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NATIONAL PARK WEEK RELATED ACTIVITIES
National Park Week celebrates the network of amazing natural, cultural and recreational sites in the National Park Service. The NPS welcomes everyone to visit their national parks and encourages people to form connections to these places that protect and preserve our shared landscapes, history, and culture.
The week of festivities officially begins with an entrance fee-free day, when all national parks are free of charge on April 19th, 2025. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is free year-round, although some partner parks, museums and historical sites within the MNRRA boundaries require parking passes or charge admission fees. Spend National Park Week learning about all six national park sites in Minnesota and start planning your next adventures.
Kickoff National Park Week: Listening to the Mississippi River
Anytime | Anywhere
“Listening to the Mississippi” is an iterative project, a grouping of underwater sounds recorded in and around the river, a series of artworks and actions that have unfolded over 10 years. Here, those sounds are engaged by Tia-Simone Gardner, artist and Black feminist scholar; Matt Rahaim, composer and ethnomusicologist; Michi Wiancko and Judd Greenstein, composers and musicians; and Monica Moses Haller, artist. Each person has their own multitude of ways of coming to the river. Some soundtracks are simple sounds, one recording within the water. Other tracks are compositions of layered sounds made by the artists here.
Saint Paul City Wide Clean Up
Saturday, April 19, 2025
9:00 AM - 11:30 AM | Hidden Falls Regional Park at North Gate Entrance
The annual litter cleanup extravaganza returns! Join Mississippi Park Connection, the National Park Service, and the City of Saint Paul in cleaning up the spaces we love in celebration of Earth Week and the launch of National Park Week.
Minneapolis Earth Day Clean Up
Saturday, April 19, 2025
9:30 AM - 12:00 PM | North Mississippi Regional Park at Carl W. Kroening Nature Center
Join Mississippi Park Connection, the National Park Service, and the City of Minneapolis in caring for our planet and parks during Earth Week and National Park Week! We are broadening our impact on the Mississippi River to clean up North Mississippi Regional Park this year.
National Park Week Party!
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
4:00 PM - 7:00PM | Broken Clock Brewery
Join us for an evening of fun, discovery, and appreciation for Minnesota’s National Parks! Gather with staff, volunteers, and members passionate about national parks on Earth Day and support your favorite public lands during this informal open house at Broken Clock Brewery.
This is a free event and registration is optional. We'd appreciate you letting us know that you can make it! Your generosity during the event will help raise critical funds to sustain Minnesota's national parks!
Junior Ranger Day
Saturday, April 26, 2025
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM | Mississippi River Visitor Center - 120 West Kellogg Boulevard Saint Paul, MN 55102
Join us at the Mississippi River Visitor Center for Junior Ranger Day and celebrate the seasonal RE-Opening of Family Tree Walks! Learn to identify up to five tree species that you can spot right in your own neighborhood.
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Mississippi River Visitor Center provides a gateway to national park adventures along the Mississippi River.
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National Park Week Stories
Geology
FOSSIL HUNTING ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Shadow Falls Park has an amazing trail to explore for fossils and learn about the geological history of the Mississippi River. You can find fossils in the shale bed alongside the trail.
Explore
TIPS FOR FOREST BATHING ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
A walk in the woods is scientifically proven to reduce stress and improve mental health. By intentionally focusing on the natural world, our minds can find inner calm. Here’s how.
Wildlife
WILDLIFE ON THE MINNEAPOLIS RIVERFRONT
Just steps from skyscrapers, you can walk out onto the lock and catch a glimpse of many flighted, finned and web-footed river residents. Grab your binoculars and keep a look out for these wildlife.
Trees and Plants
TREES AND PLANTS YOU CAN FIND IN THE MISSISSIPPI NATIONAL RIVER AND RECREATION AREA
People come to the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA) for hiking and fishing, but the beautiful trees and flowers really make the trek memorable.
History
WOMEN OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Women of the Mississippi River is a collection of stories on historical and contemporary women who contributed immensely to the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
Survey
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE BEAVER SURVEY
The park is organizing a community science effort to better understand the floodplain forest’s most industrious mammal. Did you spot beaver activity on the Mississippi River? Report your observations and contribute to beaver surveying at the park.