A local’s guide to the fourth-oldest state park in rural Minnesota: Fort Ridgley State Park. The top things to do at this former military fort on the frontier include hiking and horse trails, trout fishing, camping, and more.
Fort Snelling State Park in St. Paul offers easy, scenic hiking trails, and is located within the Twin Cities, MN metro area. Here you can hike to the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. And it’s one of the best state parks for history buffs – with the area dating back 10,000 years.
Mille Lacs Kathio State Park – Minnesota’s fourth largest park – features 9,000 years of history, 35 miles of hiking trails, 27 miles of horse trails, a 100-ft. fire tower you can climb, and more!
Father Hennepin State Park sits alongside one of Minnesota’s best and largest lakes: Mille Lacs. This beautiful state park offers a sandy beach, fishing piers, boat access, hiking, camping, and more.
If you love nature, Native American, early settler, and frontier history, then you’ll love exploring Crow Wing State Park in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Looking for a good read on your next vacation? Here’s a curated list of the best books based on five-star and four-star ratings in several genres.
One of the best state parks to explore in Minnesota, Charles A. Lindbergh State Park is also the boyhood home of the famous aviator. Surprisingly, the state park is not named after him. Learn more.
A local’s guide to the small and serene Carley State Park in southeast Minnesota. Known especially for its bluebells and other wildflowers, Carley State Park features trout fishing, hiking, and unique river crossings.
A local’s guide to Cascade River State Park on the North Shore in Minnesota features scenic waterfalls, hiking trails, trout fishing, wildlife, and easy access to Lake Superior.
Camden State Park offers serene hikes through marshes, wetlands, prairie grasses, and hardwoods. One of the best state parks in Minnesota also features a designated trout stream, a swimming pond with sandy beach, and Lake Brawner.
