It’s the kind of work that happens branch by branch, with neighbors working side by side to care for their national park.

We’re grateful for the time, energy, and care you brought to this place. Interested in joining us for the next project? Explore upcoming volunteer opportunities at parkconnection.org/habitat-restoration-volunteer-events or at

09/25/2026

A little care today can make room for what comes next. 🌱

This Saturday is National Public Lands Day, and we’re spending the morning at Crosby Farm Regional Park with the National Park Service. Join us to remove buckthorn near Watergate Marina, close to the future site of the Mississippi River Learning Center.

Come lend a hand from 9 a.m. to noon, then head to Hidden Falls to celebrate National Public Lands Day with the City of Saint Paul and other partners.

📍 Crosby Farm Regional Park, St. Paul
📅 Saturday, September 26, 9 a.m.–noon
🔗 Sign up: https://parkconnection.org/events/2026/09/26/npld (and at events link in bio)

We’d love to see you by the river!

What’s a park, trail, or other public place you love spending time in?

09/17/2026

What comes alive after the sun goes down? 🌙🦇

Step into the nighttime world of Crosby Farm Regional Park at Park After Dark! Search for insects with an entomologist, listen for bats using an ultrasonic detector, uncover clues about snakes, explore the floodplain forest on a ranger-led walk, and see the moon up close through a scope.

Then slow down beside the Mississippi River with a s’more around the fire as the moon rises.

📅 Saturday, September 19
🕖 7–10:30 p.m.
📍 Crosby Farm Regional Park
🎟️ Free!

Most activities are drop-in, but registration is encouraged so you receive weather and event updates. (The river cruise requires separate registration and currently has a waitlist.)

Learn more and register: parkconnection.org/events/2026/9/19/pad (link to events in bio)

Half the park is after dark. Come discover what you’ve been missing!

09/15/2026

Belonging in the outdoors doesn’t happen by accident. It grows when people have opportunities to experience the park in ways that feel welcoming, joyful, and created with them in mind.

Third Space Thursday is one way MPC works to expand access to the Mississippi River and national park. These BIPOC-centered gatherings create space for community members who have not always been welcomed, represented, or prioritized in outdoor spaces to connect with the river and with one another.

Join us for the final Third Space Thursday of the season this week! Enjoy food, try a paddling demonstration, capture the moment with photos, dance to music from a live DJ, and spend a joyful evening in community along the Mississippi River.

🗓 Thursday, September 17, 5:30-7:30pm
📍Boom Island Park, 724 Sibley St. NE
(meet across the from the Boom Island Lighthouse)
🔗For more information and registration: parkconnection.org/events/2026/09/17/tst

09/11/2026

It was great to get out on Pickerel Lake with our partners at MNUFC and Ecolab for a day of paddling, cleanup, and caring for habitat and the national park on the Mississippi River together!

09/09/2026

Okay, September is showing off a little. 👀

Watch a national parks film and meet the filmmaker. 🎬
Paddle the Mississippi in Cottage Grove. 🛶
Explore how our forests are adapting to a changing climate. 🌳
Join us for the final Third Space Thursday of the year. 🎉
Experience your national park after dark. 🌙

There are some pretty special ways to experience the Mississippi coming up over the next couple of weeks.

👉 Swipe to see what’s happening, then find all the details at parkconnection.org/events (link in bio).

See you by the river! 🌊

09/01/2026

September has entered the chat. 🍂👀

And with it comes plenty of opportunities to get out along the Mississippi River.

Paddles, walks, community events, opportunities to learn and more are coming up over the next couple of weeks.

👉 Swipe to see what’s happening in your national park: parkconnection.org/events (link in bio)

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area The Parkway Theater

08/29/2026

We’re still smiling about Picnic for the Park 2026. 💚

From a close encounter with a kestrel to Danza Ketzal’s unforgettable performance, lively auction bidding, delicious food, and a room full of raised paddles, the evening was filled with moments worth remembering.

Most of all, we’re grateful. Together, more than 150 guests helped raise over $74,000 for the Mississippi River and its national park.

Take a look back at this special evening—and hear what the night meant to Executive Director Ellen Reed: https://parkconnection.org/blog/2026/8/28/picnic-for-the-park-2026 (link to blog in bio).

And save the date for next year: September 9, 2027!

Images courtesy of Edwige and Kurt Moses.

08/28/2026

🎡 The Great Minnesota Get-Together wouldn’t be complete without a little Mississippi River. 🌊

We’re headed to the State Fair!

Come say hello, meet some of the people who care for your national park, and learn something new about the Mississippi River right here in the Twin Cities.

Find us at the Fair:
🌿 Mississippi Park Connection at the Eco Experience: August 28, August 30 & September 4
🏞️ National Park Service at the DNR Building: September 2

Stop by, say hi, and talk river with us. We’ll see you at the Fair! 👋

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area

08/26/2026

What can you discover on one stretch of the Mississippi River?

A blooming American lotus. An eagle’s nest occupied for decades. Native plants that offer clues about the health of the surrounding habitat. And stories that reveal how people have lived with—and changed—this landscape over time.

On the new Paddle with a Ranger route near Cottage Grove, the river becomes your guide. Along the way, you may encounter monarch butterflies, great blue herons, belted kingfishers, cardinal flowers, wild rice, and one of Minnesota’s largest native wildflower blooms. You may also learn about Mahpiya Hota Win, or Grey Cloud Woman II; the Grey Cloud lime kiln; Joe LaBathe and Settlers Island; and the enduring Dakota and Ojibwe connections to this place.

Every plant, bird, structure, and story offers another way to understand the river. Come experience this remarkable part of your national park from the water.

🛶 Paddle with a Ranger: Cottage Grove
📅 Friday, August 28 and Friday, September 18
📍 Hazen P. Mooers Park
🔗 https://parkconnection.org/events/2026/8/28/cottage-grove and at events link in bio

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area

Address

111 Kellogg Boulevard E, Ste 105
Saint Paul, MN
55101

Telephone

+16512918161

Website

http://www.parkconnection.org/

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