Evergreen Park, Roseville Minnesota

We have a hanging in our house that says "Once a year, go someplace you have never been."
- The Dalai Lama.

I've never been behind my garage. Does that count? Not Zen enough?

However, we had never been to Evergreen Park in Roseville, Minnesota, either, until today (Map). 

This suburban park is large and has nice trees plus a fence around the playground to keep the kiddos away from the street, leaving you free to read a book or play with your smartphone while they run and jump and risk injury.* The bathrooms are right next to the playground, which is a bonus when your kid shrieks, "I have to go pee!" at the last minute. It looks like the have a space for birthday parties as well.

There are baseball fields where Little League games take place, and we happened to arrive on one such day, so the place was teeming with kids in uniforms and overly competitive parents. Oh hey! There's a snack counter with hot dogs and pulled pork sandwiches. Probably only on Little League days, but be warned in case your kid, like mine, wants all the food he sees someone else having. There's a small parking lot right next to the playground, but that won't help you if there are games happening. We parked across the four-lane, median-divided street, which was less than ideal.

We don't go to the suburbs much because we are Those People, but we hear that they have all the good schools, malls, and parks.

Evergreen Park

1810 County Road B

Roseville, MN

 

*I'm KIDDING. I always bring a flask with me.ª

ªOK, kidding again. We particularly enjoyed the twisty slide and the green tubey thing with the holes in it. The whole family could get in there at once or one person could be outside and play Troll Under the Bridge.