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 These are the Mound Westonka pictures pages. There are various pictures and photos of Westonka (Minnesota) here. To get to MoundWestonka.com, click HERE.  Langdon Bay Creek. The houses on the far side of the bay show the location of the old Alwin's Sugar Maple farm. Langdon Bay flows under Commerce Boulevard using a culvert and into Lost Lake, which is part of Lake Minnetonka. The bay has at least on tributary, Saunders Lake. All of Lake Minnetonka is connected to the Mississippi River by Minnehaha Creek. Boat traffic on Langdon is almost non-existent, making it one of the most peaceful bays. Future development along Langdon's NorthEast shore is proposed as part of Mound Visions, as I understand it. Picture from April 2006.
A Sea Weed Eater at Mound Bay Park unloading milfoil. The Lake Minnetonka Consevation District (LMCD) operates the harvestors. One of their goals is to improve boat navigation when they decide where to harvest. Chapman Place is in the background, which is built on the site of the old Surfside Supper Club. June 2005
 
Stonegate Plaza which includes:
Tokyo Express, Prime Security Bank, Edina Realty, A Dollar Store, Tonka Shores Community Gym, Domino's Pizza, and the Early Childhood Center of Westonka Public Schools. The water tower in the background is gone and was replaced the Summer of 2006.
 Grandview as seen from the West. The property is about 11.5 acres, and I am guessing has 650 feet of shoreline on Dutch Lake, which is not accessible from Lake Minnetonka. The picture is from October 2006. The picture gets much bigger as do most of them on these pages.
Cook's Bay, Summer 2006
Lake Minnetonka is known for its boat traffic on weekends in Summer. At times it can be a political issue.
 The Dredge
This is the Lost Lake channel being dredged in the 1990s. They dammed up its outlet to Lake Minnetonka, then pumped some of the water out of it. I would guess the lake which might also be called a marsh, is about 50 acres in size. They then built a road along the channel so that a backhoe could use that to dredge it. They then pulled up the road behind them. The point of the project was to facilitate boat traffic into our downtown. It has being pointed out that the bridge from which this picture was likely taken, is too small for some boats to pass through. This bridge along Bartlett Boulevard acts as a gate for Lost Lake. Use of this canal to date has been light.
The image is from McCombs Frank Roos Associates Inc's website, www.mfra.com It is my guess that they ran this project for the City of Mound.
Deer in Westonka - This video from David Howell shows that the area has many quiet wooded places.
"A pleasant surprise while walking in the woods near our home." - David Howell
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Sea Weed Eater June 2005
The Seaweed Eaters patrol Lake Minnetonka cutting milfoil. They are one of the few watercraft still using paddle wheels.
"Eurasian Watermilfoil (EWM), commonly known as milfoil, was first discovered in Lake Minnetonka in the fall of 1987 when a specimen of the exotic plant was collected in Excelsior Bay. Inspection of the shoreline the following year found that milfoil was widespread throughout Lake Minnetonka. This observation indicates that milfoil most likely was introduced into Lake Minnetonka probably years before it was noticed and reported." - more on Milfoil at: lake weeders digest 
The Courtyard at Mound Westonka High School. Sept. 2006 Hennepin Water Patrol
"There are 104 lakes and three rivers in Hennepin County, Minnesota. The Hennepin County Water Patrol is responsible for the safety and regulation of all lakes and, in conjunction with the US Coast Guard and adjoining county sheriff's, the rivers of the county." - from their webpage
The Water Patrol is located on North end of Spring Park Bay along County Road 15. Besides operating their boats, the sheriffs in Winter use snowmobiles and ATVs to continue their duties, which if I had to describe them in one word, would be "safety". 
Image from City of Minnetonka
A hidden gem of Minnetonka is the Gray’s Bay Dam on the East end of the lake. The dam is used to attempt to control the lake level and marks the beginning of Minnehaha Creek which flows into the Mississippi. The dam itself is perhaps 25 feet wide but a berm runs to the Northeast of it for perhaps 400 feet. This berm makes one wonder if the lake level isn’t a little artificially high? There is a boat launch at Gray’s Bay Dam Park, if you feel a need to canoe down the Minnehaha. Map for canoing down the creek. There is also a long boardwalk that completely bridges the creek, and that you can fish from. The view down the beginning of the creek is great. The park is on Gray’s Bay Boulevard which is on the South side of the bay. I would urge caution about getting too close to the dam if water is flowing. "Carson's Bay was formerly named Pig Inlet; the name was changed to honor an early settler, Elijah Carson, brother of the frontiersman Kit Carson." - From Minnesota Place Names 
Old North School in Long Lake
This building from 1858 is at the Pioneer Musuem which is open from 10-4 on Saturdays. |
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