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.

Upper Sioux Agency State Park

And so begins my posts related to the parks visited over the 4th of July long weekend, 2007. The trip we planned basically took us to a number of parks in West Central Minnesota, and then on to Itasca State Park. As is often the case when I visit a number of parks, there is never enough time at each park, some park presently surprise, while some don't offer the type of outdoor activities or amenities that interest me. Since I figured that we would be driving well over 1000 miles I decided to rent an economy car. That worked out great, and I saved a ton of money, but as it turns out the car had no cruise control, which can get a little draining.

The first park visited was Upper Sioux Agency. This was a park I found to be very nice, but perhaps in need of some additional funding. There is a wealth of history surrounding this park, and the rangers can guide you towards some outstanding resources.

The hiking club trail in the park forms a loop through a variety of terrain in the park. The trail begins near the picnic area and follows a ridge line to the Yellow Medicine River. Interestingly, no one knows what exactly the Yellow Medicine plant is. From there the trail goes along the river and through the prairie. The trail then passes through a forest on it's way to the Minnesota River. Finally the trail climbs up hill and returns to the picnic area.

In total there are 19 miles of hiking train in the park, and while we only did the hiking club trail, the ranger suggested some other nice walks. Towards the West end of the park there are a number of steep trails that offer some nice views of the park. In addition, there is also a trail that follows along the Yellow Medicine and Minnesota Rivers.

As I mentioned the park is both a State Park and a Historical Park, there is some historical information available at the park office. In addition, the park ranger also recommends the following books: Through Dakota Eyes, Narrative Account of the Minnesota Indian War of 1862 by Gary Clayton Anderson and Alan R. Woolworth as well as The Dakota War of 1862, Minnesota's other Civil War by Kenneth Carley.

One last comment is that even on the 4th of July this was a pretty quite park. So If you are looking for a quiet park with a fair number of amenities, this might be the park for you.

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.

Banning State Park

Banning State Park is too often thought of as a way-side rest area between Duluth and Minneapolis. This is too bad, because the park is a destination in and of itself. Ironically, we happened to stop at the park on or way from Duluth to Minneapolis.

So that note aside lets discuss the park. Banning is located near Sandstone, Minnesota. As far as I know the only other thing in Sandstone is a Federal Prison. The entrance to the park is right off Interstate 35, ans as such is sometimes used as a place to rest.

The park features the Kettle River, Hiking, Canoing, Kayaking, an old quarry, a bat cave, Wolf Creek Falls (pictured above) and some great camping. Both times I have been at this park, I also discovered it has mosquitoes...

In all there are about 14 miles of hiking trails in the park. My favorite hike is to take the the Wolf Creek, High Bluff, Quarry Loop, and Skunk Cabbage Trails to form a loop. Also be aware that this is also Black Bear territory so don't fall asleep in a pile of leftover food. Clean up, because if you don't a bear kills you because you were a slob, that would be a tragedy (not you but when they had to kill the bear)...

The basic campsites are OK, but they tend to be buggy and don't offer much privacy. But this park has some spectacular sites as well, but there is a catch. You will need a boat to get there. There are 3 Canoe campsites that can be accessed from the Kettle River. The river also offers some excitement via some swift rapids.

I wasn't aware that Banning offered great wildflowers, but as the picture to left shows, the park was putting on a pretty nice display the weekend I was there. These flowers just went on forever. Though I didn't see anything, I would suspect that the parks proximity to the Kettle River would also be conducive to predatory birds such as Bald Eagles. I also have yet to make the bat cave, but I guess that is something for the next trip.

Jay Cooke State Park - Hiking (2 of 4)

Jay Cooke has over 50 miles of hiking! I can't think of a better way to see the park than getting out for a walk. I will offer a number of suggestions for hike to take, but I have yet to find on that I didn't enjoy.

The Carlton trail along with the Thomson trail generally pass along either side of the river gorge from the rangers station to the dam. Both of these trails are interesting and offer frequent access to the river. A loop can be made with these trails and will be about 5 miles long.

The Silver Creek trail is part of the hiking club trail and is a must see. It's been awhile since I did this trail, so I can only say that it was fun.

The Ogantz trail offers access to some fun falls and has some outstanding views. As a bonus nearby areas are handicap accessible. On my second day in the park I strung together about a 5 mile loop using the Grand Portage and Oak trails. These trails pass through a variety of forests and by some interesting geologic formations. The Grand Portage trail was used by fur traders some 300 years ago. The trail also passes along the St. Louis River and has some great views of the bluffs across the river. I also noticed evidence of Bear and Wolves in the area. I was told by a Ranger that there are 2 packs of wolves that claim territory in Jay Cooke State Park.

I also spoke with a couple that lived in the vicinity of the park and highly recommended the Spruce and High trails. Given the location and length of these trails, these trails would be perfect for use in conjunction with a couple of the backcountry camping sites.

If all this is not enough, the souther terminus of the Superior Hiking Trails also starts out in the park. Access is from the Grand Portage trail. I did not do this section, but am a huge fan of the trail. One thing of note is that the Superior Hiking Trail is very well blazed, which is good because it is not currently on the park map.

Jay Cooke State Park - Overview (1 of 4)

Jay Cooke is hands down one of the finest state parks in Minnesota. In this, the first of 4 parts commenting on my spring visit to the park, I will provide an overview of the park. One of the park's facilities is shown to the left.

Jay Cooke is located near Duluth Minnesota and as such is a heavily visited park. But as is the often the case, the park is large and can absorb many people. There are some easily accessible areas that may tend to get crowded in the summers, but there are plenty of trails to find some peace and quiet on.

Jay Cooke offers just about every activity that you could ever wand to do in a park including, hiking, fishing, camping, wildlife viewing, wildflowers, diverse forests, rock climbing, and even kayaking. When I visited the park on of the rangers, Andy Angell, was kind enough to pass along some tips on things to see and places to go. I will pass some of these tips along.

Jay Cooke park is a collections of lands that have been donated to the state over time. The initial donation was from the St. Louis River Power Company in 1915. Subsequent donations have made the park it's current size. We should all greatly appreciate the foresight of previous generations of conservationists who have preserved this treasure for us. It is my hope that we would someday resume these selfless acts.

If all of Jay Cooke's diverse offerings and spectacular landscapes aren't enough for you it is also interesting to know that it is the current southern terminus for the Superior Hiking Trail. Here the trail begins it's nearly 300 mile trek Northward. I have never been to Jay Cooke for Fall Colors, but I suspect that it would be amazing given it's variety of forests. There is so much to discuss about Jay Cooke that I will leave more to three subsequent posts.

Minnesota's Best State Parks from About.com

About.com has Itasca, Blue Mounds, and Forestville as the top three state parks in Minnesota. I give them credit for their choices of Itasca, which was Minnesota's first park and Blue Mounds, which I found to be very unexpected. I however was surprised to see Forestville in that mix. Forestville (which I have previously written about) is not a bad park, but there are some others even in that region that got overlooked.

Itasca was Minnesota's first park as mentioned above and within the park is the headwaters of the Mississippi River (Lake Itasca). Ironically the park is NOT in Itasca County. The park in near Bemidji and is one of the largest parks in Minnesota. I have been to the park, but that was many years ago. I do plan on spending a weekend there this summer. I will write in depth on it after I visit that park.

Blue Mounds is also a great park. I would describe it as very unexpected. The park is in the middle of the prairie of Southwestern Minnesota near Luverne. Among other things the park has rock climbing on a Quartzite quarry wall, a herd of buffalo, and some great trails. Also because it is prairie, it is also a park that is best seen in the late summer, which is rather unique.

Where I think the article comes short is in its pick of Forestville. Just in that part of the state, I prefer Whitewater, Beaver Creek Valley, and Great River Bluffs. In addition the article ignores the great North Shore parks such as Tettegouche, Judge Magney, Gooseberry, and George Crosby Manitou. Other parks that I rate highly include Glendalough, St. Croix, and Myre Big Island. Obviously there are many great parks and this is very subjective.

About.com

Carley State Park

Carley State Park has been affectionately referred to as Whitewater State Park's overflow. And about 50 weeks a year I completely agree. The park is often neglected as Minnesota continues to not allow conservation funding to keep pace with inflation. I don't think I have ever seen a ranger when I have visited the park. Some of the trails are sorely in need of maintenance. Pictured on the right is the Whitewater river which passes through the park on its way to Whitewater State Park.

But for a couple of weeks every spring Carley is a superstar. Carley has some of the very best wildflower displays in the state of Minnesota. On this visit we were too early. Based on the appearance of the forest floor there will be an incredible wildflower display around the first week of May. The picture on the left is an image of one part of the forest floor. Everything you see is a growing wildflower. When they bloom it is spectacular. In particular Carley is famous for Blue Bells.

This is one park that I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I have hiked every mile of trail. Really, this park has only about 6 miles of trail and the trails are not particularly difficult. As for recommendations, I would recommend doing the hiking club trail in the spring when the wildflowers peak. Also take a little time and just relax down by the river. There is camping at this park and the campsite is usually not crowded and is quite.

I did notice that some trails are currently closed and it appears the the park boundaries have recently changed. The park was originally formed after the state received the land as a gift. On of the key reasons the land is significant is the presence of native White Pines. While White Pines are native, they are now rare in Southeastern Minnesota. The DNR recently announced long term plans to include Carley in a 50 mile bike loop.

I number of birds can also be seen at Carley. The link below will bring you to a through checklist. I don't claim to be a birder, so I'll let you look at the list and make your own judgments.

http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/outdoor_activities/state_parks/carley/bird_checklist.pdf

The town on Plainview is near by and is also a neat town to visit. The town is thriving due to a surge in corn prices, strong local businesses, and it's proximity to the high paying jobs of Rochester. Lodging and Food is available in Plainview or Elgin.

As was the case at Forestville and Whitewater, spring flooding did some minor damage in the park. The picture to the right shows a concrete segment that has been moved by high water.

I can't emphasis this enough. Get too Carley at the beginning of May to see the awesome display.

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...

Whitewater State Park

When I went to sleep on Saturday, the forecast for Sunday was for rain. When I awoke to an absolutely beautiful spring day, I knew I had to cease the moment. Mid March days are not supposed to be Sunny and 70 degrees.

We packed up the car and headed to Whitewater State park near Elba, Minnesota. Because Whitewater is an easy 25 minutes from Rochester, it is one of the most visited park in the State. This was my first visit to a State Park since I began writing this blog, and as such I spent a little time talking with a ranger to get some tips for visitors to the park. Thanks to Jerry Bachman for taking the time to answer some questions.

When I visit a state park, my favorite activity is hiking and this visit was no different. Whitewater state park is situated in the Mississippi River Blufflands of Southeastern Minnesota and as such had some very interesting terrain, including limestone cliffs, steep hills and ravines, springs, rivers, and some really great overlooks. As a hiker, I would describe the parks trails as being moderate in difficulty and fun. This is very rewarding hiking. On this particular visit, we hiked the Dakota, Meadow Run, and Chimney Rock Trails. Because of the heavy snow and spring melt the trails were muddy in parts, but pretty good overall.

The Dakota Trail is one of two longer rugged trails in the park that often traverse the tops of bluffs, leading to interesting terrain and great overlooks. The Coyote Point Trail is the other, I have done this trail in the past, but did not do it this time. I HIGHLY recommend both of these trails, the are a blast. If your with young children, you may want to keep close as there are some cliffs that you come across. There are also two rugged shorter trails that I like, the Chimney Rock and Inspiration Point. These lead to great overlooks and interesting rock formations. Finally there are some easy trails that involve varying lengths and little elevation change. These include the Meadow, Valley, and Trout Run Trails. I particularly like the Valley Trail as it passes through Hardwood Bottom forest. All told this is a great hiking park.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had a huge snowstorm recently. Not surprisingly the parks in the region experienced some flooding. At Whitewater some stream crossing are out and there is mud everywhere.

One activity that I am not particularly into is fishing. Maybe because I grew up on a lake, I just never developed the interest. But I would be foolish not to mention that the park offers great trout fishing on designated trout stream. While I am not too much into fishing, I may have to take it up soon as I will be visiting the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming where I here there is world class trout fishing. I mention fishing here because I like to see all people outdoors doing what they love and many people love fishing. I believe that when people use the outdoors they will protect the outdoors.

In the you can see white tailed deer, wild turkeys, a number of birds including Blue Herons, and even, thought rare, a timber rattlesnake. As a likely result of climate change some formerly migratory birds such as the Blue Heron have been spotted throughout the winter at whitewater.

We left Whitewater State Park and continued our day at the Whitewater Wildlife Management Area. This will be the subject of another entry.

Tettegouche

Well, its mid February and its cold, too cold for me to be outside, so I thought I reminisce about what has become my favorite state park, Tettegouche. Tettegouche State Park is located along the North Shore of Lake Superior approximately 90 minutes North of Duluth.

Tettegouche has something for everyone, and in my case some of the best hiking in the Upper Midwest. The park has miles of shore on Lake Superior as well as many inland lakes. Bean Lake is shown here. Hiking trails circumnavigate the park passing ridges, lakes, and even a beaver dam. Some of the least visited areas are the most spectacular. I would recommend that everyone who loves the outdoors make it a point to hike every mile of this park. The Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) winds through the park from Beaver Bay to State Highway 1. I would recommend parking at the Beaver Bay trail head (just West of town) and catching the Superior Shuttle to Highway 1. Then hike the 12 or so miles back to your vehicle. This will be one of the best day hikes you will ever find in Minnesota. Additional day hikes will take you to overlooks and beaver habitat in the parks back country, the highest falls entirely in Minnesota, or the rugged ridges overlooking Lake Superior.

In addition outstanding hiking, Tettegouche also offers car and walk in camping, backcountry camping along the SHT, fishing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, bird watching, fishing, a historic logging village, as well as some interpretive activities.

Many times I have been asked what my favorite park is, and I don't mince words. Tettegouche is it. If you have never been there, make plans for this summer. You can reserve campsites 90 days in advance and they do fill up. I recommend trying to get one of the walk-in sites. And, oh yeah, there are black bears, so don't be stupid...

I'm sure I will be revisiting this topic and park again in the future.