MNFurs Fall Picnic 2017 Transportation Options

We are now about four weeks out from the MNFurs Fall Picnic and it’s time to get you ready for this annual event with that more information you have been waiting on.

When is it?
Saturday, September 30th from 11 AM start to 8 PM close.

Where is it?
Wabun D Shelter – Wabun Picnic Area
Minnehaha Park
Minneapolis, MN

How do I get there?

With this new location in Minneapolis comes several more options for coming to the picnic. We have buses, walking or biking, driving, carpools, and even the option of taking the light rail to get part of the way there.

LRT Options
If you’re coming from Minneapolis or Bloomington, the Blue Light Rail Line (Hiawatha Ave) stops just a few short miles from the picnic area with a bus rapid transit line to get you to the park.
Take the Blue line to the 46th Street station and hop onto the “A” line and get off at 46th Ave S. and 46th St. The picnic area is just a walk south to Wabun “D” Shelter.

From St. Paul the Green Light Rail Line you can still use the same “A” line connection on the St. Paul side to get to the Park but you will be spending more time on the connector bus.
Take the Green Line to Snelling & University where you will get off and head to the stop south of the intersection on the west side that serves the “A” Line [Stop Number 56122]. From here you get the “A” Line bus heading south and get off at the same 46th Ave and 46th St. Where the Picnic area is just a walk South to Wabun “D” Shelter.

Bus Options

Aside from the “A” Line mentioned above, you can also get to the Park by taking the following less frequent routes:

74 & 46 – Both of these routes stop at the same 46th Ave and 46th St. as the “A” line does, so if you are a bit more flexible or coming from an area that is served or more easily connects to these lines, you can follow the same instructions as if you were taking the “A” line.

23 – The 23 is the north/south line that serves the park and the Minnesota Veterans Home. Taking this route you can either get off at the shelters just north of the 46th Ave and 46th St interchange, or if it is a 23C bus, you can go a bit further south to take the Godfrey Parkway stop or the Veterans Home & Building 19 stop that will be just south of the picnic area.

Walking or Biking

If you are close by you may want to walk or bike to the Picnic. In this case, you may want to use Google Maps or a similar application and try entering the address “Wabun D, Minneapolis, MN 55417” to get directions right to the shelter. [This is confirmed working in Google Maps]
Most transit or online navigation apps have an entry for “Wabun Picnic Area” if the above doesn’t work which will at least get you to the group of Shelters.

Carpooling

We have created a section on our forums to allow members of our community to request and offer to help out in transportation to and from the picnic. While we can’t vouch for any offers or requests, we hope this will help make it easier for members of our community to coordinate.

Driving

As a general rule of thumb, the three main roads to get to are I-94, Hwy 55, and Hwy 62. From here you should be able to follow one of the following directions to get to the Picnic Area…

I-94 from the West:
Take Hiawatha (Hwy 55) south to 46th Street where you will be taking a Left (East) onto 46th Street. Before 46th Avenue becomes Ford Parkway you will be at a stoplight intersecting 46th Ave. Take 46th Ave right (south) to get to the Picnic area. See the parking section for more information.

I-94 from the East:
Take the Cretin Ave/Vandalia St exit and head South a few miles. At the end of the road turn Right (west) onto Ford Parkway. Now go over the Parkway bridge to the next intersection with lights and you will be turning left (south) onto 46th Ave to the Picnic area. See the parking section for more information.

Hwy 62 (aka Cross Town) from the West:
Where 62 turns into 55 just north of the airport you will want to take the Hiawatha/55 exit. Then you will go North (left) until you reach 46th St where you will take a Right onto 46th St. Before 46th Avenue becomes Ford Parkway you will be at a stoplight intersecting 46th Ave. Take 46th Ave right (south) to get to the Picnic area. See the parking section for more information.

From Hwy 55 (south/west) & 110:
Coming from the Mendota region you will want to make sure you are on or getting onto Hwy 55 heading North/West. As you go over the river and approach the side of the river with the Airport on your left, keep your eyes out from the Hwy 55/Hiawatha Ave exist that will be on your right. Keep right to merge merge on Hiawatha Ave heading north/staying on Hwy 55. Keep going north until 46th St where you will take a Right onto 46th St. Before 46th Avenue becomes Ford parkway you will be at a stoplight intersecting 46th Ave. Take 46th Ave right (south) to get to the Picnic area. See the parking section for more information.

Parking
The city of Minneapolis has both paid and free parking areas in the Minnehaha park region. Around our Picnic area the parking is mostly free but there are a few things to remember.
– If you park in a paid spot you still need to pay.
– In the south lot, you cannot take up the rows closest to the Veterans Home since that lot is shared.
– There are several lots and side street parking areas. Try not to take up most of the spots that feed into the other picnic areas (marked on the map below in yellow).
Don’t park on the grass or obstruct traffic.