Lake Phalen is an urban

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

located in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

and in its suburb of Maplewood. It is one of the largest lakes in Saint Paul and is the centerpiece of the Phalen Regional Park System. The lake drains into the Mississippi River after traveling through Phalen Creek. The lake and surrounding park receive around 500,000 visitors each year.

Lake

Lake Phalen is one of the Twin Cities most popular fishing lakes. The lake is stocked with

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

s every other year and

tiger muskie The tiger muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy × lucius'' or ''Esox lucius × masquinongy''), commonly called tiger muskie, is a carnivorous fish, and is the usually-sterile, hybrid offspring of the true muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy'') and the no ...

s every three years. The lake also has northern pike, largemouth bass, crappie and sunfish that are able to maintain population levels naturally. The lake has a watershed. The lake is also home to an unusual fish. The rainbow darter was first found in 1996 by workers from the

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or Minnesota DNR, is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recre ...

. The fish normally lives in fast moving streams. The fish is only found in six to eight other streams in Minnesota.

Eurasian watermilfoil ''Myriophyllum spicatum'' (Eurasian watermilfoil or spiked water-milfoil) is native to Europe, Asia, and north Africa, but has a wide geographic and climatic distribution among some 57 countries, extending from northern Canada to South Africa. It ...

, an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

to Minnesota, was first discovered in the lake in 1997 and continues to grow in the lake.

Boating

The lake has always had sailing and boating. In the 1890s sailing was very popular. In 1919, 880 canoes were stored onshore. Now the Saint Paul Sailing Club has space to moor 50 boats on the lake. In addition the lake hosts

College rowing Rowing is the oldest intercollegiate sport in the United States. The first intercollegiate race was a contest between Yale and Harvard in 1852. In the 2018–19 school year, there were 2,340 male and 7,294 female collegiate rowers (on 57 and 148 t ...

competitions on a 1,940-meter course. The University of Minnesota holds several meets a year at Lake Phalen. The first competition to be held was in the spring of 2003 after the U of M elevated rowing to a Varsity Sport in 2000. In 2006, the Big Ten Championships were held at Lake Phalen. Currently gas powered motors are not allowed on the lake. Electrical trolling motors however are allowed.

History

Lake Phalen was named after an early Irish settler of Saint Paul,

Edward Phelan Edward Phelan, also Phalen or Felyn (c.1811-1850), was an early settler of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Phelan was born in approximately 1811 in Derry, Ireland and later became, along with John Hays and William Evans, one of the first settlers of Saint ...

. Phalen built a cabin near Phalen Creek in

Swede Hollow Swede Hollow was a neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota. It was one of a large group of neighborhoods collectively known as the East Side, lying just to the east of the near-downtown Railroad Island neighborhood, and at the northwestern base of ...

. Phalen Creek travels from Lake Phalen and drains into the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

just north of Lambert's Landing. The lake that was drained by the creek became known as Phalen's Lake despite Phelan never living near its shores. The Saint Paul Water Company set up a supply plant at Lake Phalen in 1869 and the lake was used as Saint Paul's primary source of water until 1913. John Fletcher Williams, a local historian, wrote in 1876 "It is a disgrace, that the name of this brutal murderer has been affixed to one of our most beautiful lakes - one that supplies our households with water." Phalen had been accused of murdering his partner, John Hays in 1839, however another man later confessed to Hays' murder. Soon after the park was acquired, in 1899, the Saint Paul Board of Park Commissioners attempted to "tame" the lake shore. Emergent vegetation and other plants, such as bulrush, grew all around the lake shore. The lake shore became almost constantly dredged and wetland areas around the lake were filled in to create lawn space. Eventually of vegetation and sediment was dredged from around the lake shore. In the 1920s, 50 percent of the shoreline was lined with riprap. Beginning in 1906 with a herd of sheep, the lawn space next to the lake was cut right up to the lake shore. As a result of these practices shoreline erosion became a problem. In 2001, the lake began a five-year shoreline restoration program. The program converted a majority of the riprap to natural vegetation. The percentage natural vegetation around the lake changed from 28 percent to 74 percent.

Park

The city of Saint Paul acquired the lake and surrounding area in 1899 for $22,000. The area surrounding the lake has been made into a park. The park has the only swimming lake in Saint Paul. An 18 hole golf course is also located in the park.Phalen Park
''Saint Paul Parks and Recreation'' A Chinese garden is being developed with St. Paul's sister city,

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Phalen Park is a sister to that city's Yanghu Wetland's Park. A replica of the latter's pavilion is being sent in exchange for five ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...

'' statues. Along the west side of the shoreline is a monument that the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

built to commemorate their work in improving the park.

Phalen Creek

Phalen Creek drains the lake and flows into the Mississippi River. Near the turn of the 20th century most of the creek was covered over and routed through sewers. Since then there have been several attempts to completely uncover it. A portion of the lower creek is uncovered and runs along the

Bruce Vento Regional Trail The Bruce Vento Regional Trail is a rail trail in the cities of Vadnais Heights, Gem Lake, Maplewood, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. The trail occupies an abandoned Burlington Northern Railroad corridor and intersects with the Gateway St ...

PLAN Phalen Lake Association of Neighbors

PLAN was founded in 2009 with its stated mission to, "Advocate for and preserve the quality of life of neighborhoods around Phalen lake." The organization consists of people living in and around the Phalen Lake area. The association has no public or private funding, and all of its administrators donate their time. PLAN also hosts an online calendar of events for activities focusing on the lake.*

Notes

References

* ** Republished as: * {{authority control Phalen Regional parks in Minnesota Protected areas of Ramsey County, Minnesota Phalen