Cleary Lake Regional Park Master Plan

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Scott County Parks and Trails and Three Rivers Park District are working to update the Cleary Lake Regional Park Master Plan. Factors given consideration during the master plan update process will include changes in demographics of park users and the surrounding communities, as well as evolution of recreation trends. The goal of the process is to develop a plan that provides a detailed vision to make Cleary as welcoming and relevant as possible for future park users.

The park, located just south of Prior Lake and Savage, includes the following amenities available in the spring, summer and fall: paved and natural surface trails, a nine-hole golf course, boat rentals, swimming beach, picnic areas, volleyball courts, paddling and fishing opportunities, camping, and rental pavilions. In the winter, the park offers trails (some groomed and lighted) for cross-country skiing, winter biking, skijoring, and snowshoeing. The park also offers a very popular dog park that is open year-round.

This project will guide the park’s development, including recreation, conservation, and stewardship plans, for the next 20 years.

The draft concept plan is coming soon! Check back on this site or visit the Cleary Lake Regional Park Facebook page for updates. In the meantime, if you'd like to make comments about the project, please leave your comment in the Guest Book below or click the link below to view an interactive map of the park and post comments directly on the map.


View the Map



Scott County Parks and Trails and Three Rivers Park District are working to update the Cleary Lake Regional Park Master Plan. Factors given consideration during the master plan update process will include changes in demographics of park users and the surrounding communities, as well as evolution of recreation trends. The goal of the process is to develop a plan that provides a detailed vision to make Cleary as welcoming and relevant as possible for future park users.

The park, located just south of Prior Lake and Savage, includes the following amenities available in the spring, summer and fall: paved and natural surface trails, a nine-hole golf course, boat rentals, swimming beach, picnic areas, volleyball courts, paddling and fishing opportunities, camping, and rental pavilions. In the winter, the park offers trails (some groomed and lighted) for cross-country skiing, winter biking, skijoring, and snowshoeing. The park also offers a very popular dog park that is open year-round.

This project will guide the park’s development, including recreation, conservation, and stewardship plans, for the next 20 years.

The draft concept plan is coming soon! Check back on this site or visit the Cleary Lake Regional Park Facebook page for updates. In the meantime, if you'd like to make comments about the project, please leave your comment in the Guest Book below or click the link below to view an interactive map of the park and post comments directly on the map.


View the Map



Cleary Lake Regional Park Master Plan Comments

Please share your feedback about Cleary Lake Regional Park and how it can better meet the needs of park guests and residents.

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Great place for party's and family gatherings.

Al almost 3 years ago

The walking path is great. I wish it wasn’t so crowded with fast moving wheels. Is there a way to accommodate all of us with more space?

Jay Kay almost 3 years ago

Please do not make too many changes. Do not add pickle ball courts or anything for which reservations are needed. I would not allow large RV's or MORE RV's if they are already allowed. The park is beautiful the way it is and more attractions will increase traffic and possibly cause parking problems. Improvement of playground equipment would be helpful. I do agree with making the trail around the lake divided for bikes and walkers, i.e. each should stay on one side of the trail. I would like a couple of dog drinking fountains around the lake if possible. Thank you.

JulieK almost 3 years ago

I wish that some of the trails around Cleary could be used for horses!

I dont have one almost 3 years ago

Tennis courts are needed. Prior Lake has only 2 public courts often used by pickleball players. 6 courts at Cleary would be great.

sp almost 3 years ago

-An expanded play area (like French Regional)
-A single track with bike playground (like Carver Lake Park in Woodbury)
-Play areas pit-stops around the lake (like Rice Lake park in PL).

FL almost 3 years ago

Leave it as a 9-hole golf course. Consider adding trail links to the existing trail system outside of the park. Any new additions or upgrades need maintenance & replacement dollars..so plan well. Make sure you balance environmental needs and human wants.

Multi-use trails (bikers & walkers) as an example can and are problematic if the trail is not wide enough to safely handle/accommodate both. Consider trail widening/separations.

BG almost 3 years ago

My wife and I walk there frequently. I find that I often voice “Slow Down” to bikers. Common path is too narrow for a bike race track and family walking path.

Age74 almost 3 years ago

With the park being used so much trail crowding is one of my main concerns. Walkers, bicycles, rollerbladers, strollers, etc.... All sharing the same space. The pandemic seems to have made the park super busy on nice days, so having a trail for walking vs bicycle, etc......Also golf seems to be less popular than it was 5 years ago, so maybe study that to see if the golf course is still worth it's upkeep. On the other hand, it's nice to have a relatively inexpensive place to golf. Many of the nearby courses are on the spendy side.

DaveG almost 3 years ago

I'm afraid I can't offer any opinion because I've never been to the park myself

Kaitlyn almost 3 years ago

Would love to see more bike-only paths, particularly unpaved for mountain/trail bike riders. Perfection would be a single-track mountain-bike trail.

Jeff Smith almost 3 years ago

Nice park. I rollerblade and skate ski there. I didn't see anything on the interactive map showing future developments that I could comment on; at least on my phone.

Wildbilly almost 3 years ago

I think the park is great. I would appreciate a larger dog park, the one we have is terrific but after years of using it an expanded area of woods would be lovely. Thank you.

Bonlou almost 3 years ago

There is McColl Pond ELC in Savage and the children do many environmental activities through school, however, I feel like there are not as many event options to do as a family in Scott County as other Three Rivers parks. I don’t know how much use the golf course gets as compared to past years. I have seen an article about kick golf becoming a ledger pastime (like golf and soccer combined). I also enjoy disk golf, but am unaware of many courses in Scott county.

I am worried a lot about the natural areas around Prior Lake getting developed, not just old farmland, but privately owned forested areas getting bulldozed. I was informed at a Blandings Turtle talk that Three Rivers was not concerned about the turtles in Murphy Hanrehan. With the fast development of the land, I wonder if this should be reconsidered. I worry about the animals crossing roads, I have been tracking Roadkill in iNaturalist and there have been many killed in specific areas in our community, including the north side of Cleary Lake Park along Eagle Creek.

I know that a lot of long time community members complain about the quality of Cleary Lake itself. I know my family would rather go to different beaches than Cleary Lake. If the lake condition is not caused by human problems (it is supposed to be like this) then I would not recommend doing anything that harms the water ecosystem.

Eric Meyer about 3 years ago

We have lived in Prior Lake for more than 45 years and have enjoyed this Park and it's facilities. Besides the hiking trails, golf course, and park areas that we have used since moving her we also snowmobile. We see the current snowmobile trail on the Master plan but cannot find any mention of it in the new master plan verbiage. This trail is the only snowmobile route available to travel to and from Prior Lake to the Savage and Lakeville areas. Our trails organization and Three Rivers Parks have a very great working relationship and we really hope that it will continue, and that snowmobiling will always be a part of this Park.

Terry Hutchinson about 3 years ago

I heard that the Snowmobile trail has been there in Cleary Lake for over 50 years and is Vital link in the trail system. I didn't see anything mentioned about this trail anywhere but does show up on the map. The Scott County 2040 Master Plan states snowmobiling will likely remain strong through 2040 and in 2017 there were 3875 registered snowmobiles in Scott County and 4256 to people who identified as riding primarily in Scott County. Thank You

Tom Wills about 3 years ago

There are a lot of good suggestions, I would like to see the snowmobile trails that already exist through Cleary Lake Park remain part of the parks trail system. Prior Lake is a "snowmobile friendly community" and that trail is a vital corridor to the trail system in this area.
It's just a wider non-paved path that gets a little more use during the winter time. I'm not sure if it is or not part of the non-paved system going through the park already, but I think it could be integrated with that system in some manner.
Thanks for letting us give some feedback on concerns about the park!

G Gertner about 3 years ago

I’m disabled and I would also like a separate bike path. The pavement is smooth and easy to push/ride on path. It’s my favorite park.

Susie Cates about 3 years ago

There are many excellent suggestions. I love hiking the non-paved paths. Please keep them just how they are! It would be great if there could be some preventative measures taken regarding the geese on the beach. Swimming and walking in goose poop clay is less than ideal. Also, a better playground would be fantastic. Thank you for your consideration from the people that love Cleary!

mplsgrl2004 about 3 years ago

Nordic trail snowmaking would be great. It seems the cross country ski community has outgrown Hyland.

KeevanS about 3 years ago
Page last updated: 17 Dec 2023, 03:24 PM