It was a beautiful weekend, wasn’t it? The floundering Minnesota Vikings aside, the weather was spectacular for November in Minnesota. Sunday morning I popped in my earbuds (walking and listening to podcasts is a favorite activity of mine…my current favorite is ‘How I Built This‘). I went for a walk from the courthouse in Douglas County to Big Ole Park and then City Park. There is a trail that branches off the Central Lakes Trail and takes you along the eastern shore of Lake Agnes. This year another branch off the trail was added. It is paved and will take you to Kenwood Drive and then north/south. It is a separate trail from Kenwood and is nice for walkers, bikers, etc. as before there wasn’t a designated path. It passed right by Caribou Coffee for those needing a caffeine boost.
During my walk I took a few pictures with my iPhone and have shared them with commentary.
The Douglas County Courthouse is located in the 300 block of 8th Ave West between Douglas and Elm streets (west of Broadway in Alexandria).
Big Ole. He faces south and used to be located about 2 blocks south of his current position. Behind Big Ole is the Central Lakes Trail and Lake Agnes.
Big Ole had a makeover (new paint) in 2015-2016.
This is part of a sitting area in Big Ole Park.
Dogs are welcome at Big Ole Park and the trail. It is nice that the city has provided a pet waste station. Big Ole Park also has restrooms for humans.
This is something new to the park and trail. It is a handy tune-up station for bikes and more. There is even a tire pump.
I like inline skating and you will often find me here lacing up.
Lake Agnes with Lake Henry in the distance. The two lakes connect and really are just one lake with south and north bays.
Shuffleboard at City Park. Lake Henry is visible on the left. There is a public beach that can’t quite be seen in this photo but it is there and pretty nice for small children.
Horseshoes and Lake Henry at City Park.
The City Park Bandstand.
There also is a fishing pier at City Park.