Munsinger and Clemens Gardens

Munsinger Gardens is the older of the two, a shaded, informal garden that runs along the bank of the Mississippi beneath tall pines. Its paths wind through beds of hostas, ferns, impatiens, and other shade-loving plants, past a fountain and a lily pond, with the river glinting through the trees. The feel is cool, green, and natural, a woodland retreat rather than a formal showpiece.

The garden traces its roots to an early nursery on the site and took its present shape during the Great Depression, when workers from federal relief programs developed the grounds. It is named for Joseph Munsinger, a city parks superintendent who championed it. Generations of St. Cloud residents have strolled these shaded paths, and the garden remains a favorite for a quiet walk by the water.

Just up the slope from Munsinger lies Clemens Gardens, and stepping from one to the other is like moving between two worlds. Clemens is formal and symmetrical, a series of garden rooms in the grand European tradition, complete with fountains, clipped hedges, a rose garden, and a serene all-white perennial garden. Its centerpiece fountains send water high into the air above geometric beds.

The formal gardens were created through the gift of Bill and Virginia Clemens, a St. Cloud couple whose generosity funded their design and construction. Virginia loved roses, and the rose garden is a highlight, while the white garden, planted only in whites and silvers, glows softly in the evening light. The contrast with the shaded Munsinger woodland next door is what makes the pair so memorable, two very different visions of what a garden can be, side by side.

St. Cloud sits in the granite country of central Minnesota, and the hard, colorful stone quarried nearby has built landmarks across the country and given the city one of its nicknames, the Granite City. The Mississippi River runs through town, and the gardens perch on its east bank, part of a riverfront that has long been central to the city's life. Rock outcrops and stonework are woven through the region.

This is the homeland of the Dakota and, to the north and east, the Ojibwe, or Anishinaabe, whose name for this land helped give Minnesota its name. The Mississippi here is still a young river, having begun its journey at Lake Itasca not far to the north, and it flows past the gardens on its long way south. The gardens make an easy, peaceful stop in a city known equally for its stone and its river.

Late spring is when the gardens wake up, the shade beds of Munsinger filling in and the first roses opening in Clemens. Summer is the peak, with both gardens in full bloom, the fountains running, and long evenings ideal for a stroll. The rose and white gardens are at their finest, and the woodland paths offer cool shade on warm days.

Fall brings turning leaves along the river and a last flush of color before the frost, a quieter and lovely time to visit. Winter puts the gardens to rest under snow, the fountains stilled and the beds dormant, so the season to see them alive is spring through early fall. Even so, the riverside setting is pleasant in any season for a walk by the water.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.