I  can’t think of something I treasure much more than the urban dog parks.  It’s very cool to hit the gate, unleash the dog and watch him run & romp like he’s meant to. And for reasons I can’t explain (but Ceasar Milan can) there seems to be hardly any negative interactions among the 4-pawed visitors.

Of course, there’s always the “who’s top dog” contest, which seems to be settled inside 5 minutes. For us it usually ends with our Rottweiler mix being face-humped. It’s more humiliating for us owners than him.

Minneapolis has five of these off-leash locations - including Columbia Park, Franklin Terrance, Lake of the Isles, Minnehaha Park and Loring Park. For my money, the Minnehaha Park one off of Hiawatha is about the most beautiful parks in the city - dog park or not. It’s a walk in the woods by the Mississippi that can make you forget that you live in an urban jungle.

If you’re a Minneapolis resident it’s $35 to set your dog up and $60 for non-residents. Second dogs get in a bit cheaper. You can start the licence process here.

Of course, it’s not just Minneapolis dogs having all the fun, St. Louis Park has its own dog park, too.

Visit www.dogfriendly.com for a list of dog friendly parks and hotels in the Twin Cities area and spots around the country.

With gas prices what they are, people are looking to be closer to where they work, shop and play. This makes the timing perfect for the Excelsior and Grand redevelopment of St. Louis Park.

Located less than 15-minutes from downtown, St. Louis Park has a hot spot adding a little sparkle to an old-school suburb. Excelsior & Grand is a mixed-use project with condos, apartments and lofts - and high-end retail shopping including Trader Joe’s (3-buck Chuck has arrived!) and Panera Bread. (Rumor has it that the idea of Webdigs was born at a coffee shop there.)

But what makes the project special is its proximity toWolfe Park. It has biking trails, fishing pond and ball courts. For feeling very close to the city of Minneapolis the amount of green space is remarkable. Every June the park hosts the popular Parktacular Street Dance and Carnival .

Also handy is the Rec Center. The facility has indoor swimming pools, two ice arenas and rooms for nearly every community classes and lessons imaginable. But hands down the most popular feature is the outdoor Aquatic Slide Park with jumbo slides and a sandy play area.

Good friends, Chris and Kelly, left their cramped home in NorthEast Mpls for St. Louis Park when they were expecting their third child. When I asked Kelly about SLP this is what she said:

“We wanted to be in the city and live somewhere with diversity,” says Kelly, “but we also wanted the feeling of a small town.” What they found was a bigger home in St. Louis Park, just six blocks from Minneapolis and its urban lakes. “We’re getting a lot a city amenities, but in a community that feels like a manageable size.”

Long known as a Jewish enclave, St. Louis Park is the famous hometown of comedian and Senatorial hopeful, Al Franken and the Oscar-winning Cohen Brothers. Although other faiths now outnumber the area’s Jewish population, the Season of Lights would not be complete with seeing the giant, lit Menorah visible from the highway.

Interested in St. Louis Park? You can start your Webdig’s search HERE