Looking to uncover some history while hiking? The Brickyard Hike in St Paul is right up your alley. The short hike packs a punch with the vertical ascent up the Mississippi River Bed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what makes the hike so interesting is seeing remnants of the old brickyard ovens still dug into the side of the hillside. Little did I realize this hike was the place I was searching for last year, after reading a popular book inspired by MN River towns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After reading This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger<\/a> I was fascinated with MN River Culture and the area known as the West Side Flats. It was the slums of St Paul where cast-off was sent to live. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From my understanding, all evidence of their existence was wiped away after flooding. That was until I stumbled on an article on the National Parks Services about a place called the Brickyard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doing some more digging, I found old maps with information about fossil hunting and ice climbing waterfalls. After some land erosion problems, those are no longer allowed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But with all the misinformation online, I wanted to see what was still available. After a hike to the nearby Crosby Farm Regional Park’s Hidden Slot Canyon<\/a>, we decided to see what was still hike able.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lilydale Regional Park in St. Paul is a 636-acre park in St Paul. There are two areas to the park, Harriet Island and the Brickyards. The most well-known is Harriet Island. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many summer festivals are held here, like the MN Irish Festival. There are picnic shelters, a giant playground, walking paths, ball fields, and riverboat cruises leaving there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just west of the island is the brickyards section. Filled with trails, the urban forest is a popular location to explore by locals. There is a paddle share pickup and Mississippi River access. And the reason we’ve come to explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lilydale Regional Park area is a floodplain. Long before, it was a hot bet of home development in something that was called the West Side Flats. Some of the poorest residents of Saint Paul called the area home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You can learn a little more about the history in my review of real-life location in the book This Tender Land<\/a>. But in 1965, historic flooding let the entire area of the West Side Flats flatten. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The city brought up the land and transformed it into a park. Today it is managed by the city of St. Paul and the National Park Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The trail park stretches along the Mississippi River area. The spot I wanted to explore was the Brickyard. After doing some digging, I was able to find a map<\/a> of the area to explore. Google Maps only brings people to one parking lot close by. There are actually many more. For those looking for the trailhead, go to 601-899 S Joy Ave, St Paul MN 55118<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The trail is a switchback trail out and back from the bottom of the riverbed to the top of the hill, some 190 feet in elevation. I’m not sure why this was a surprise to me when I arrived. Usually, there is a reason the trails have a switchback. I was up for the challenge. The trail is 1.8 miles total.<\/p>\n\n\nLilydale Regional Park<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
History of Lilydale Regional Park in St Paul<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Getting to the Brickyard Hiking Trial in St Paul<\/h3>\n\n\n\n