MB Johnson Park
Moorhead, Minnesota
By Nicole Thom-Arens
Published in 2023
In mid-March 2023, my teenage son, Liam, and I were hiking at MB Johnson Park when he whispered, “Stop.” He put his arm out to stop me in my path. We were standing just to the right of a snow-covered mountain bike trail. Breathless from stomping through ankle-deep snow, I stopped moving forward and looked up. It took me a fraction of a second to see what Liam saw—two does standing in a clearing less than 20 yards away. Within a few seconds, they turned and ran the other direction, deeper into the woods. It was the closest I’d ever come to deer; it was hard to believe we were only a few miles from downtown Fargo.
Holly Heitkamp, the Moorhead Parks and Recreation director, called MB Johnson Park a “gem,” and I couldn’t agree more. Liam and I have been going to the park to escape into the trees for more than three years—it is one of our favorite places to hike.
Located just north of the Moorhead Country Club, off Eleventh Street North, the 109-acre park is a haven for nature lovers who live in the city. Part of the Moorhead Parks and Recreation, MB Johnson Park was established as a natural resource park in 1971 thanks to grant funding.
“The efforts are to leave things a little more natural,” Holly said about the intent behind MB Johnson Park.
Holly Heitkamp, the Moorhead Parks and Recreation director, called MB Johnson Park a “gem,” and I couldn’t agree more. Liam and I have been going to the park to escape into the trees for more than three years—it is one of our favorite places to hike.
Located just north of the Moorhead Country Club, off Eleventh Street North, the 109-acre park is a haven for nature lovers who live in the city. Part of the Moorhead Parks and Recreation, MB Johnson Park was established as a natural resource park in 1971 thanks to grant funding.
“The efforts are to leave things a little more natural,” Holly said about the intent behind MB Johnson Park.
Mountain bike and hiking trails weave through a sloped wooden area that runs along the Red River, there are bird watching areas, and sightseeing opportunities that connect park visitors with natural resources and native habitats.
Various grant funding has continued to enhance the park in numerous ways throughout the years, including the addition of picnic shelters, an accessible paved path, educational signage, and, most recently, a food forest.
Various grant funding has continued to enhance the park in numerous ways throughout the years, including the addition of picnic shelters, an accessible paved path, educational signage, and, most recently, a food forest.
The food forest is located on an elevated and under-utilized area of the park that Moorhead City Forester, Trent Wise, said is great for the food forest and offered enough space for the 100 trees and 40 shrubs of 19 different varieties (including various pear and apple trees and juneberry and chokecherry shrubs) they wanted to plant.
“One of the reasons we wanted to incorporate so many different varieties of plants was to give people who were thinking of planting a fruit tree the opportunity to ‘taste test’ or see different types to identify what they would prefer for their planting,” Trent said.
Planted in 2021, the food forest will take time to mature. Trent says some trees will hopefully bear fruit in limited quantities by fall 2024, but most of the tress will take five to seven years to be ready for harvesting.
“One of the reasons we wanted to incorporate so many different varieties of plants was to give people who were thinking of planting a fruit tree the opportunity to ‘taste test’ or see different types to identify what they would prefer for their planting,” Trent said.
Planted in 2021, the food forest will take time to mature. Trent says some trees will hopefully bear fruit in limited quantities by fall 2024, but most of the tress will take five to seven years to be ready for harvesting.
