Oakdale, MN

Oakdale gained a new all-day connection to Saint Paul when Metro Transit's Gold Line opened in 2025. As of July 2026, the bus rapid transit line runs seven days a week, largely in bus-only lanes, and serves Oakdale at Greenway and Helmo stations; Helmo also has a park-and-ride. Oakdale is a Washington County city bounded by Interstates 94 and 694 on the eastern side of the Twin Cities. Its 2020-2024 housing profile recorded a median owner-occupied value of $318,100 and median gross rent of $1,481; 78 percent of occupied homes were owner-occupied, and monthly costs for owners with a mortgage were $1,793. A 28-acre lake, prairie, mature trees, paved walking and bicycling routes, smaller trails, and a boardwalk fill the 200-acre Oakdale Nature Preserve around the city-run Discovery Center.

The grounds also include a forest garden, playground, tennis and basketball courts, and picnic shelters. Inside, the center rotates exhibitions by local artists and lends binoculars, nature backpacks, and Nordic walking poles for use in the preserve. Oakdale's 2026 calendar brings an indoor winter market and art fair to the center, concerts and Summerfest to Richard Walton Park, and a flashlight pumpkin hunt to the preserve. The Washington County Library branch on Heron Avenue adds computers, meeting rooms, hold pickup, curbside service, and public events. One older geographic marker remains visible amid these newer institutions: the 45th parallel crosses the city near Upper 35th Street and runs directly through home plate at Tilsen Park.