Plymouth's Late-Fall Calendar Runs Through One Building on 34th Avenue
At 4:45 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, the first free Plymouth Metrolink shuttle leaves the Plymouth Community Center at 14800 34th Ave. N. and heads to Parkers Lake for Halloween at the Lake. The PCC parking lot is the starting point, and that's true for most of the rest of the season. The Hilde Performance Center's summer stage is done for the year. From now until the holiday lights go up in December, most of the city's free markets, matinees and Santa traditions are held at the PCC or the city buildings next to it. Even Halloween, which is at a lakeside park across town, starts from the PCC lot.
The city is also building something to make that cluster easier to walk. Here's what's on the calendar and how the pieces fit.
Halloween at the Lake runs 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30. The city's event listing gives two addresses for it. The header says Parkers Lake Park, 15205 County Road 6, and the description says Parkers Lake Playfield, 15500 County Road 6. Either way, the city recommends the shuttle because parking at the event is limited. Shuttles run 4:45 to 8:15 p.m., and parking at the PCC is free.
The lineup includes inflatables, food trucks, pumpkin bowling, bingo, an interactive DJ, a sensory station, LED mini golf and a touch-a-truck with Plymouth Police and Fire vehicles. Admission is free and costumes are encouraged. Bring cash or a card for the food trucks.
If you go back to Parkers Lake on a weekday soon after, look west of the park building. The city's forestry and horticulture crews have scheduled a late-October soil remediation for a grove of oaks there. The trees are showing stress from root problems, past drought years and pressure from native borers. Crews will decompact the soil and replace it with soil better suited to oaks, add irrigation, and convert the understory back to native oak savanna. Halloween night and the oak work share the same park in the same week.
Two other Halloween options fall on Saturday, Oct. 24, both run by Three Rivers Park District:
Daylight saving time ends Sunday, Nov. 1, so it gets dark before most people finish work. The city's November/December Plymouth News lists the month's events, and most of them are at 14800 34th Ave. N.
The art gallery changes shows in early November. The Minnesota Mosaic Guild's "Piecing Us Together" exhibit runs through Oct. 30. From Nov. 6 through Dec. 27, the gallery shows work by the Plymouth Woodcarvers and the Open Art Studio group, two senior groups that meet weekly at the PCC and are open to new members. The gallery is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, which makes it one of the few free things in town you can see after dark on a weeknight.
The Plymouth Artisan Market is Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's free to attend. Vendors sell handmade soaps, fine art, apparel, pottery, candles, woodwork, jewelry and more. The market comes a week after the gallery opens a show by local woodcarvers, so the same building hosts two handmade-goods events within eight days.
Movie Matinees for ages 55+ are at 1 p.m. on Tuesdays, Nov. 17 and Dec. 15, in the PCC's Black Box Theater. Popcorn is provided. The matinees are free, but you need to register.
Low-Stim Sunday at the K.U.B.E. runs 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 29. The indoor playground opens with fewer people, dimmed lights and no overhead music, and a sensory room and sensory bags are available. It's free. Registration is encouraged for kids 3 and older, and walk-ins are welcome.
One event is at the City Hall campus instead. The Veterans Drive-Thru Breakfast is 9:30 to 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Plymouth Veterans Memorial, 3400 Plymouth Blvd. It's free for Plymouth veterans, and each can bring one non-veteran guest for $12. Register by Thursday, Oct. 29. City Hall is also open for early in-person voting with a tabulator from Oct. 16 through Nov. 2, including Saturday, Oct. 24, Saturday, Oct. 31 and Sunday, Nov. 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Santa's Mailbox opens Saturday, Nov. 28 and runs through Sunday, Dec. 13 at four drop-off points:
Letters need a self-addressed, stamped envelope to get a reply. Starting Friday, Dec. 4, the PCC also hides 12 tiny wooden Santas around the building. Pick up a card at the front desk, and anyone who finds all 12 is entered in a drawing for a $100 Parks and Recreation gift card. In early December, holiday lights go up at the Hilde and turn on at dusk for the rest of the season.
All four mailbox locations are city buildings in City Center. On its Park & Trail Projects page, the city calls an accessible off-street connection from the PCC to the Hilde, the Ice Center and City Hall "one critical link that is missing." The Plymouth Creek Trail project is meant to fill it with a 500-foot boardwalk, about 0.10 mile of new asphalt trail, lighting, trail counters and wayfinding signs connecting the PCC with the Hilde, the Ice Center and City Hall.
Construction started this year. In its Sept. 3 update, the city said helical piles for the boardwalk would wrap up the following week, and crews would then move on to the deck and the west boardwalk abutment. The city hasn't published a completion date. For this year's Santa trip, plan on driving or walking the road between buildings. Once the boardwalk is finished, the PCC, the lights at the Hilde and the mailbox at City Hall will be one lit walk apart.
Several parks in other parts of Plymouth are changing this fall, so check these before you head out.
Lake Camelot Park in northwest Plymouth is near the end of a full rebuild. The approved master plan includes a play area for ages 2 to 5 and a larger one for ages 5 to 12, a restroom, new docks and better trail connections. The city's project log describes the restroom being built by the Cheshire parking lot as a four-season building. The city scheduled substantial completion for Oct. 15. As of its Sept. 3 update, playground installation had started with the castle and was expected to take four to six weeks. The east boardwalk was built, and the restroom was waiting on its final inspection. The old south boardwalk won't come back. According to its permit findings, the Minnesota DNR denied a permit to replace it in January 2025, and the approved plan uses fishing-pier docks there instead. Check the project page before promising anyone the castle.
Chankahda Trail is closed from Cheshire Parkway to Yucca Lane, along with the south leg of the Yucca Lane intersection. The city's Oct. 13 update says both will reopen in November 2026. The project adds trail along the corridor. The park's rebuilt north boardwalk is designed as part of a continuous trail along Chankahda that connects to the existing trails in Lake Camelot Park. The detour and staging map shows the current routing.
Six neighborhood parks are getting fall paving. The list is Circle Park's basketball court and trails, plus trails at Gleanloch, Green Tree Island, Harbor Lane, Lions and Three Ponds, and the city says temporary closures may happen. If you have a regular dog-walking loop through one of these, expect a few changes.
For a guided walk, Three Rivers has a free, drop-in Walk with a Naturalist at French Regional Park on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2 to 3 p.m., starting in front of the visitor center. The day after Thanksgiving, Eastman Nature Center hosts a free Opt Outside family hike, 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 27.
Before the Artisan Market or a gallery visit, you can stop at Nested North Coffee, a locally owned shop at 4190 Vinewood Lane N., Suite 112. It serves coffee, tea drinks and light bites, and its site lists hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day. With a 4 p.m. close, it's a morning or early-afternoon stop.
The season's handmade-goods events finish on Saturday, Dec. 5, with the Merry Market at the Plymouth History Center, 3605 Fernbrook Lane, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Local vendors sell handmade goods, and there will be hot chocolate and treats. Santa's Mailbox will be there too, so kids can mail their letters at the market. Letters need a self-addressed, stamped envelope there as well.
If a lot of your Plymouth routine runs through the City Center blocks around the PCC, Hilde, Ice Center and City Hall, and you're starting to think about which house best fits that routine, Nicole Stone would love to talk it through over coffee. Schedule a Free Consultation and bring your questions about the Plymouth neighborhoods you're considering.
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