Silverwood Park in St. Anthony boasts the same amenities as many other green spaces in the Three Rivers Park District, with the addition of cool public art.
Bicyclists, walkers, and leashed dogs are all welcome on the paved trail that winds through restored prairie and oak savannah forest. There are two designated fishing spots along the shoreline and a small isle on Silver Lake dotted with picnic tables and other seating. On a recent visit, we noticed several folks had strung hammocks between the trees — it’s that idyllic. There’s also an indoor gallery and café in the visitor center, canoe and kayak rentals in summer, and an outdoor amphitheater, although everything is currently paused due to COVID-19 restrictions. Portable restrooms are available but visitors should BYO water.
The big highlight, however, is Silverwood’s Art on Foot Poetry and Art on Foot Sculpture Trails. The former features six works by Minnesota talents, including queer Vietnamese-American writer and performer Kenny Ngo and poet Marion Gomez, a member of the Latinx spoken word collective Palabristas. The latter is a 1.6-mile walking path dotted with 13 works by regional artists, including the luck- and fortune-symbolizing sculpture High Five by Andrew MacGuffie.
Pictured above, in clockwise fashion, is Asia Ward’s Wetland Grass, with a bouquet of solar globes topping steel tubes; Pete Driessen’s SS Silverwood Dry Dock, featuring a quartet of weathered boats pointing in the four cardinal directions; Alexa Horochowski’s gilded Shopping Cart, a comment on “notions of wealth, privilege, consumerism, and homelessness”; and Sara Hanson’s Bio Scenic Travel Machine, which looks like a spaceship but is actually a working kaleidoscope. Hanson worked with naturalists to collect plant and animal specimens, which were examined under a microscope and incorporated into the interactive sculpture. Pictured at the top of this post is Ylem by sculptor Mark Estlund, an op-art tunnel of offset rectangles that plays tricks on the eyes depending on your angle.
Looking for other places to experience outdoor art? Don’t miss the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden at the Walker Art Center, Zoran’s Sculpture Park, Caponi Art Park in St. Paul, Big Stone Mini-Golf in Minnetrista, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska, and Franconia Sculpture Park in Shafer.
Silverwood Park
2500 County Rd. E., St. Anthony, MN; 763-694-7707.
