Lilydale Park

Rock on. Great little morning hike to get the blood going. Plenty to see. «Can we see Minneapolis from the top of the hill today?» Love running around in here.

Lilydale Park is a nature area and trail system located next to the Mississippi near St. Paul between Cherokee Park and Crosby Farm Regional Park. This park features plenty of awesome things to do and see. Let me number them for your viewing ease.
1) Bluffs overlooking St. Paul. This great view lets you survey the Capitol City, or you can be like me and pretend that you’re admiring your kingdom.
2) A trail system that meets up with river trials for miles of exploration and scenic river runs. Note, the actual trails in the park are gravel and somewhat steep. The connecting trails are all quite a bit more flat and easier to navigate. Those trails lead to paved ones that go to downtown St. Paul among other places.
3) Abandoned factory items strewn about. There used to be a brick factory located here. One can still see some of the old ovens and discarded bricks that have become overgrown by the vegetation.
4) Fossils! That’s right fossil right in plain sight. You don’t even have to do any digging (though you can get a permit to actually dig), but you can admire for free. Yes, most of the fossils are of ancient creatures like sponges, but how often do you get to see fossils? Not very often for most people.
In addition to the above there is a lot of wildlife, vegetation, and even a tiny waterfall. Check this place out. There are two entrances to the park. The lower one is where the address points to. The higher entrance is directly off Cherokee Heights Blvd.
Here is a map of the park.