An Important Consideration if You Run the Chain of Lakes

Lake of the Isles

I like to run parts or all of run the Chain of Lakes in Minneapolis. The Chain of Lakes (as I experience it) consists of Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun, and Lake Harriet. I listed them in order of proximity to my home. Consequently, I tend to run Lake of the Isles the most often and Lake Harriet the least often. 



In spite of the fact that proximity dictates that I should favor Lake of the Isles, this lake is probably the least friendly when it comes to facilities (except for during winter when the warming house is up for the ice rink) - they have one pair of Biffy's (port-o-poddys) and they're usually pretty nasty. Lake Calhoun is a little better, as they have more Biffy's around the lake,and a restaurant with walk in restrooms, which are old and not in the greatest repair, but they do have several water fountains. 


Lake Harriet, the farthest from me, has brand new restroom facilities and a brand new restaurant, which I have yet to try because I tend not to want to eat when I'm in the middle of a run.  

Lake Calhoun

Lake Harriet

Lake Harriet can also boast a top notch water fountain - the newer type with both a place to drink from AND a place to set down your water bottle for a refill... and the water is cold! This may not sound like much but when you are running and need a refill in your water bottle on a hot day, it's golden. 

My understanding is that Lake Harriet's new restaurant is called Bread and Pickle (http://www.breadandpickle.com/). As I said, I have not eaten there, but they are well reviewed and they look pretty snazzy. The facility is clean, and from the look of the website, it's more than just cheeseburgers and soft serve. 

While we're here, I would like to briefly touch on another amenity of the chain of lakes, and that is the reasonably priced canoe/kayak rentals provided by Wheel Fun Rentals (www.wheelfunrentals.com/listlocations/97). One of the great things that I love about Minneapolis is that you can take the city bus to a lake and get on a canoe and see nature. It's one of the magical mystical things about this fair city!