Join us for a hike within Lebanon Hills Regional Park's glacial moraine landscape with almost 2,000 acres of woodlands, prairies, lakes and ponds. Many wildflowers and animals can be found within the park, including cup plants and piliated woodpeckers, trillium and white-tailed deer.
The largest park in Dakota County, Lebanon Hills Park is approximately 40% grassland. The remainder is wetlands and forest, dominated by red oak. The largest lake is 55-acre Jensen Lake.
In the 1920's, with Prohibition, this secluded area was exploited by bootleggers. In the 1930's, much of the park was open pasture land and some was used for agricultural fields. In the late-1960's and 1970's, much of the property was acquired in piecemeal fashion for park purposes. With the passage of the 1974 Metropolitan Parks Act, the current regional park was formed and 99.5% of the land within the park boundaries was acquired.
Directions: Take I-35E south to the Cliff Road exit and go east on Cliff Road 3.6 miles to the Lebanon Hills Regional Park Visitor Center entrance (at the intersection with Hay Lake Road North), which will be on the right. Follow the road to the Visitor Center and meet in the parking lot close to the Visitor Center.
