festivities. Minnesota is well known for its large population of Swedish immigrants. Since 1934 Swedes have celebrated Svenskarnas Dag (Swedish Heritage Day) at the park in June of each year. The park has a bandstand with free music concerts in the summer. Bicyclists use miles of off-street trails, including the former Milwaukee Road right-of-way, which leads to Fort Snelling State Park. Bikes are available for rent, and there is an off-leash dog park area. Also located within the park are reservable outdoor picnic sites, and picnic shelters for groups, as well as playgrounds and a summer wading pool for children. The falls freeze in the winter, making the park a popular year-round attraction. At one time the park also featured a zoo and pony rides. In 1893 the Park Board gave permission for a Shetland pony concession and also began to accept gifts of animals for a zoo in the park. The zoo grew in size, and by 1899 a bear pit and an alligator tank had been added. Although very popular, when Theodore Wirth became the new park superintendent in 1906, the zoo was removed at his urging. The animals were donated to Longfellow Gardens, but a fenced area containing deer and elk remained until 1923. To this day the area is sometimes referred to as "the deer pen". Between the 1930s and the 1950s there was also an "Auto Tourist Camp" where large numbers of tourists tented or stayed in small cabins. A park historian states that in those years "the camp was intended to appeal to the many tourists who were traveling the country in their new automobiles". At one time there were several grist mills located on Minnehaha Creek. The remains of a stone and earth mill dam, built in the lower glen in 1853 or 1854, is still visible beside the creek. Gardens in the upper park area include Longfellow Gardens, Minnehaha Falls Pergola Garden, and the Song of Hiawatha Garden. The lower glen area offers examples of a surprisingly large number of trees that are native to Minnesota including basswood, black ash, maples, oaks, willows, and cottonwoods. Unusual plants include the first spring-blooming plant, skunk cabbage, often blooming so early that temperatures are still freezing and snow may still be on the ground. As the name implies, they have a disagreeable odor except to the various insects that prefer to feed on rotting flesh