Play some Sports

Another great thing to do in Plymouth, get some friends together for some sports! With plenty of fields and facilities get out and get start playing!

Michael Vick and Chad Lewis tossing the old pigskin

 Football: Plenty of room around here for football, it seems like every block has a park with reasonably decent upkeep. and if you really can't find any grass, theres plenty of roads that people dont drive on that much, for some street football (arguably my favorite pastime).

long live the Minnesota Moose

 Hockey: I went a little further in depth on hockey options earlier, which you can see here. But I would also note that hockey also plays well in the street, both in sneakers and on skates!

A league of their own

 Baseball/Softball: Baseball can be tough because you usually need big numbers, but don't let that stop you. Plymouth has some great baseball fields, especially Zachary Lane Park, and Bass Lake park. Another plug I would make is there are great batting cages at Zachary Lane Play field and at Armstrong High. Another thing I have heard of but never actually checked out is "The Cave." supposedly it's a sweet training facility for softball that is open year round. Also there are sweet indoor batting cages with pitching machines up in Brooklyn Park so you can practice your swing all year long. Check them out HERE.

hoop dreams

Basketball: Nothing like shooting some good hoops. If you haven't played "2 on 2" or "3 on 3" in your driveway for a while, go do it, odds are you've forgotten how fun it is to play on a 7 foot rim, and dust off your 360 Dunk. But if you want to go next level there are a lot of great options in town. Armstrong and Wayzata both have Gym's that I believe have open gym times. Lifetime fitness will let you hoop, for a price. And I know that the Mormon Chuch (2801 Douglas Dr. - Crystal, MN) Has a very nice gym and during the winter months often runs free leagues and open gym drop in nights.

And dont forget about bocce ball!

High School Football

Nothing like going to watch the youngsters toss the old pigskin around! Plymouth has 2 great high schools: Armstrong and Wayzata. Here are their schedules for the upcoming season.

Armstrong High School Football Schedule 2013

8/29 7pm @Maple Grove

9/6 7pm Blaine

9/13 5pm @Centennial

9/20 7pm @osseo

9/27 7pm Park Center

10/4 7pm @Elk River

10/11 7pm Totino Grace

10/25 7pm Playoffs

Wayzata High School Football Schedule 2013

8/29 7pm @Rosemont

9/6 8pm @Lakeville S.

9/12 7pm Anoka

9/27 6pm @Hopkins

10/4 7pm Edina

10/11 7pm @Eden Prairie

10/16 7pm Minnetonka

10/25 7pm Playoffs

Go for a Swim!

Calvin Wilks is ready for a swim at one of plymouth's beaches. You know you are too!

Summer is great here in Plymouth. One of the best ways to get out and enjoy it is swimming! Lifetime fitness has a great pool with big waterslides and an indoor pool too! But you do have to pay to use it 7.25 for adults and 3.50 for kids, that’s a special rate for Plymouth residents.  New Hope pool is also great with high dives and the classic outdoor pool vibe. However that pool closes on August 18.

The indoor pool at life time is sweet.

In my opinion swimming in one of Plymouths 8 lakes is way better anyways. It’s completely free of course and there are many well maintained beach areas.  The lakes are safe and clean, even though they’re real murky. 

The pavilion and beach at West Medicine Lake Park! A great place to swim, barbeque or pop wheelies on Radio Flyers

The best beach in Plymouth is West Medicine Lake Park. Its scenic and comfortable, the water stays shallow for quite a ways, there is a great playground, and a basketball court with a tall hoop and a short hoop so you can show off your best slam dunks. Another nice thing about this beach is it has an area where you can pull boats up and park them on the beach. You’ll always see plenty of fishermen at this park fishing both in the lake and on the little pond behind the park.

The Beach at West Medicine Lake Park, Nicest on the Lake.

Other good swimming areas:

French Park, good beach, but you have to park way up at the playground and ride a little shuttle train thing down to the beach, which is actually kind of fun.

East Medicine Lake Park: Nice but in a weird place by all these mechanical buildings, also windiest side of the lake.

Parkers Lake Park: This place is nice but last I saw it was completely underwater due to high water levels.  The Trick Water Ski Show by “Shockwaves” takes place at this park and its totally sweet.

Or Your Backyard:

Well there’s just a small sampling enjoy ‘em while you still can!

Storm Damage

This post isn't so much of a suggestion of something to do. Its more of an acknolegement that Plymouth weather is wild, and if you plan on spending any ammount of time in Plymouth: BE READY. If what I heard on the radio yesterday is accurate, the President delclared us a FEMA Disaster Zone due to our June storm. The following is a small documentation of what hit us last month.

...And this is why we had no power for days.

 This year we've seen it all, blizzards in late April, Tornados, Severe Thunderstorms, good times!

Part of the Plymouth lifestyle is dealing with severe weather. The people here are hearty and resilient though. Many were out of power for up to a week. But the really nice thing was the minute the storms were over I saw an outpouring of people out in the neighborhoods immediately helping out and pitching in to repair damage on their homes and their neighbor’s homes. It made me proud to be a Plymouth-ite.

French Park

French Park is Plymouth’s best Park. And it has Plymouth’s best playground. All you really need to know is they have the nets, aka the spider webs, aka the ropes, it’s fun for everyone. I included a few pictures to get you excited. But seriously not much has to be said, your right by a beach for swimming, there’s an indoor facility with taxidermied animals and ice cream treats and it’s the funnest playground equipment you’ve ever played on.  It’s the old kind of playground that’s not completely safe and made out of wood, therefore its more fun. So come play on it or bring your kids because they don’t make them like this anymore.

Part of it was under construction at this time, but as of last time I was there (5/8/15) all construction was complete.

Its free! and its located at: 12605 Rockford Rd  Plymouth, MN 55441
(763) 694-7750

Go There

Plymouth's Best Burger: Five Guys

When they finally shut down the old Blockbuster Video, I felt pretty sad, like a piece of my childhood had died, all the friday nights poring over all the VHS tapes and settling on raiders of the lost ark again. But then they put a Five Guys Burger Joint in where the Blockbuster store used to be and suddenly I wasn't too worried about all the videos I would not be renting anymore.

Five Guys is an excellent Burger and Fries fast food restaurant which originated in the Washington DC area. Since all my inlaws are from DC I'd known about Five Guys for several years, and I love it. There are tons of options for your burger, every kind of topping under the sun, but the menu is simple.

One thing thats funny at Five Guys is there are free peanuts all over the place, its pretty awesome, also they tell you exactly where their potatoes are coming from that day. (almost always Idaho). Every thing is super delicious and fresh. The standard burger comes with 2 beef patties, so you gotta specify if you only want one.

So go try one you wont regret it, perfect for a saturday lunch.

 4105 Vinewood Ln N - Where Blockbuster once was, right next to Target.

It's the best burger in town!! (till we get our In-n-Out burger, but that just wouldn't fly, would it Eric Fernelious of Simi Valley, California?)

Summer Time Activities for Kids in and around Plymouth 2013

Here are some Cool Community events that can be fun for the whole family, many are free! The list is created by Minnesota ECFE


June
13 - 16 - Brooklyn Park Tater Daze, Noble Sports Park 4701 Oak Grove Pkwy
14 - 15 - Missoula Children's Theater - Plymouth Creek Center
15 - 16 - Art in the Park 10am til 5pm Basset Creek Park, Crystal
15, 29 - Little Splashers Pool Time 10:30am - 12:30pm Crystal Cove Pool $3
17 - Three Rivers Naturalist 6:45pm Snakes and Turtles, Hilde Small Stage
21 - Water Day, 12:30-2:15 Sheid Park
27 - 29 - Earle Brown Days, Centennial Park, Brooklyn Center
28 - Happy Birthday America Parade, 10am Plymouth Hilde Center
28 - Annette Fragele, Magician, 11am Hilde Center, Plymouth

July
2 - Music in Plymouth - 5pm Hilde Amphitheater
9 - Kid Power with Rachael 7pm Music with live animals, Parkers Lake
11-14 - Whiz Bang Days Robbinsdale
12 - Water Day 12:30- 2:15 Scheid Park
12, 13 - Prairie Fire Theater (12th at 7pm, 13th at 2pm) Robin Hood
13, 20 - Little Splashers Pool Time 10:30am - 12:30pm Crystal Cove Pool $3
15 - Ice Cream Social 7pm Brookview Park
17 - Water Ski Show, 7pm Parkers Lake
18, 25 - New Hope Summer Theater, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 8pm, NH City Center
19-21 - Duk Duk Daze New Hope
23 - Brooklyn Center Puppet Playhouse, 7pm Centennial Park
24 - Concert, "the Zinghoppers"  11am Parkers Lake
25 - 28 - Crystal Frolics
26 - Penny Carnival, 10:30am- 12:30pm  Brookview Park
27 - Splash Bash 11:15am-12:45pm Crystal Cove Pool $4

August
1 - Pet and Wheel Parade, 6:15pm Robbinsdale
2 - Wet and Wild Fun Day, 12:30-3pm Lions Valley Place Park, Crystal $4
3, 10 - Little Splashers Pool Time, 10:30am - 12:30pm Crystal Cove Pool $3
4 - Concert, "Miss Catherine", 11am Parkers Lake
5 - Zoo Mobile, 6:45pm Cool Animals of the North, Hilde Small Stage.
7 - Picnic and Music 11:15am-12pm Brookview Park
7 - Water Ski Show 7pm Parkers Lake
10 - Antique Car Run 2pm Crystal Community Center

Have a great day in Plymouth!