An Underrated Park
If you’re a resident in any town between Deephaven and Orono, you’re likely to have driven by this unsuspecting park. For years, I’ve driven through Shorewood and thought to myself, “I should really pop in there sometime to see what it is.” Like many thoughts, it comes and goes without much action at all and, for another season, I’ll forget to do it. Recently, I had that same thought and finally decided that this was the day. So, here’s a bit of the history and modern function of Shorewood’s Gideon Glen park! At the end, you might find that there’s a quaint preserve on your list of places to visit this summer.
In 2000 the City of Shorewood partnered with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District to construct Gideon Glen(1) as an open air water treatment facility, not for drinking but for removing sediments and pollutants from the water table. Yet, it does more than just handle water. This 5.8 acre park maintains prairie land, walkways, informational boards, and even a rare sliver of native Big Woods forest. A walk through the park will do more than educate; it will inspire!
Runoff from the surrounding vicinity is channeled into Gideon Glen via a network of underground pipes which filter large debris as water flows through them. Sand, oil, trash, and more are likely to settle into an underground holding tank while cleaner water flows through an opening at the top and towards the second stage of the park’s treatment. Water is ejected into the park’s most prominent feature: the pond. Here, it is held until it reaches a level high enough to travel through an overflow pipe. While it sits in the pond, remaining sediments will naturally sink to the bottom and remain there while the water above flows through the overflow. Just a short distance beyond, the water arrives in a marsh where cattails, trees, and other vegetation can utilize it for their own growth and multiplication. Not to mention the many species of insects, birds, and mammals who also use the marsh for reproduction, cover, and predation.
Beyond the marsh, water will find itself flowing downhill towards its final destination: Lake Minnetonka. The water, now cleaned through the park’s series of channels, holding ponds, and vegetation, is essentially free of debris and many pollutants. Keeping Minnetonka clean is one of the foremost things on any local city’s agenda and it shows in the thoughtful engineering of Gideon Glen!
This park also maintains a swath of native prairie land which is scheduled for a controlled burn sometime in May. The burn will help the vegetation grow stronger over time and stop invasive species like buckthorn from spreading into the park’s interior. While visiting, I noticed a surprising abundance of insects, birds, and even a small group of wild turkey moving through the area.
A bench between the holding pond and marsh welcome visitors to rest while enjoying sights of the native flora and Big Woods preserve. While I only spent about 45 minutes on site, it was certainly worth the time and is a place worth yours as well! Sites like Gideon Glen go a long way toward keeping our environment, lake, and neighborhoods cleaner and healthier for the foreseeable future.
If you’re wondering where the area gets its name, look no further than the article linked below. Peter Gideon lived just a stone’s throw from the park and made an impact on both Minnesota and the Nation with his innovations in horticulture!
Footnote:
The City of Shorewood also worked with Hennepin County, the Metropolitan Council, and the Universal Unitarian Lake Fellowship Church on the creation of Gideon Glen.
Bibliography of Sources:
City of Shorewood
All photos taken by Nathan Hofer for the Minnetonka Minute
