Lake Calhoun
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Lake Calhoun is one of the larger lakes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. Surrounded by city park land and circled by bike and walking trails, it is popular for many outdoor activities. The lake has an area of 422 acres. [1]
The lake is part of the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, connecting with Lake of the Isles on the northeast, Cedar Lake on the northwest, and Lake Harriet on the south. The trail system has a 3.2 mile trail for bicyclists and skaters and a 3.1 mile trail for pedestrians. In addition, the Midtown Greenway Trail is located just north of the lake and just north of Lake Street. The lake itself is popular for canoeing, kayaking, and windsurfing, and it has three beaches. Surrounding parks offer picnicking, volleyball, and athletic fields. It is also home of sailing, hosting the Calhoun Yacht Club, the Lake Calhoun Sailing School, as well as local highschool teams and the University of St Thomas Sailing Team.
A plaque on the east side of the lake commemorates the first home built in Minneapolis by Gideon Pond, a missionary, in the 1830's. On the west side is located the Bakken Museum, which is devoted to the study of electromagnetism.
[edit] The Name
Originally called by the Dakota "Mde Ma-ka-ska", which meant "Lake of the White Earth", settlers later named it with the Dakota name "Medoza" or Loon Lake. The United States Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, sent the Army to survey the area surrounding Fort Snelling in 1817. Calhoun had also authorized the construction of Fort Snelling, one of the earliest settlements in the state. The surveyors renamed the water body "Lake Calhoun" in his honor.
