Did you make a New Year’s Resolution to be more physically active and lose weight?  If so, you are not alone. Over the years, losing weight and being more physically active have been listed as two of the top 10 New Year’s resolutions. Over 45% of American adults make resolutions each year. While many resolutions are not kept, research indicates that people who make resolutions are more likely to meet their goals than those who don’t. So if you are one of those folks who have resolved that you want to get fit and lose weight this year, here is a great resource in your community to do just that.

GoSoutheastMN.com is an interactive Web-based mapping application that allows site visitors to locate places to be active throughout Southeast Minnesota counties such as parks and trails. Visitors can also locate healthy eating features such as community gardens and farmers markets throughout Southeast Minnesota.

In 2010, 11 counties in Southeast Minnesota received funding from SHIP (Statewide Health Improvement Project) to develop this mapping application. These counties include: Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Rice, Steele, Wabasha and Winona. Over the last year, public health, GIS and planning staff from counties and cities have worked to gather data on parks, trails, community gardens, farmers markets and put this information into this interactive map.  

Searching in the Map

Once you enter the mapping application at GoSoutheastMN.com, you can use pre-defined searches to find parks, lakes, streams, trails, transit stations, community support agriculture areas (CSA’s), community gardens and farmers markets. You can also search for a specific activity such as cross country skiing, archery, disc golf, etc. In the upper right hand corner of the map is the option of searching by keyword for a specific park or facility if you know the name or a specific feature such as “golfing”. You can also search to be within a specified distance of a certain address or neighborhood anywhere from a quarter of a mile to up to 20 miles. 

Another option is to locate activities directly on the map by clicking on the “activities” button located in the upper right hand corner of the map. You can see a list of icons that will indicate the activity located on the map. 

Healthy eating options can be located by clicking on the “healthy eating” button located in the upper right hand corner of the map. You will see a list of three icons that will indicate those facilities on the map. (Click here to view a promo of how to maneuver through the site.)

There is even a mobile application of this interactive map for smart phones. Just go to your App Store and search for “Go Southeast MN” and you will be able to download the free mobile application that is available for most smart phones including the iPhone.

So as you move into the next month and those New Year’s resolutions seem harder to maintain, check out GoSoutheastMN.com. Take advantage of this mild weather and find a park or trail for walking or hiking or if the snow does finally arrive, maybe cross country skiing or snowshoeing.