Rum River Library serves a population of 39,437 Anoka County residents within an 8-minute drive and offers stimulating spaces suitable for all ages – computer labs and meeting rooms are provided, as well as drive-up materials return services.
People of all ages have been gathering at Anoka High School art teacher Diane Gronewold and her advanced studio-art students from Anoka High School’s Children’s Room to watch as they create a mural on the walls.
Library Services
The Rum River Library provides service to 39,437 Anoka County residents within 9 minutes’ driving. Situated in an urban environment containing both residential and commercial zones, this building is located next to Anoka Park Reserve with inspiring spaces designed for all ages and age groups – meeting rooms, classrooms, and drive-up materials are available within the library itself.
Library service assistants welcome, assist, and direct patrons and visitors. They offer assistance in using technology as well as providing information about library resources and services. Library assistants use computer systems to track the movement of library materials as well as assess fees. At Rum River Library, the service desk is open seven days a week during various hours.
Rum River Library is one of eight Anoka County libraries providing convenient self-serve bike fix-it stations – convenient, self-service bicycle maintenance stations available free to patrons – for their use. Bike fix-it stations can currently be found at Centennial, Crooked Lake, Johnsville, Mississippi, North Central Northtown Rum River, and St Francis libraries as part of this countywide initiative to make our communities more active, healthy, and sustainable. Bike fix-it stations will also be included at three Anoka County parks this summer, so stay tuned for details!
Exhibit Spaces
Rum River Library provides various exhibit spaces for local artists and groups to display their art. Previous exhibits have featured community organizations promoting social services, events, and history in their area, as well as collections of local interest from civic groups or individual hobbyists.
The Meeting Room at the library accommodates up to 80 guests and can be subdivided into two spaces that seat 40 each. It offers wireless internet access, a whiteboard, a kitchenette, and a 65-inch monitor, all for use during a four-hour booking window with a $25 service charge per hour booked.
Many visitors of the Rum River Library enjoy admiring the Children’s Room to take in its spectacular murals and paintings on canvas created here by Anoka High School Art Teacher Diane Gronewold and her advanced studio art students, creating visual delights that are sure to enchant future generations of library patrons.
Are you an artist 55+? Join the Rum River Library for our new 55+ Art Club at Rumriver Art Center and hone your artistic skills step-by-step with teaching artists from their center! After instruction has concluded, use open studio time to connect with fellow artists working on ongoing projects or try something new!
The Rum River Regional Trail
Rum River Regional Trail is an interconnected network of trails and parks designed to connect people to nature, recreational activities, historical sites, and unique cultural attractions. Additionally, this trail serves as an economic development tool by drawing new residents and business investment to its area.
Akin Riverside Park features canoe/kayak launches and walkways on dams that are popular fishing spots, along with history boards that highlight Anoka’s industrial past, multiple overlooks, and even an enclosed rain garden. Additionally, plans have been announced by the Park Board to construct a performance pavilion similar to Carnegie Library which once stood in historic downtown Anoka.
At the north end of the city lies a park offering paved trails that run along both bluffs and riverbanks, the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, and Brickton’s historic district. There’s even a courtyard designed for recreational events or community gatherings!
Rum River North Park can be found in the northern portion of Orange County. It contains several paved trails that connect to the Rum River Regional Trail on its south side and provides access to Goose Lake.
Anoka area boasts abundant natural resources like lakes, rivers, forests, and grasslands that should be preserved through parks, trails, and greenways before unplanned growth takes place.
The Rum River North County Park
At 23100 Rum River Boulevard Northwest in St. Francis is The City’s second outdoor recreation facility, which features a daily use boat dock, park building with restrooms, and picnic shelter. Other park amenities include river overlooks, nature trails that create interactions between natural features and natural areas, as well as river interaction, playground equipment, and replicating Anoka State Hospital’s stone walls through hand-laid stone walls.
Hiking and trail running are popular activities at this park, which features an abundance of terrain. Paved paths for biking may also be available; in winter, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing can also be done here.
Paddlers will delight in exploring the Rum River State Water Trail. Beginning at Lake Mille Lacs and running 145 miles to Anoka’s confluence with the Mississippi, this stretch of the river serves as one of Minnesota’s Wild and Scenic rivers – home to whitetail deer, beavers, songbirds, bald eagles, and much more.
At St Francis neighborhood parks and Rum River Central Regional Park’s canoe campsites, there is a public shoreline suitable for fishing that is accessible, though limited by trees and submerged rocks. Additional fishing opportunities can be found through St Francis neighborhood parks as well as Rum River Central Regional Park with its canoe campsites.
