Big Willow Park Master Planning and Restoration

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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.

Native wildflowers bloom in the lush understory of a mature oak tree at Big Willow ParkA 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.

Native wildflowers bloom in the lush understory of a mature oak tree at Big Willow ParkA 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.

  • Master Plan Next Draft - Coming Later this Spring

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    At the February 4, 2026 Park Board meeting staff presented and received substantial feedback and directions for changes to the draft master plan. Items of note that will be changing include the removal of the off-leash dog area from Area 4, updating park property boundaries and trail mapping, ballfield lighting, additional clarity regarding the commercial area west of the park, and furthering design of the reservable picnic area to reconsider the number of built structures.

    You can watch the presentation and hear the discussion at the link below:

    Park Board Meeting - Video Presentation

    The next draft of the Big Willow Master Plan is currently being developed and will be provided for public feedback in the coming months prior to another presentation to the Park Board. Stay tuned for updates and thanks for all the community insights we've received!

  • Big Willow Park Master Plan - Draft Plan for Review

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    A draft master plan has been developed and is available for review. See the Documents section of this site to review the plan and the Guestbook to provide feedback. The draft master plan will be presented to Park Board on Wednesday, February 4th, 2026. More information can be found on the City Calendar page.

    City Calendar | City of Minnetonka, MN

  • Survey now closed - Draft plan in development

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    We've received hundreds of responses to our survey and are now creating the first draft of the Big Willow Park master plan. This draft will be made available for public review and comment over the winter. Stay tuned for updates!

  • Preliminary plan presented to Park Board

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    Staff conducted outreach with residents and volunteers to discuss restoration and maintenance goals. The preliminary restoration and maintenance plan will be presented to the Park Board Nov. 5. Park Board comments will be incorporated into the planning document and the plan will be made available for public feedback.

    Summer 2025 through 2027

    Restoration and plant community maintenance work will be enhanced by prioritization strategies developed in the plan.

  • Share your feedback in survey

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    Survey is now open! Park master planning is currently underway. Public open house meetings and pop-up events in the park are being planned to engage with the local community and understand how we use the park and what improvements should be considered.

Page last updated: 09 Mar 2026, 07:30 AM