Hiking in the Powderhorn Lakes: trails, map and practical info

The Powderhorn Park neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota (part of the larger Powderhorn community) is located approximately three miles south of downtown and is bordered by East Lake Street to the north, Cedar Avenue to the east, East 38th Street to the south, and Chicago Avenue to the west. Its namesake is the city's Powderhorn Park facility in the northwestern part of the neighborhood around Powderhorn Lake, which contains playing fields, playgrounds and a park building that hosts community education classes ranging from pottery to yoga. In winter, a portable warming house is set up and the lake is used for ice skating. Developed mainly between 1905 and 1920, it is a residential area consisting of single-family homes, duplexes, and three-story brick apartment buildings. Approximately 9,000 people live in Powderhorn Park. According to the 2000 Census, 42% of the population is white, 22% each black and Hispanic, and 5% each Asian and Native American. Along Lake Street, numerous new and existing Hispanic and African businesses show the area's diversity. The neighborhood belongs to two Minneapolis City Council wards, Ward 9 in the east and Ward 8 in the west. The park and lake are used as the setting for the last act in the city's annual May Day parade (actually occurring on the first Sunday in May), which is a play in motion that has been put on by the In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre since 1975. As the parade runs south along Bloomington Avenue, participants wear a variety of costumes, and many manipulate giant puppets, all to produce a story that is based on sociopolitical themes including peace, environmentalism, current events, and others. After the parade story ends, the tail end of the parade is a "free speech" section which includes representatives of community groups and campaigning politicians. After the parade, there is an intermission as people gather on a hillside at the west end of the park for the Tree of Life ceremony. Many details of the final act change from year to year, but there are several figures that consistently appear: River, Woods, Prairie, Sky, Sun, and the Tree of Life. At the end of the ceremony, a flotilla comes across the lake with the Sun figure in the central boat. The Sun awakens the Tree of Life (a figure which includes a traditional maypole), and the crowd sings "You Are My Sunshine" to mark the banishment of another season of winter. In 2009 a group of residents started the Powderhorn365 program that documents the day-to-day life of the neighborhood, through a daily photograph from the neighborhood.