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Big Willow Community Preserve

Friends of big willow

Email
​FriendsofBigWillowPark "at" gmail.com

Website
www.mtkaparks.org/bigwillow
Park Address
​
11522 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka

SPRING VOLUNTEER EVENTS!

Volunteer to help manage buckthorn and garlic mustard in our parks this spring. Please click on this link to register.
Saturday, April 8th — 1 pm to 3:30 pm 
Sunday, June 4th — 9 am to 12 pm

current RESTORATION project

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​On Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, 15 volunteers helped clear buckthorn on the south section at Big Willow Park, building off the work done last fall. The group tackled a very dense grove of buckthorn near the main trail, freeing some beautiful aspens and a number of old oaks near the old homestead. A bench near the old homestead was surrounded by buckthorn - now you can see the railroad trestle over Minnehaha Creek and enjoy the seasonal changes at this beautiful park.

Removal of buckthorn and other invasives will continue this fall, followed by seeding early this winter with a variety of grasses and sedges.

Big Willow Park was rated “high priority” for restoration in the 2021 “City of Minnetonka Natural Resources Management Plan.” In November 2021, over twenty volunteers in cooperation with the City of Minnetonka Natural Resources Division, cleared buckthorn along the west side of the main trail south of the creek, focusing on a grove of oak trees. 
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Buckthorn Blitz Event, November 5, 2021
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Volunteers have adopted areas of the park to remove garlic mustard and other invasives. Ginseng, which was extirpated in the 1850s, was planted in select areas of the park this spring.  

Watch for announcements to join this effort or email us at FriendsofBigWillow "at" gmail.com to receive updates on restoration efforts and park news.

BIG WILLOW COMMUNITY PRESERVE

At 95 acres, Big Willow Park is the smallest of the city’s five community parks, with more than two miles of trails meandering through forest and wetlands with views of Minnehaha Creek. Recreational amenities include community athletic fields and a play area. Connections to Mayflower, Hilloway and Meadow Parks from the north section of the park. East of the north section of the park was the site of St. Albans Mill. Look for the informative plaque and remnant railroad grade and spur that served the mill. 
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The maintained trail along the Minnehaha Creek continues under the rail bridge to the north side of the park.

THE BIG WILLOW - namesake tree

The park was developed in 1977 as a joint project of the City of Minnetonka and the Minnetonka Jaycees Club. Funding was provided by a federal grant. A standout feature of the park while it was being developed—and which is still there—was a large willow tree on the west side of the marsh, thus the name “Big Willow.” Though due to age the large willow split in half many years ago and is lying on its sides, it continues to produce branches.  Look for the willow tree about 500 feet north of the small parking lot on Minnetonka Boulevard.
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CULTURAL HISTORY

Between 1855 and 1874, there were six flouring mills building along Minnehaha Creek from Grays Bay in Lake Minnetonka to the Mississippi River.  St. Albans Mill was built in 1874, but was dismantled in 1881 after financial difficulties and complaints of interfering with the operations of Minnetonka Mills, three-quarters of a mile upstream. Adam Hannah owned what is now Big Willow and the Minnetonka Public Works facility. He built his home on the site in 1913 and his daughter Mary R. E. Hannah lived in the house until she died in 1967. There are remnants of the house on the hill south of Minnehaha Creek.
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1937 Historical Aerial Photo

Minnehaha Creek

wildflowers at big willow preserve

A spring ephemeral wildflower garden was planted near the parking lot off Minnetonka Boulevard in the mid-1990s by Gatewood School 3rd graders. Look for Hepatica, Trout Lily, Showy Trillium, Mayapple, Dutchman’s Breeches, Cutleaf Toothwort, Bellwort, Bishop’s Cap, Wild Leek, Wild Ginger, Wild Blue Phlox, Wild Geranium, Virginia Spring Beauty, Jack in the Pulpit, Rue Anemone, Bloodroot, and Early Meadow Rue.
White Trout Lily
Spring Beauty
Large Flowered Trillium
Rue Aneome
May Apple
Maidenhair Fern
Jack-in-the-pulpit
Hepatica
Wild Ginger
Early Meadow Rue
Dutchman's Breeches
Cut-leaved Toothwort
Bloodroot
Bishop's Cap
Large Flowered Bellwort

Wild Blue Woodland Phlox and Pennsylvania Sedge

fauna at the preserve

Big Willow has several habitats including wetland, oak savanna, and river. Wildlife include Great Blue Heron, American Egret, Merganser, Blue Wing Teal, Trumpeter Swan, Great Horned Owl, Barred Owl, Wood and Mallard ducks, mink, beaver, and muskrat.

Featured birds

Wood Duck
Swan
Barred Owl
Baltimore Oriole
Great Egret
Cooper's Hawk
Great Blue Heron
Red Winged Blackbird
Ducks and Geese
Great Horned Owl

Autumn at big Willow

© 2023 Friends of Minnetonka Parks.
​Friends of Minnetonka Parks is a 501c3 nonprofit organization governed by a volunteer board of directors.
  • Home
  • Friends
    • Mission
    • Who We Are
    • Volunteerism
    • Contact Us
  • VISIT A PARK
    • Big Willow
    • Cullen
    • Hilloway
    • Jidana
    • Lake Rose
    • Lone Lake
    • Meadow
    • Minnehaha Creek
    • Purgatory
    • Shady Oak
    • Tower Hill
    • Victoria Evergreen
  • Resources
    • Tree Aging App
    • Invasive Plants
    • Newsletter
    • YouTube Videos
  • Events
    • Volunteer Events
    • Education and Social Events