The Oakdale Nature Preserve

On a warm yet muggy day, my husband and I decided to take a walk through the Oakdale Nature Preserve which is located in Oakdale, Minnesota. The Preserve has a Discovery Center that was closed when we were there.

Discover Center - Oakdale, Minnesota
Discovery Center – Oakdale, Minnesota

The paved pathways are easy to walk on — thankfully!

P1090504
Path at the Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

A lone duck sits in this rain-made pond. Can you see him over on the right sitting on the log?

P1090505
Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota
P1090506
Oakdale Nature Preserver – Oakdale, Minnesota

Wooded benches with names of people who donated them or for whom they are in memoriam are scattered throughout the Preserve.

P1090507
Benches at the Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

Throughout the Preserve, wooden birdhouses can be seen — some are attached to trees and others are on long poles.

P1090508
Bird house at the Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

There was a section of the park where they had set aside an area to grow vegetables. I’m not sure how that will work since deer frequent this park.

P1090510
Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota
P1090511
Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota
P1090512
Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota
P1090513
Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota
P1090514
Oakdale Nature Preservec – Oakdale, Minnesota

The Oakdale Nature Preserve is 220 acres. We saw people jogging, walking their dogs and enjoying the quiet of the area.

P1090517
Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

Since moving to Minnesota, I haven’t seen very many lilac trees.  This tree was in full bloom but did not “smell” like a lilac tree.

P1090520
Lilac Tree at the Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota
P1090519
Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

I want to get a few birdhouses for our property like the one below.  They are nice and tall and squirrels are not able to climb up the poles.

P1090532
Bird house at the Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

Since we had a late spring, the cherry trees are just now blooming.

P1090534
Cherry Tree at the Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

This handmade wooden bench gave me inspiration to make something similar to use on our property. It won’t be quite as fancy but I’m sure it will work fine. Shhhh … it’s going to be a project for my husband.  (laughing)

P1090536
Wood Bench at the Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

I have always enjoyed walking through or past groves of trees and this day was no exception. The appearance of “camaraderie” among trees makes me feel as if I’m one with nature. I would have taken a nice deep breath but for the cottonwood trees that were also in full bloom (achoo!).

Discovery Center - Oakdale, Minnesota
Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

Further down one of the trails we saw a playground.

P1090523
Playground at the Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

The preserve is well taken care of and there were areas where piles of branches were lain waiting to be picked up.

P1090524
Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

Continuing on our walk, we saw tennis courts. Hmmm … I wonder if my husband would entertain the idea of playing tennis. Knowing him, he’d entertain the idea but that would be the extent of it.

P1090525
Tennis Court at the Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

The evergreens appear like sticks of wood topped by greenery.

P1090526
Grove of Evergreen Trees at the Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota
P1090527
Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota
P1090529
Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

A small creek ran through part of the trail we were on.

P1090530
Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota
Discovery Center - Oakdale, Minnesota
Path at the Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

There is a picnic area next to the Discovery Center.

Picnic Area at the Discovery Center - Oakdale, Minnesota
Picnic Area at the Oakdale Nature Preserve – Oakdale, Minnesota

The Preserve is peaceful and lends itself to absorbing oneself in ones thoughts.

Oakdale Nature Preserve

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-0883826085904242