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Hilloway Community Preserve

Friends of hilloway park


​Our mission is to protect and restore Hilloway Park, a 28-acre nature preserve in Minnetonka, MN. We operate under the umbrella organization, Friends of Minnetonka Parks.
Email
​
HillowayPark "at" gmail.com
Website
www.mtkaparks.org/hilloway
​
Address 
12145 Hilloway Road W
​Minnetonka

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Garlic Mustard Removal Events
May 6, 9 am - 11:30 am
June 3, 9 am - 12 pm
Please click on this link to register for any or all of these upcoming events.

current RESTORATION project

On October 1, 2022, volunteers continued the restoration work near the fen that was begun in 2021. 26 volunteers, contributing a total of 71 volunteer hours, cleared buckthorn on the west and north sides of the fen. The two videos below show the areas we worked in.
The City of Minnetonka will remove the cut buckthorn and return in a few weeks to apply herbicide to small buckthorn plants. Hilloway’s next Buckthorn Blitz is scheduled for  November 5, 9-12 am , when we’ll continue buckthorn removal and apply replacement seed. 

Picture
Buckthorn Blitz 10/16/2021
Picture
North of fen after Buckthorn Blitz 10/16/2021
In 2021, Hilloway Park was rated “High Priority” for restoration. In October of 2021, thirty volunteers, in cooperation with the City of Minnetonka, cleared buckthorn from the slope north of the fen.

​Our hope is to continue to collaborate with the City of Minnetonka to restore this area as well as other areas of the park.

HILLOWAY COMMUNITY PRESERVE

Hilloway Community Preserve is a 28-acre park located near the southeast of the intersection of I-394 and Plymouth road. The park features a dense pine stand, an aspen grove, a garlic mustard research area, two wetlands, and walking trails. The park includes several native Minnesota plant species, including two rare orchids, as well as several invasive species. Wildlife includes deer, coyotes, frogs, and several bird and insect species.

cultural history

With the Traverse de Sioux Treaty of 1851, the Dakota Indians ceded much of southern and western Minnesota to the U.S. government. The vegetation in Minnetonka was oak-dominated savannas, tamarac swamps, and wetlands. The hardwood trees in the savannas were logged for the lumber industry and to accommodate farming.

In the 1930s, United Fur Ranches purchased land that includes the Sherwood Forest neighborhood and Hilloway Park. They farmed mink and fox in the eastern part of Sherwood Forest, and it was originally known as Fox Hills. Hilloway Park and much of the surrounding land remained mostly undeveloped pastureland for horses until the 1970s. Residents remember riding horses and flying kites in the area. Ridgedale was built in 1974 and development proceeded rapidly after that.


pine forest

Starting in 1941, real estate developers partnering with United Fur Ranches began selling lots in the Sherwood Forest/Hilloway Park area. In 1946, Fred Atkinson purchased the land that includes Hilloway Park. 

​In the early 1950's, Fred purchased red, white, and jack pine seedlings from the state ($10.00 for 1000) and hired the local Boy Scout troop to plant them. (An alternative version of this story is that he hired the junior class of Blake School, who were raising money for their prom). In 1962, he donated the land to the city of Minnetonka for a park with the stipulation that it remain in its natural state.
Picture

garlic mustard research area

The University of Minnesota and the DNR monitored Hilloway Park for garlic mustard and other invasive species from 2005-2018. Working with CABI in Switzerland, two weevils have been identified as possible biocontrol agents.

​The project is now awaiting approval from the USDA on one of the weevils. Roger Becker, the U of MN project lead, says an optimistic release date for one of the weevils is 2023. If all goes well with the other weevil, it could be released in 2026.
Picture
Garlic Mustard Plants
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Garlic Mustard Flower

WINTER at HILLOWAY

rich fen


​rich fen

In 2004, the Minnesota DNR classified the larger wetland of Hilloway Park as a ‘rich fen’, designating it as high priority for immediate restoration and management. In July of that year, the Minnetonka City Council approved $60,000 for improvements. Purple loosestrife is being managed through biocontrol. Currently, sediment from a nearby neighborhood is accumulating at one end of the fen, and invasive cattails have begun to grow.
Picture

FEATURED Flora at hilloway

Showy Orchis
Red Baneberry
Ostrich Fern
Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum americanum)
Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa)
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
© 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