One of my favorite places here in Rochester is one step closer to becoming a fully-developed park-- complete with a beach!

Cascade Lake in northwest Rochester, as it looks right now. (CSJ/TSM-Rochester)
Cascade Lake in northwest Rochester, as it looks right now. (CSJ/TSM-Rochester)
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I've written before about how much I like to use the Cascade Lake Trail. It's located between 2nd St SW and Highway-14 in northwest Rochester, and isn't too far from our house.

Which is handy, because I love to get out on the trail with my mountain bike, or to lace up the shoes and jog around the lake. And now, a multi-million dollar donation has been made to help fully develop the Cascade Lake area into a pretty cool park.

According to this Post-Bulletin story, Cascade Lake area was the subject of a recent $2 million donation from the J. A. Wedum Foundation, which owns Shorewood Senior Campus and Cottagewood Senior Communities in Rochester.

The money will help develop the area into what looks like a really cool park, that will include "an amphitheater, visitors center, picnic shelters, landscaped garden, more tails, parking and a beach," the story said.

The park right now already consists of the 2.5 mile paved trail around the roughly 100-acre Cascade Lake, which was "created by mining sand. The entire park is about 200 acres and has been designated one of three regional parks in the Rochester area," the story said, "along with Quarry Hill and Gamehaven."

You can check out the complete plan for Cascade Lake Park HERE. It looks pretty cool-- and even though it won't be complete for several years yet, I'm looking forward to spending more time around this little gem, nestled right in the heart of Rochester!

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