Great River Passage Conservancy

With the community, we are creating three river centers that will transform Saint Paul’s relationship to our 17 miles of Mississippi River. 

The Mississippi River has always flowed through us, its current carrying the rich history of our city’s people, culture, nature, and more. This year, thanks in part to your support, the Conservancy took two big steps toward reconnecting our community to the river.

Both the Mississippi River Learning Center and River Balcony projects have completed schematic design, and the East Side River District is not far behind. We can now picture how these projects will transform our relationship to the river, reveal and heal long-neglected natural and cultural spaces, and establish the river as a world-class destination close to home.

Your support writes the next chapter, turning plans into action and building welcoming spaces where we can come together to learn, play, and connect. The river is for all of us.

Our Projects

The Mississippi River Learning Center will combine a mixed-use, river-focused space and a National Park Service headquarters at the Crosby Farm Regional Park, serving as a national gateway to the Mississippi River with year-round river learning and outdoor recreation experiences on and along Saint Paul’s river. 

The River Balcony is a proposed 1.5-mile promenade along downtown Saint Paul’s river bluff, connecting public spaces, civic landmarks, and development sites, providing new connections to the river and sparking economic development along the riverfront. 

The East Side River District, East of downtown Saint Paul, is a 1000-acre dynamic urban landscape where historically incompatible uses can comfortably coexist and reveal the complex systems and stories of the area, heal a compromised landscape, connect to and throughout the area, and protect sacred and significant Dakota sites.