Creekside: right on Minnehaha Creek, a walk to LRT

"Creekside" is a comfortable three-bedroom cottage on Minnehaha Creek, surrounded by natural beauty, yet with light rail, restaurants, and more just blocks away. Enjoy the scenic views, fireplace, and charm of the house, or step out the door to enjoy this special place. Try paddling the creek or follow the hiking and biking trails to the many parks, lakes and waterfalls nearby. Creekside is a great base for exploring, putting up your visitors, family events or as retreat for creative work. The space The house is simple, but elegant, dating to 1940 with nice details from that time such as the coved ceilings and little nooks in the dining room. Adrienne’s parents purchased the house in 1987, and did some updating and additions including the three-season porch. There are two bedrooms downstairs and a third bedroom upstairs, along with several other sleeping options in other parts of the house. The full kitchen, dining room and living room support family dinners and small gatherings. We acquired the house last year and have been improving it some more to better host our visitors. We remodeled the main bathroom, provided access to another half bath downstairs, and installed a new gas fireplace and 4K HDTV on the main floor. We have some additional improvements underway, (out of your way) to provide a spa downstairs and grill supported patio out back this year. We have scattered art, antiques, and charm in decorating the bedrooms and other areas of the house, to provide you with the sort of memorable experience we value when when visit a more traditional Bed and Breakfast. Because the park starts three feet from the house, it is like living in a scenic overlook, or park lodge, complete with your own retired national park ranger to call upon as needed. Guest access There is a small downstairs space that is off limits to guests, but otherwise you are welcome to use the full house. On the main floor is a living room joined to a dining room with a separated full kitchen. The dining room starts with chairs for six but you can fit a few more around the big table if you have a bigger group. The living room has a nice natural gas fireplace that makes it cozy even when the views look chilly, along with a queen size sofa bed that can be used if needed for either additional guests or if you want to binge Netflix on the 60 inch Ultra 4K HDTV. The house has good WiFi and a stereo system in the living room has nice sound. There are two bedrooms with queen sized beds on the main floor. Both these bedrooms have closets and dressers for you to use. The bathroom on the main floor was recently updated with a new toilet, tub and shower. ( An additional toilet is available downstairs.) Carpeted stairs lead to the second floor. At the top, there is a little hall with a great library of books on Minnesota history and natural history, leading to a sitting room with another great view down to the creek and across the treetops. This room also makes a great kids play room. You can pull the curtain to reveal a computer/ playstation/video tape player, DVD set up with a big selection of tapes and DVDs. Or -- leave the curtain shut for even more old-school fun, with a selection of vintage games and puzzles. The wicker chaise lounge here can be used for sleeping, or if you need to make this room into another sleeping room, you can just wheel out the trundle bed from the adjoining bedroom. Also in the upstairs bedroom are two twin beds and the trundle, which can be joined to on of the twin beds to make a queen size. Downstairs, in addition to the second toilet and sink, is a laundry room with a washer and dryer you may use, and a resource room with additional maps, guides and assorted equipment to assist you in your exploration of the city. There is a locked apartment there as well, used by our son, Lucas, when the house is not occupied by guests. Coming in summer 2018 this floor will also have a spa room with another shower, a whirlpool and massage table. The house has a two car detached garage, should you wish to arrange space to securely store one or even two vehicles. The garage can also be used for the storage of bicycles, kayaks or canoes, or you can use the ones we store there. Very valuable items, (such as high end bikes can be stored in the porch or downstairs if desired.) Security cameras monitor the garage and both house entrances and Creekside is located in a very low crime area of the city. The house has two other rooms that are not fully used in the winter season, but are not off limits or uncomfortable on a warm winter day. The enclosed porch in the rear of the house has some great views of the park. In winter it makes a good place to get out of the boots and snowy clothes after sliding. You are welcome to put a sweater on and take a look in the attic as well. We are making it into a cool place for kids and others to explore with old things to discover and play with. It looks a little spooky but we have no signs it is haunted. Other things to note We also have some special arrangements for discounted trips with program partners for canoeing the creek and the Mississippi. We are especially fond of helping people find the meaningful stories connected to the special places easily reached from Creekside like Minnehaha Falls, Coldwater Spring and the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. This is the perfect place to explore the whole connected network of sites and stories and I know them well enough to guide your visit. A note for families with young children. Staying on the edge of a vast park like this is a special opportunity from making memories with your kids and nature, but also carries certain expectations and responsibilities. Keeping kids safe exploring nature in the parks connected to Creekside, requires some basic precautions. You know your kids and so you have to set your own rules relative to the freedom that you will allow them to travel away from the house without supervision. Most kids, are going to be eager to explore and it is pretty easy to go out of the house and down to the creek to play. While neighborhood kids play in the creek all the time, (and it is a lot of fun,) the currents can be strong and the bottom has some slippery rocks in places. While it is easy to keep an eye on the kids from the windows of the house, you should go down to the creek yourself first to determine the current conditions and set some clear rules. We will be happy to advise on creek and river safety and can suggest great places and great activites for the whole family to do together or for older kids and teens to do on their own.