Park yourself down on a blanket or in a hammock anywhere along the lakeside, enjoy the calls of chickadees and blackbirds, and watch the sunset reflected in the city skyline. Minneapolis is celebrated for having some of the best and most plentiful green and outdoor recreational spaces in the country, and the Chain of Lakes, encompassing [Lake Harriet](http://www.onthegrid.city/minneapolis-st-paul/linden-hills/lake-harriet-bandshell/), Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles, and Cedar Lake, is a highlight of the city's parks system. The lakes offer opportunities for swimming, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, and windsurfing in the warmer months, as well as ice skating, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and ice fishing in the winter, and rental locations for boats and other gear. Pedestrian and cycling paths circle each lake creating endless exercise routes, and scenic views of woodlands, creeks, wetlands, gardens, playgrounds, bridges, wildlife, and beaches (don't miss Hidden Beach on Cedar Lake). The lake trails are part of the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, the seamless urban parkway system circling the entire city, so your outing doesn't have to end at the lakes -- bike down the [Midtown Greenway](www.onthegrid.city/minneapolis-st-paul/uptown-powderhorn/midtown-greenway) all the way to St Paul, jog the Cedar Lake trail north to the [Mississippi River as it flows through Downtown](http://www.onthegrid.city/minneapolis-st-paul/downtown-mpls/stone-arch-bridge/), or stroll along Minnehaha Creek, which spans all of South Minneapolis to Lake Nokomis and Minnehaha Falls.