Twin Cities and the lakes
Glasses, a phone or a ring at the bottom of a Twin Cities lake
Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Ham Lake, Chisago City and Lake Minnetonka
Meet Minneapolis, the city's visitor bureau and our source for the Minneapolis beaches on this page, counts over 22 lakes inside the city. Five of the largest make up the Chain of Lakes, with roughly 15 miles (24 km) of paved shoreline path. Saint Paul has Phalen and Como. To the west, Three Rivers Park District puts Lake Minnetonka at 14,100 acres (about 5,700 hectares).
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewelry recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone in the Twin Cities with a metal detectorist who can search there. Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the place, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
A lost ring is one case. We also take Oura rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, chains, Apple Watches, key fobs, metal-framed glasses and hearing aids.
Two photos from the water, then a screenshot
If it went in from a kayak or a paddleboard, stop where you are and photograph the nearest shore, then the view the other way. From a dock, tell us which side, and what was beside you: a ladder, a cleat, a bench. At a beach, were you inside the buoy line, and how far up your body did the water come?
A lost phone in lake water is the one item that may report its own position. Apple says you can use Find My to see a lost device on a map. Google's Find Hub does the same for a signed-in Android phone with Location on. Check from someone else's device and take a screenshot.
Then send us the screenshot or a pin, your photos and the time on WhatsApp.
Places we cover in Twin Cities and the lakes
- Minneapolis
- Saint Paul
- Twin Cities Metro
- Ham Lake
- Chisago City
- Excelsior
- Minnetrista
- White Bear Lake
- Bde Maka Ska
- Cedar Lake
- Lake Harriet
- Lake Nokomis
- Lake of the Isles
- Lake Phalen
- Como Lake
- Lake Minnetonka
- Three Rivers Park District beaches
- Ham Lake Park
- Paradise Park on Chisago Lake
- Ojiketa Regional Park on Green Lake
- Hidden Falls and Crosby Farm on the Mississippi
- Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Bloomington
Where the Twin Cities swim, paddle and skate
City beaches first, then the big lakes west and north-east, then the two towns further out and the river.
Three beaches on Bde Maka Ska, three more on Cedar Lake
On Bde Maka Ska the beaches are 32nd Street Beach, North Beach and Thomas Beach, the last with three sand volleyball courts. Canoes, kayaks and paddle boards are rented by the lake's pavilion. Cedar Lake has East Beach, Point Beach and South Beach. A pair of glasses might come off on the volleyball sand, or slide from a collar as someone leans out of a kayak. Give us the beach by name.
Two beaches each on Lake Harriet and Lake Nokomis
Lake Harriet has a North and a South beach, and Lake Nokomis has 50th Street Beach and Main Beach. Each January the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships bring hundreds of teams onto the Nokomis ice, and a glove pulled off between games is one way a ring might end up out there.
Phalen's guarded sand, Como's pavilion and pier
Saint Paul describes Phalen Park Beach as a guarded sand beach with a splash pad, sand volleyball courts and a self-serve kiosk that rents kayaks and paddleboards. Como Regional Park has a lakeside pavilion with watercraft rental, a fishing pier and a non-motorised boat launch. At Como, tell us whether it was the pier, the launch or the grass by the pavilion.
Lake Minnetonka from Excelsior Commons to Minnetrista
Excelsior's public beach is at The Commons. The city calls it swim at your own risk, with no lifeguards on duty. Elsewhere on the lake, Lake Minnetonka Regional Park in Minnetrista has what Three Rivers calls one of the very few public boat launches onto the lake, a fishing pier, and a swim pond ringed by sand, no deeper than six feet (1.8 metres).
White Bear Lake and the Three Rivers beaches
Ramsey County lists a swimming beach and a boat launch at White Bear Lake County Park. Three Rivers Park District runs free, unguarded swimming beaches at Baker Park Reserve, Bryant Lake, Fish Lake and French Regional Park, plus a second swim pond at Elm Creek.
Ham Lake Park, and Chisago City's two lake parks
Ham Lake Park covers 90.86 acres (about 37 hectares) with disc golf, ball fields, a hockey and skating rink and a public boat launch. Chisago City has Paradise Park, 4 acres (1.6 hectares) looking over Chisago Lake, with a public swimming beach, a fishing pier, a dock and a sand volleyball court. Its Ojiketa Regional Park is 70 acres (28 hectares) on Green Lake, with a swimming beach and dock, a marina, cabins, and halls hired for weddings.
The Mississippi river park and the Minnesota Valley
The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is a 72-mile (116 km) river park through the Twin Cities. In Saint Paul, Hidden Falls Regional Park lies below the bluffs by Lock and Dam 1, with picnic shelters, a boat launch and a paved riverfront walk to Crosby Farm, where 6.7 miles (10.8 km) of trails pass the marshes of Crosby Lake. In Bloomington, Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge has trails and a nature play area from its Old Cedar Avenue trailhead.
From your text to the search, in five parts
You are texting a person, the same one each time
Nobody hands your case on. Whoever answers your first WhatsApp message is still the one answering after the search.
Your photos reach the lake before the detectorist does
The photos you took from the water, the side of the dock and the pin are passed on before anyone drives out.
Swim pond, roped beach or open lake
The swim pond at Minnetrista, the roped area at Excelsior Commons and the open water of a 14,100-acre lake are three different jobs, so we ask about depth and distance from shore early.
Mid-lake on Minnetonka with no pin
Glasses that went overboard from a boat under way, with no pin and no photo, leave very little to search. We tell you that at the start.
You hear the costs first
We explain the costs before any search is booked.
Sand, roped water and a long winter
Beach sand, dock planks and park grass
By the water it is beach sand, as at Thomas Beach or Phalen. Behind it is grass, such as the ball fields at Ham Lake Park. If you are looking into a metal detector rental Minneapolis way, renting one yourself can suit a fresh loss on dry sand or a lawn like those. For wet sand, water, a large area or something as small as an earring back, a detectorist makes more sense.
Guarded sand, unguarded sand and a buoy line
Phalen is guarded in summer. Three Rivers beaches are unguarded, and open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. The swimming area at The Commons in Excelsior is marked with buoys and ropes, and a rope gives you something to measure from. In water an item may shift a little or settle into the bottom, so tell us the depth as well as the distance from the rope.
When the lakes turn into rinks
The National Weather Service office for the Twin Cities puts the first freeze, on average, in early October and the first measurable snow in early November. Later there is skating at Lake of the Isles once the ice is thick enough. Three Rivers Park District lists Lake Minnetonka, Bryant Lake and Fish Lake among the lakes where it keeps a boat launch ploughed in winter for ice fishing. For anything dropped in snow, tell us whether it has snowed or been shovelled since.
Seven Twin Cities situations, and what we would say
My glasses slipped off when I leaned out of a rental kayak on Bde Maka Ska. Does anyone take that on?
Yes, we take enquiries for lost glasses. What matters is placing the spot: where you set off from, how far out you were, and what you could see on shore from there. A photo of the glasses, or of the same model, helps too.
My iPhone went off the dock at Paradise Park in Chisago City and Find My just says offline. Is there anything to go on?
There may be. Apple says that when Find My cannot show a current location, for example because the battery has run out, you can still see the last known location for up to seven days. Screenshot that today. Then tell us which side of the dock and how far along.
My wife's engagement ring came off in the swimming area at Excelsior Commons, and there is no lifeguard there. Who do we tell?
The city of Excelsior, which runs the beach, and us. The swimming area there is marked off with buoys and ropes, and the rope is useful. How far from it was she, and how deep?
My husband's wedding band went missing in a rented ice house on Lake Minnetonka. Do you take winter enquiries?
Yes, all winter. Tell us where the ice house stood, ideally with a pin or a photo taken that day. Did he have his gloves off inside the house or outside on the ice? Has it snowed since?
My son's hearing aid came out at Phalen Park Beach, between the splash pad and the water. Too small to look for?
No. A strip of sand between two fixed points is a fairer bet than a whole beach. Send a photo of the matching aid, mark his route on a map screenshot, and ask the beach staff if it was handed in.
My Android phone fell between the boat and the dock at the Lake Minnetonka Regional Park launch and it is dead now. Can Google still show where it is?
Possibly. Google says that if Find your offline devices was turned on, Find Hub can show where a device was when it was last online, and that some supported phones can still be located for several hours after they switch off. Check from another device, then tell us which side of the dock.
I searched metal detecting Minnesota hoping to find someone who could help. My necklace broke at a wedding at Ojiketa Regional Park. Is that your kind of thing?
Yes. A necklace, chain or pendant counts as much as a lost ring. Tell us where on the grounds it happened: by the halls, on the trails, or down at the beach and dock.
Twin Cities and the lakes
Get the details down before you leave the lake
Which lake, which beach or dock, and your photos.
Bde Maka Ska or Green Lake, a volleyball court or a dock post: these are easiest to get right while you are still standing there. Send them with your photos on WhatsApp, and we will reply with how we see the odds.