Outdoors

What do people in MN highly enjoy in September? Fall weather? Sure. Kids back at school? Absolutely! My birthday? Obviously. Most of all, people go bonkers for “Oktoberfest” beers. Why the quotation marks? Well, many breweries are doing different styles around the time of Oktoberfest.

“A few years ago, my friend in Buffalo did a 5K and said she runs with her girlfriends in the area. I thought to myself, ‘I wish I had something like that in Maple Grove.’ It’s not like you can be a creeper on a trail, meet someone running, and then ask if you can join them!”

Sometimes we just need a little nudge—a tiny bit of inspiration to get us up and out into the pastoral vistas of Maple Grove. Thankfully, the Maple Grove Parks and Recreation services offers opportunities for walking and biking that encourage participants to get a move on!

Spend a Saturday morning learning all about dragonflies and their unusual life cycles at the Dragonfly Festival from 10 a.m.–1 p.m. July 7 at the Eastman Nature Center ($5). All ages can visit the dragonfly tent.

In the summer months, there is a broad assortment of activities for everyone to enjoy, and going to a lake or beach is surely one of them. Working at Weaver Lake Beach since 2011, lifeguard Matthew Kampa finds his job something he looks forward to year after year.

The winter chill has vanished, and Minnesotans are trying to soak up every degree above freezing. Which means … making use of the deck or any outdoor spaces! With advancements in grilling, grillers won’t even have to decide between charcoal and gas anymore when it comes to backyard burgers.

An emerald ash borer recently came to town and realized how good we have it here in the Northwest quadrant of the Twin Cities. Soon he called his buddies to join him for a feast until the food was gone.

The snow is deep and you’re tired of breaking through the crust with each step. Enter, the snowshoe! It distributes weight over a broad area, so each footfall doesn’t become an “ankle freeze.”

Stand-up paddleboarding is a new fad perfect for a day out on the lake in Minnesota. Three Rivers Parks District hosts a lesson for those hoping to try the activity out at Fish Lake Regional Park.

Since the first infestation of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was reported in Michigan in 2002, the invasive Asian beetle has killed tens of millions of ash trees nationwide. The pest was first discovered in Minnesota in 2009.

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