Share Big Willow Park Master Planning and Restoration on FacebookShare Big Willow Park Master Planning and Restoration on TwitterShare Big Willow Park Master Planning and Restoration on LinkedinEmail Big Willow Park Master Planning and Restoration link
Big Willow Park is one of the gems in Minnetonka's park system, with an active baseball, soccer, and softball complex and several miles of trails and paths winding along the Minnehaha Creek corridor and through adjacent wooded areas.
The Minnetonka City Council approved the updated Parks, Open Space and Trail (POST) System Plan in 2022. The POST Plan provides a road map for planning park improvements, ensuring that the city’s parks, trails and open spaces continue to serve the needs of the entire community.
A key recommendation from the POST Plan includes creating master plans for all major community parks, including Big Willow Park. Staff is working with a consultant to create a master plan outlining future park improvements to pursue that support restoration that is currently underway.
The sports complex is used by numerous local, long-standing sports organizations as well as a host site for large, regional tournaments.
Restoration efforts in this park focus on removing invasive species and working to increase plant diversity and resilience to changing climate conditions. In addition to restoration, staff - with the support of volunteers and contractors - will conduct long-term maintenance to monitor tree health, identify and manage familiar or new invasive species, and conduct controlled burns as needed to clear debris and promote native plant growth.
Big Willow Park is one of the gems in Minnetonka's park system, with an active baseball, soccer, and softball complex and several miles of trails and paths winding along the Minnehaha Creek corridor and through adjacent wooded areas.
The Minnetonka City Council approved the updated Parks, Open Space and Trail (POST) System Plan in 2022. The POST Plan provides a road map for planning park improvements, ensuring that the city’s parks, trails and open spaces continue to serve the needs of the entire community.
A key recommendation from the POST Plan includes creating master plans for all major community parks, including Big Willow Park. Staff is working with a consultant to create a master plan outlining future park improvements to pursue that support restoration that is currently underway.
The sports complex is used by numerous local, long-standing sports organizations as well as a host site for large, regional tournaments.
Restoration efforts in this park focus on removing invasive species and working to increase plant diversity and resilience to changing climate conditions. In addition to restoration, staff - with the support of volunteers and contractors - will conduct long-term maintenance to monitor tree health, identify and manage familiar or new invasive species, and conduct controlled burns as needed to clear debris and promote native plant growth.
The draft master plan is available for review and comment. Please provide your feedback to help shape the master plan for Big Willow Park!
You need to be signed in to comment in this Guest Book. Click here to Sign In or Register to get involved
I’m very lucky to live adjacent to Big Willow Park – it’s a gem and one of the reasons my family bought our home. Since moving next door we’ve all turned into bird watchers calling out sightings of blue herons, bald eagles and barred owls. We’ve spotted furry friends like otter, mink and muskrat, and less-cute creatures like snapping turtles and all manner of toads and frogs that fill the evening air with their songs. My kids now know the difference between invasive plants like buckthorn and garlic mustard and natives like the red dogwood, white meadow anemone flowers and blue vervain that line some of Big Willow’s trails.
It is truly a special place and I’m glad to have the opportunity to provide input on the future of the park through this master planning process. I see the nature preserve area of Big Willow and the athletic complex as two distinct areas. Most of my feedback has to do with the nature preserve. In general, I like the ideas of expanding trails, improving paddle access and adding opportunities for a water play area in the park – all things that my family enjoys at the park and I think should be accessible to all.
But I do have some concerns. I’m particularly concerned with the location of the proposed off-leash dog park and its potential impact on Minnehaha Creek, which I think is the heart of Big Willow Park and draws so much of the wildlife we love to see. The first guiding principle of this planning document is to “preserve, protect and restore natural resources by supporting environmental stewardship and conservation, while building long-term sustainability of the park.” I don’t believe placing a dog park directly adjacent to the creek achieves that goal, and is in direct conflict with other parts of the plan such as adding a water play area downstream.
According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, pet waste washed into natural bodies of water depletes oxygen levels and releases ammonia, which can be harmful to fish and other aquatic organisms. It also contains nutrients that foster weed and algae growth, and is a major source of E.coli, which makes people sick.. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study estimated that just 2-3 days’ worth waste from 100 dogs could contribute enough bacteria to temporarily close a watershed area to swimming within 25 miles.
Beyond water quality issues, I have concerns about noise from a dog park disrupting the nature enjoyed around the creek. I think if a dog park must be located in Big Willow, it would be better suited to the athletic complex area of the park adjacent to the public works facility. It is already full of other manmade recreational uses and is further from the creek. But before the city builds a dog park, I think there should be more discussion on policy related to dog parks. A draft policy considered by the council last spring but not adopted states “all land uses should be implemented with the goal of reducing impact and mitigate damage to soils, plant communities, wildlife, waterbodies and wetlands as much as possible while provided outdoor experiences to a variety of park users” and also also that watershed management organizations should be consulted for guidance on water impact concerns. I would like to know if these directions were considered when locating the dog park in this Big Willow Master Plan.
KatieE
about 4 hours ago
Thank you for putting together the draft for the Big Willow Master Plan and the ability to provide feedback. I am providing feedback as a resident who has enjoyed walking at Big Willow for many years. I appreciate being able to walk and enjoy the natural beauty of the oak savanna along Minnehaha Creek. I am grateful that the plan shows special attention to the 43% of respondents who suggested additional trails and connections. I am most excited about the increased connectivity through the use of boardwalks. The parking lot, attached to the far end of the recreational ball fields, would likely be used more during weekdays as an access point for the Preserve if better connected. I also like the idea of creating an access point with parking, signage, and restrooms on the far left side where the new acquired property will attach to the preserve. The park does not need, however, to have four distinct access points with parking lots and restrooms. That will increase cost, maintenance, hardscape and reduce the natural area aesthetic. I would suggest eliminating the central parking lot as that seems redundant. I like the idea of thinking about Big Willow and its environs as a corridor along Minnehaha Creek, not as a park that has to accomplish all in its footprint. Along this corridor, the Burwell House and the Gazebo Park both have rudimentary canoe landings. I think these areas might work better for a canoe/kayak landings since they have closer access to local businesses and shorter portages to vehicles. Otherwise, the typical take out location for canoes is near Hopkins Crossroad. This is also true regarding the picnic shelters. I think Burwell and the Gazebo area could house a reservable picnic shelter, so that the Big Willow Preserve might need, at a maximum, only one picnic shelter. In regards to better access to the creek, the revetment idea was installed in Purgatory Park along the creek and failed due to erosion. I would assume this would be carefully sited? The north side of the creek across from the old dock (the section that had the old rope swing) has a more sand and gravel substrate and could be more conducive to water access. I do have a question about the seasonal difficulty of crossing under the railroad tracks due to flooding . There are multiple bridges proposed in the park, but I am not sure if there is any discussion with the railroad for a potential bridge over the tracks? This might be outside the scope of this project but maybe a discussion could be included in the plan. Thank you for listening.
Big Willow Park is one of the gems in Minnetonka's park system, with an active baseball, soccer, and softball complex and several miles of trails and paths winding along the Minnehaha Creek corridor and through adjacent wooded areas.
A key recommendation from the POST Plan includes creating master plans for all major community parks, including Big Willow Park. Staff is working with a consultant to create a master plan outlining future park improvements to pursue that support restoration that is currently underway.
I’m very lucky to live adjacent to Big Willow Park – it’s a gem and one of the reasons my family bought our home. Since moving next door we’ve all turned into bird watchers calling out sightings of blue herons, bald eagles and barred owls. We’ve spotted furry friends like otter, mink and muskrat, and less-cute creatures like snapping turtles and all manner of toads and frogs that fill the evening air with their songs. My kids now know the difference between invasive plants like buckthorn and garlic mustard and natives like the red dogwood, white meadow anemone flowers and blue vervain that line some of Big Willow’s trails.
It is truly a special place and I’m glad to have the opportunity to provide input on the future of the park through this master planning process. I see the nature preserve area of Big Willow and the athletic complex as two distinct areas. Most of my feedback has to do with the nature preserve. In general, I like the ideas of expanding trails, improving paddle access and adding opportunities for a water play area in the park – all things that my family enjoys at the park and I think should be accessible to all.
But I do have some concerns. I’m particularly concerned with the location of the proposed off-leash dog park and its potential impact on Minnehaha Creek, which I think is the heart of Big Willow Park and draws so much of the wildlife we love to see. The first guiding principle of this planning document is to “preserve, protect and restore natural resources by supporting environmental stewardship and conservation, while building long-term sustainability of the park.” I don’t believe placing a dog park directly adjacent to the creek achieves that goal, and is in direct conflict with other parts of the plan such as adding a water play area downstream.
According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, pet waste washed into natural bodies of water depletes oxygen levels and releases ammonia, which can be harmful to fish and other aquatic organisms. It also contains nutrients that foster weed and algae growth, and is a major source of E.coli, which makes people sick.. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study estimated that just 2-3 days’ worth waste from 100 dogs could contribute enough bacteria to temporarily close a watershed area to swimming within 25 miles.
Beyond water quality issues, I have concerns about noise from a dog park disrupting the nature enjoyed around the creek. I think if a dog park must be located in Big Willow, it would be better suited to the athletic complex area of the park adjacent to the public works facility. It is already full of other manmade recreational uses and is further from the creek. But before the city builds a dog park, I think there should be more discussion on policy related to dog parks. A draft policy considered by the council last spring but not adopted states “all land uses should be implemented with the goal of reducing impact and mitigate damage to soils, plant communities, wildlife, waterbodies and wetlands as much as possible while provided outdoor experiences to a variety of park users” and also also that watershed management organizations should be consulted for guidance on water impact concerns. I would like to know if these directions were considered when locating the dog park in this Big Willow Master Plan.
Thank you for putting together the draft for the Big Willow Master Plan and the ability to provide feedback. I am providing feedback as a resident who has enjoyed walking at Big Willow for many years. I appreciate being able to walk and enjoy the natural beauty of the oak savanna along Minnehaha Creek.
I am grateful that the plan shows special attention to the 43% of respondents who suggested additional trails and connections. I am most excited about the increased connectivity through the use of boardwalks. The parking lot, attached to the far end of the recreational ball fields, would likely be used more during weekdays as an access point for the Preserve if better connected. I also like the idea of creating an access point with parking, signage, and restrooms on the far left side where the new acquired property will attach to the preserve.
The park does not need, however, to have four distinct access points with parking lots and restrooms. That will increase cost, maintenance, hardscape and reduce the natural area aesthetic. I would suggest eliminating the central parking lot as that seems redundant.
I like the idea of thinking about Big Willow and its environs as a corridor along Minnehaha Creek, not as a park that has to accomplish all in its footprint. Along this corridor, the Burwell House and the Gazebo Park both have rudimentary canoe landings. I think these areas might work better for a canoe/kayak landings since they have closer access to local businesses and shorter portages to vehicles. Otherwise, the typical take out location for canoes is near Hopkins Crossroad.
This is also true regarding the picnic shelters. I think Burwell and the Gazebo area could house a reservable picnic shelter, so that the Big Willow Preserve might need, at a maximum, only one picnic shelter.
In regards to better access to the creek, the revetment idea was installed in Purgatory Park along the creek and failed due to erosion. I would assume this would be carefully sited? The north side of the creek across from the old dock (the section that had the old rope swing) has a more sand and gravel substrate and could be more conducive to water access.
I do have a question about the seasonal difficulty of crossing under the railroad tracks due to flooding . There are multiple bridges proposed in the park, but I am not sure if there is any discussion with the railroad for a potential bridge over the tracks? This might be outside the scope of this project but maybe a discussion could be included in the plan. Thank you for listening.