Lac Qui Parle State Park

This park was confusing to get to at first, but there was some really cool "stuff" at the park and I think it would make a great weekend trip for families. There are different sections of the park and an adjacent wildlife management area. There are also 2 campgrounds, one that is established and another where it appears there is an attempt to restore the oak savanna landscape.

The park is around a lake formed by a dam on the Minnesota River. Within the park the Lac Qui Parle River intersect the Minnesota River.

There is not a whole lot of hiking at this park, and most of it is concentrated in the Lower Unit. Because there is substantial amounts of restoration going on in the park, a system is being created where by our grand children will be able to hike at Lac Qui Parle State Park through Oak Savannah. For now there are some trails through the forest.

We also noticed a number of people fishing from a bridge over the Minnesota River in the park. I there for must assume, given the numbers, that there is some good fishing there.

As we were walking through the forest we saw a number of deer, rabbits, and other things to excite a dog.

Great River Bluffs State Park

Great River Bluffs is one of my absolutely favorite parks in Minnesota. In my opinion it is vastly under rated and under visited. After college I had gone a few years with out spending much time at parks. One weekend, I just up and went to GRB, after that I was hooked, and determined that I needed to do some exploring. The picture on the Left is Queens Bluff as seen from Kings Bluff with the mighty Mississippi in the background.

One of may favorite things about GRB is that it usually is not buggy, which is ironic, because on this particular visit, it was really bad. I don't think that is common though.

If you have no been to the bluff country before, I can only say that it is breathtaking. GRB gives you a great place to see and explore the bluffs. The park map shows 10 view points, and I recommend that if you go, you take the time to see all ten. If you do so you will have hiked about 8 miles. If you just do 1 trail, do the Kings Bluff Trail. There is also a campground that is fairly private and not crowded, some cool wildflowers and migratory birds. This is a great place to see eagles.

The park offers both goat prairie and hardwood forest. The park makes for some good Timber Rattler habitat, and they are in the park. Don't worry, they are timid and will usually flee, long before you know they are there. If you are real lucky, you might see one sunning itself on a hot summer day.

On the right is another view of the Mississippi River, taken from one of the observation points. As you might expect from the bluffs and hardwoods, this is a great park for fall colors. In the winter this is also a good cross country skiing park. Given the parks proximity to Rochester, Winona, and La Crosse, I am a little surprised that the park is not more visited. But for now it is a well kept secret that you can take advantage of.

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

Well today was a wonderful day to visit a state park. And as a bonus I actually remembered a camera for once, so I will be able to provide a couple of images. We started our day with a picnic at the shelter which was needed to to some afternoon showers and a vicious wind.

Nerstrand Big Woods state park protects a portion of the once 5000 acre big woods section of Minnesota near the town of Nerstrand. The park is host to large hardwood trees including oak and maple. As a result this can be a nice fall color park to visit. Also 50 types of wild flowers, additional ferns and mushrooms can be found. The Prairie Creek passes through the park and is picture on the left at hidden falls.

The park features a nice visitors center, a fairly quiet campground, and 11 miles of hiking trails. in the winter this becomes 1 mile of snowshoeing, 6 miles of cross country and 4 miles of snowmobile trails. The areas around hidden falls tend to get many visitors because of the ease of access, however as with most parks as you venture further from parking, the trails get more secluded.

This is one park that I can honestly say that I think I hiked every mile of and as such have some recommendations. If I were designing an ideal day hike I would choose to take on either the North half or the South half of the park. The park is divided by highway 29. On this particular day we hiked a large loop through the North half of the park consisting of most of the Hidden Falls, Fawn, Hope, and Beaver Trails. These trails are very well maintained and offered easy passage over rolling hills through varied hardwood terrain. The wild flowers were just starting to come out and peak wild flower viewing will be in the next couple of weeks. The picture below of my wife and dog was taken on a portion of the Hope Trail.

We did some additional hiking into the Southern half of the park by taking the White Oak Trail to the Maple Trail and then to the Basswood Trail back to the Hidden Falls area. Some warnings here: The trails on the south end of the park are nowhere near as well maintained as the the Northern trails. The Maple trail was unbelievably muddy and you just sank into it. Even my dog looked a little disgusted. Also one of my irritations is when signs are posted in the wrong location. At the intersection of the Maple and Blue Beech Trails there was a sign indicating a junction with the Fox Trail. this was absolutely wrong. The Fox Trail was half a mile to the East. Fortunately I knew by my map that this was a mistake.

Loops of varying length can be made in the Southern half of the park by linking together portions of the Maple, Blue Beech, Basswood, Ironwood, and Fox Trails. All of these trails pass through wonderful hardwood forest and you can go wrong with any of them. However if there has been some recent precipitation, I would recommend staying to the North as those trails hold up better.

Forestville State Park

On our way back from Missouri, where we cheered on our beloved University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux and the 2007 Hobey Baker award winner (college hockey's best player) Ryan Duncan we decide to stop for a stroll at Forestville State Park. The park is located near Wycoff and is a very popular park for horse owners.

I am not a horse owner and as such I find a certain disadvantage to visiting an area frequented by horses. Namely, if I clean up after my dog, why can't horse owners clean up after there animals. Because of this annoyance of mine I seldom visit Forestville State park. BUT fortunately there is an off season where horses are not permitted on the trails and this was it.

As a point of order, I would like to point out how to properly pass a horse on the trail, because while you may not like it, it can be scary for the horse and dangerous for the rider. When passing a horse on foot stop moving forward, step off the trail on the downhill side of the trail and talk in a calm voice to the passing rider so as to not startle the horse. After the horse has passes, you may resume your hiking.

Forestville is somewhat unique in that it is both a state park and the village of Forestville is preserved as a state historical site. History buffs take note. This may be a place to visit this summer. In addition it seems that Forestville has traditionally put on a large number of demonstrations, so you just might learn something too (if your into that sort of thing).

Another claim to fame for the park is that it offers outstanding trout fishing and in just a week or two was to be visited by a large number of fisherman for the trout opener. The root river passes through the park and is designated as a trout stream.

Mystery cave is also a part of the park and is located nearby. Tours are available and offer a neat experience. Caves are cool unless you are claustrophobic, there they are not so cool. If you have never done it, try it, it's a neat experience.

We only attempted to camp at the park once and did so without reservations in the summer. As luck would have it the campground was full so we couldn't stay in the park. However there is a private campground just outside the park and we stayed there. I don't think this campground ever fills up, which make this a great last minute weekend park.

As is usually the case we visited the park to do some camping, and we found some interesting trails. We started out the day doing a loop consisting of the the Rock Slumps, Fern Loop, and Ravine Trails. Note that these go by the horse camp so in the summer be prepared. Later we did another loop over the Sandbank and Oakridge trails. There is a nice viewpoint off the Sandbank Trail.

Another trail we here is interesting is to take the Sugar Camp Hollow Trail out to the old Zumbro Hill Cemetery or take the Big Spring Trail out and back a total of 4 miles to, surprise, a big spring.

One last story I will share. SE Minnesota and NE Iowa are home to many Mennonites. Many years ago we visited the park and had a picnic. We shared the shelter with a large group on Mennonites. While we were barbecuing some brats they were preparing the type of gourmet foods that would make you drool. I almost felt embarrassed with what we were meeting. Good thing they are about the nicest people you will ever meet. If you run into a Mennonite take the time to talk with them, you won't regret it. and I'm not just saying that to be nice, since after all, they aren't going to read it here...