Lyndale Park is the garden side of the Chain of Lakes, with rose gardens, perennial beds, an arboretum, a peace garden, and a bird sanctuary near Lake Harriet. It is more deliberate and planted than the surrounding lake paths, which makes it a good stop when the weather is warm and the gardens are in season.
Come here as part of a Lake Harriet walk rather than as a stand-alone cross-town trip. The park is at its best when you can wander from the gardens to the lake, then continue through the quieter residential edges of southwest Minneapolis.