Crosby Farm

Crosby Farm is a regional park in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, in the floodplain forests along the Mississippi River. It is named after a farmstead Thomas Crosby owned from 1858 to 1886. Crosby Farm Regional Park is maintained by the City of Saint Paul and is within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.^[2]

Crosby Farm
Crosby Farm, February 2016
Type	Natural park
Location	Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Coordinates	44.909285°N 93.145925°W / 44.909285; -93.145925
Area	534 acres (2.16 km2)[1]
Created	1887
Status	Open all year
Website	Crosby Farm Regional Park

History

Thomas Crosby acquired the original, 160-acre (0.65 km²) farm in 1858 at the West End/Highland Park area of Saint Paul and farmed it until his death in 1886. A succession of other families owned the farm over the following decades. In the 1960s, the Saint Paul Port Authority acquired the land and leased it as parkland to the City of Saint Paul.^[2]

Regional park

The 534-acre (2.16 km²),^[1] contiguous Hidden Falls and Crosby Farm regional parks are Saint Paul's largest natural park.^[3] Crosby Farm park protects the floodplain forest along the Mississippi River corridor's north bank, the dense oak forest adjacent to the river bluff, and several wetlands and small lakes, including Crosby Lake and Upper Lake.^[4]

Recreation

Crosby Farm Regional Park includes 6.7 miles (10.8 km) of paved trails for hiking and cycling that connect it to the Watergate Marina and Hidden Falls Regional Park.^[5][6] Popular activities include picnicking, hiking, boating, fishing, cycling, and cross-country skiing.^[2]

See also

• History of Saint Paul, Minnesota
• Upper Mississippi River

References

1. "Crosby Farm Regional Park". Friends of the Mississippi River. 2010-08-04. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
2. "Crosby Farm Regional Park - Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. National Park Service. 2020-02-28. Archived from the original on 2007-12-07. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
3. Vezner, Tad (2017-10-24). "It's the biggest park in St. Paul. And nobody knows about it". Pioneer Press. Archived from the original on 2017-10-24. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
4. "Crosby Farm Regional Park | Saint Paul, Minnesota". www.stpaul.gov. City of Saint Paul. Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
5. "Hidden Falls, Mississippi River". Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
6. Editors, Mpls St Paul (2020-04-11). "38 Perfect Parks". Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-04. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)

External links

• Crosby Farm Regional Park map
• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: Crosby Lake
• Mississippi National River and Recreation Area