Minnetrista, Minnesota

Saunders Lake is located in the United States state of Minnesota. It is a 70-acre (280,000 m2) lake that is west-southwest of Minneapolis–St. Paul in the Minneapolis suburbs of Mound and Minnetrista. The first European settlers came to the area near Saunders Lake in the 1850s. In 1854, Nathaniel Sanders and J. F. Buck settled on its shores. Saunders Lake was named for Nathaniel Sanders.[1]. The lake is a large, Type 5 wetland, classified as a Natural Environment lake.[2]. The lake outlets through a small channel to Lake Langdon, which discharges through a culvert under County State-Aid Highway 110 into Lost Lake, which outlets into Cooks Bay of Lake Minnetonka. It is part of the Langdon Lake subwatershed of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD). The corridor between Black (also called Flanagan) and Saunders Lakes consists of wetlands and maple-basswood forest and has been identified by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as a regionally significant area with outstanding ecological value. Most of this area has been incorporated into Gale Woods Regional Park by the Three Rivers Park District. Saunders Lake scores highly on vegetative diversity, fish and wildlife habitat, and is classified in the Preserve category. Boating Regulations: Saunders Lake does not have any boating or motor regulations. Here is the DNR list of Metro lakes with boating regulations.

Six Mile Creek drains a large area south and west of Lake Minnetonka, in Hennepin and Carver Counties, Minnesota, United States. It ends on the western shore of Halstead's Bay, the westernmost bay of Lake Minnetonka. It runs through mostly agricultural land but this area is also seeing more residential development. Lake Pierson forms the headwaters of the creek, which then flows in this order through, Marsh Lake, Wasserman Lake, Lake Auburn, Lunsten Lake, Parley Lake, Mud Lake and then reaches its destination, Lake Minnetonka. It has a very low gradient which often results in backwater (stagnant) conditions. Wasserman and Parley Lakes have Department of Natural Resources public boat accesses. The origin of its name is unclear as it is about 11 miles (18 km) long. It is about six miles (9.7 km) from Parley Lake to Lake Minnetonka. The Six Mile Creek watershed that generally surrounds the creek and drains into it, is about 17,000 acres (69 km2) in size. Other lakes in the watershed whose outflow eventually ends up in Six Mile are: Carl Krey, Church, Crosby, Stieger, Stone, Sunny, Turbid, and Zumbra.

The Dakota Rail Trail runs 28.1 miles (42.6 km) from Wayzata to Lester Prairie, Minnesota. It is on part of the former track bed of the Hutchinson Spur of the Great Northern Railway. The railway line helped bring wheat and raw materials from Central Minnesota to the flour mills, factories and warehouses in Minneapolis from 1885 until 2001. The railway line, from which there are views of the countryside, was also designed to bring tourists to the communities on Lake Minnetonka in the late 1880s. The rail trail heads west from Wayzata. The first 13 miles are in Hennepin County, Minnesota, and the next 13.5 miles are in Carver County, Minnesota. Along the way it runs through many towns including Spring Park and St. Bonifacius.

Dutch Lake is a lake located in the state of Minnesota. It was named for its early German population. It is a 159.50 acres (64.5474 ha) acre lake that is west-southwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul in the Minneapolis suburb of Mound and Minnetrista. It has an average depth of 15.15 feet (4.62 m) and a maximum depth of 45 ft (14 m). Slow Creek, its un-navigable outflow is on its northeast shore. It connects the lake to Lake Minnetonka. It is home to a variety of fish including Black, Yellow, and Brown Bullhead, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Hybrid Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, and Yellow Perch. Much of the Northern shore is owned by Camp Christmas Tree summer day camp.

Halstead's Bay (sometimes spelled Halsted's) is the westernmost bay of Lake Minnetonka. It is in the cities of Minnetrista and Mound, in Hennepin County, Minnesota. It is named for the settler Frank W. Halsted, who migrated to its shores in 1855. Its main tributary is Six Mile Creek that enters the bay from the west. Access to the bay is provided by a public boat launch along Halstead's Drive. The bay is one of the last on Lake Minnetonka to see intensive modern residential development. It has the distinction of being downstream from the city of Saint Bonifacius, which did not adequately treat its sewage until the early 1980s, when it connected to the metropolitan area sewage system. Its northern and eastern shores in places have steep terrain leading down to the bay. Two examples are the Bluffs neighborhood on the north, and the Eagles Bluff area.

Lake Langdon in Mound, Minnesota, has an area of 144 acres (0.6 km2). Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD) charts show its maximum depth of 38 feet (12 m), though it would be classified as a shallow lake with a mean depth of 8.3 feet (2.5 m). It is named for R. V. Langdon, the first township clerk. It is located west of Commerce Boulevard and south of Lynwood Boulevard. Boats on the lake cannot navigate to the nearby Lake Minnetonka, though it overflows into Lost Lake, part of the Big Lake, through Langdon Bay Creek. It also serves as an outlet for Saunders Lake, to its west. The lake has a watershed area to surface area ratio of 6.5:1, meaning that it drains an area about 6½ times its size. The lake (or bay as it is sometimes called) has an over abundance of phosphorus, that probably resulted from it being downstream from Mound's old sewer plant. The plant closed back in the late 1970s. Phosphorus is a catalyst that can contribute to excessive plant growth. Though the lake's MCWD Report Card shows a significant drop off of the phosphorus levels over the past 20 years, it is still a problem. A higher outflow from Langdon could lower the phosphorus level, but its water clarity remains poor, despite the fact that it was treated with Alum in 1998.

Saint Bonifacius, often stylized as St. Bonifacius, is a small city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, 25 miles west of Minneapolis. Settled in the 1850s, the town has a combination of rural and exurban features. It is completely surrounded by Minnetrista, Minnesota, and is close to the county line with Carver County. It hosted a Nike Hercules battery during the Cold War, one of four protecting Minneapolis–Saint Paul from Soviet bombers. The population was 2,283 at the 2010 census. The Dakota Rail Regional Trail runs through town.

Mound is a city in western Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,052 at the 2010 census. Mound was the birthplace of the Tonka truck that is named after Lake Minnetonka, which the eastern part of town sits on. Mound is 22 miles (35 km) west of Minneapolis, the county seat.

Langdon Bay Creek is a creek in Mound, Minnesota, United States. It is the outflow for, and connects, Lake Langdon (or Bay) to Mound's Lost Lake, which is part of Lake Minnetonka. Its length is perhaps 200 feet (61 m) long and it runs west to east. It is unnavigable and passes under Commerce Boulevard through a culvert. It has also been known as Sollie's Creek, named after the uncles of the Andrews Sisters who owned a grocery store to the south of it. Its part of the Langdon Lake subwatershed of the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District (MCWD), with the drainage from about 1,055 acres (4.27 km2) running through it. Other lakes in the subwatershed whose outflows eventually pass through it are Saunders Lake, Black Lake, and Mound's old sewer plant holding pond.

The Wendelin Grimm Farmstead is a historic farm near Victoria, Minnesota, United States, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The farm is located within the boundaries of Carver Park Reserve.

Cooks Bay, in Mound, Minnesota, is one of many bays that make up Lake Minnetonka. Its area is about 550 acres (223 ha). It is west of Island Park, and east of Mound's Highlands neighborhood. Between the 1870s until the 1920s, Cooks Bay was known for its family hotels including Chapman House, Bartlett Place, Buena Vista Hotel, Hotel Kern, Hotel Dewey, and the Sunset Villa. Surfside Park, on the north shore of Cook's Bay, was once the home of Surfside Casino, a popular destination that began as the Chapman Boathouse in the 1870s. Today, Cook's Bay has a public boat launch located at the park, and the old Mound Depot relocated in 1967. For more about the Westonka area, visit westonkahistoricalsociety.org and the museum at 5341 Maywood Rd., Mound MN, open Saturdays, 10-2.

Crown College is a private Evangelical Christian college in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Christian and Missionary Alliance and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.