Each park has its own attractions, from playground equipment to walking paths to athletic courts. One of the neighborhood parks that has really proven popular is Radio City Park, located at 37th Avenue Southeast and Second Street.

“Obviously that’s a great neighborhood park,” said Gerard Olson, Minot Parks. “It has a splash pad, full size basketball court, picnic shelters and play structures that are heavily used. There’s a T-ball group that uses that little T-ball field there a few nights a week too.”

The splash pad is open from noon to 8 p.m. daily. Small children enjoy playing in the various water sources on the splashpad. There’s no pooling of water, making a trip to the splashpad less stressful for parents than if their children would be exposed to deeper water.

Minot’s hidden but not entirely forgotten parks include Moose Park, located near the Moose Club at 400 9th St. SW. It has bathroom facilities, playground equipment, a picnic shelter, sand volleyball court and a horseshoe pit. It also has a very large grassy area for tossing a Frisbee, having a blanket picnic or just enjoying the sunshine.

Hiking trails are part of the Minot Parks system. Parking lot and other improvements are currently underway at the increasingly popular Woodland Trail along the Highway 83 bypass on the city’s west side. Kim Fundingsland/MDN

One of the oldest neighborhood parks in the city also is one of the most difficult to find. Vehicle access to Riverside Park is through an alley south of Cortland Drive. Cortland Drive is a short street located north of Oak Park.

Riverside Park is alongside the Souris River and has been subject to flooding during high water years, most recently in the historic 2011 flood. A “high water” marker can be found near the park’s entrance. The quaint neighborhood park boasts a restroom, picnic shelter, playground and basketball courts.

Although not officially considered a park, the Woodland Trail is maintained by Minot Parks. It is situated on the frontage road off the U.S. Highway 83 Bypass to the south of the Jack Hoeven baseball complex and Bark Park. Currently, improvements are being made to the parking area at Woodland Trail.

“We’re paving that parking lot, including curb, gutter and a restroom,” said Olson. “With the amount of use there we needed to do some improvements. The restroom will be a nice upgrade.”

Olson said Woodland Trail is “heavily used” and that parking area improvements should be finished in the coming days and the restroom in place sometime in September “if everything happens as scheduled.”

What fun! Children play in the water at the Radio City Park splash pad. The splash pad is open daily from noon to 8 p.m. Kim Fundingsland/MDN

The Woodland Trail covers approximately 1.4 miles of trails traversing through wooded bottomland along the Souris River. The trail has multiple options for hikers and includes two bridges spanning the Souris.

Another on-going project is the replacement of the popular water slide at the Roosevelt Park pool. Construction has been progressing quite well with support piers placed in recent days. The new waterslide won’t be completed in time for this summer’s season but Olson said it is hoped that all construction will be completed before freeze-up and the new slide will be ready to go when the Roosevelt Park pool opens in 2021.