Lake Hiawatha is located just north of Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was purchased by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board in 1922 for $550,000. At that time the lake was a marsh known as Rice Lake, but over four years, the park system transformed the wetland into a lake surrounded by a park.
Lake Hiawatha in July 2010
"Shoreline Habitat Restoration Project. This project establishes a 'buffer zone' between land and water using native plants. Buffer zones benefit aquatic systems in many ways: provide food, shelter, and nesting sites for fish and wildlife; control shoreline erosion; protect water quality by intercepting nutrients; stabilize lake bottom sediment. This project was partially funded by the Shoreline Habitat Program, Division of Fisheries, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources."
Lake Hiawatha from the playground on its eastern shore.
Lake Nokomis is one of several lakes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. The lake was previously named Lake Amelia in honor of Captain George Gooding's daughter, Amelia, in 1819. Its current name was adopted in 1910 to honor Nokomis, grandmother of Hiawatha. It is located in the southern part of the city, west of the Mississippi River and south of Lake Hiawatha. The lake is oval in shape, with a long axis running southwest to northeast. Two pathways circle the lake, a 2.7-mile (4.3 km) pedestrian trail and a 2.8-mile (4.5 km) bicycle trail. Because the lower part of the lake is crossed by Cedar Avenue running north–south, the impression from the ground is that the lake is shaped like an L. The lake has an area of 204 acres (0.83 km2).
Lake Nokomis, 2021
Frozen in winter, Lake Nokomis is the site of the U.S. pond hockey championships
Boat launch and pier at Lake Nokomis
