Many people travel to Baylor Regional Park
to walk or run on the nearly four miles of trails
through forest and prairie. The Maple Trail offers
syrup demonstrations and sap collections in the
spring. There is also a boardwalk through a cattail
marsh that is almost one-quarter-mile long.
For large gatherings of up to 100 people, a
community room is available from May through
October with advance reservation. The 1935
remodeled barn has a food preparation area, heat,
air conditioning, fl ush restrooms, and outdoor deck
seating.
Park visitors can play a round of 18-hole disc
golf. The course, which opened in September 2007,
has baskets with turf and natural tee boxes.
There is no additional charge to play disc golf,
but a Carver County parking permit is required for
all vehicles in the park.
When cold weather hits, cross country skis and
snowshoes are available for rental at the park offi ce
during weekends.
For those who prefer to stay at the park for longer
periods of time, there are opportunities to camp at
one of 50 camping sites. Thirty-fi ve of the sites have
water and electrical hookups, and 15 are primitive.
There is also a group camping area. While there,
visitors can eat a picnic lunch or relax on the
swimming beach.
Lake Observatory. The HotSpot classroom is a
space for guests to enjoy a live video feed from the
observatory telescopes.
Plans have been made to add a Lunt 152 solar
telescope to the Sylvia A. Casby Observatory in
2017.
The Onan Observatory has more than a dozen
telescopes on four observing platforms for guests to
view the stars, planets, and other celestial objects.
To contact someone from the Eagle Lake
Observatory, email onaninfo@mnastro.org, or
leave a message in the Minnesota Astronomical
Society’s voice mailbox at (952) 467-2426.
More information is also available at www.
mnastro.org.
Carver County also maintains other nearby parks
that offer a variety of activities.
Lake Waconia Regional Park
Lake Waconia Regional Park, currently a
100-acre park, is in its early development stage,
expanding to a future 164-acre park, which
will include Coney Island of the West. Situated
on the southern shore of Lake Waconia, Lake
Waconia Regional Park boasts a reservable group
picnic shelter, play equipment, restrooms, small
swimming beach, picnic tables, volleyball court,
and grills. Outside the park, boat access is available
at the Minnesota DNR boat access located on the
For sports enthusiasts, the park offers a ball fi eld,
tennis courts, sand volleyball courts, and horseshoe
pits.
For reservations or information about any park
activity, contact the Carver County Park Offi ce at
(952) 466-5250 or parks@co.carver.mn.us.
Parking passes, maps, and other information can
also be obtained online, by visiting www.co.carver.
mn.us.
Eagle Lake Observatory
No visit to Baylor Regional Park is complete
without at least a glance at Eagle Lake Observatory,
a state-of-the-art facility operated by the Minnesota
Astronomical Society (MAS).
The site had been gaining popularity in recent
years, and hit a new attendance record of 4,266
visitors in 2015.
In 2016, an estimated 3,680 visitors attended
public, special, and other events at the observatory.
Public viewings take place on certain nights,
typically from about 7 to 10 p.m., in both clear or
cloudy weather. When conditions do not allow for
direct viewing, videos, presentations, or tours may
be substituted.
The Sylvia A. Casby Observatory and HotSpot
classroom were added to the location of the existing
Onan Observatory in 2013. The Sylvia A. Casby
Observatory is equipped with three telescopes,
including the largest refracting telescope at Eagle
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