If you haven’t lived in Forest Lake very long, you probably don’t fully understand how difficult it is to find entertaining activities in the summertime. Those who are here every summer have grown tired of the same old activities and want to find new ideas.
First off, people who live in Forest Lake are not usually too fond of spending money on their activities. So, when searching for what to do on a summer day, we all usually end up going out on the lake for a day of free sun and fun. Although most people enjoy sitting around just “hanging out,” especially because it is free, it gets pretty boring. If money is still an issue, but you don’t want to sit around someone’s house watching reruns of Jersey Shore all day, you could always try a good pick-up game of volleyball, tennis, or softball down at Beltz Park. Somedays though, these games can be too tiresome and people look for other free options. Other than taking a walk around town, this about wraps up the possibilities for free fun around Forest Lake.
Travelling out of town also offers some interesting ways to spend your day. A rarely thought of, but unique way to enjoy an afternoon, is to head to the Franconia Sculpture Garden. Although it seems strange to some students, the sculpture garden is constantly changing and has great interactive and captivating works of art. Not to mention, it is completely free to attend! However, a much more popular activity among Forest Lake students is to head over to Stillwater to enjoy the river, the shops, and the scenery on the way there. Unfortunately however, one can usually not avoid spending any money while they are there. With all of the intriguing shops and mouth watering restaurants, spending money is actually what goes on in Stillwater more often than not. As well as spending money on gas for the trip in the first place.
If you are willing to drop some cash for a day’s entertainment, there are many fun opportunities (not many in the actual town of Forest Lake, but pretty close). First of all, you can always stop at Dairy Queen to enjoy some ice cream on a sweltering hot day, or there is always the Lake 5 theater which you can save some money at by going to during the day to catch a matinee. Also, if you head up to Wyoming, Stars and Strikes offers a couple fun activities, such as bowling, arcade games, and laser tag. Similarly, in Maplewood there is a roller rink which can always bring you back to the “good old days” if you and some friends would enjoy roller skating around while a disco ball twirls above you. Finally, there is a paintball field in Blaine, which offers hours of fun and doubles as a great way to take out any aggression you have toward your friends.
Overall, what you do on those summer days when you are feeling bored of the same-old-same-old is a pretty tough decision. It involves thinking about how far you would like to travel, how much money you would like to spend, and ultimately how ambitious you are feeling. Hopefully, with the help of this post, these decisions will seem a little simpler!
