There are 75 Minnesota State Parks and Recreation Areas spread all over the state of Minnesota. The parks offer camping, hiking, canoeing, cabin stays, and more. These are the six sites in Minnesota administered by the United States National Park Service (NPS.) Grand Portage National Monument, Grand Portage, Google map, National Park Service website Mississippi National… At George H. Crosby Manitou State Park, designed for backpackers not cars, you’re in for a challenging hike to reach the Manitou River cascade. And from there, it gets a lot tougher. The Lac Qui Parle Mission provides a glimpse into some of the earliest interactions between the Indians of the Upper Minnesota River area and the first white settlers, including Joseph Renville, who was instrumental in creating a system of writing the Dakota language. Created as one of two Indian agencies created by the Sioux treaty of 1851, the Upper Sioux Agency is now a state park with history exhibits and nice hikes. Located at the juncture of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, Fort Snelling is a lesson in early Minnesota History. Fort Snelling State Park is a day hiker’s paradise, with at least three routes out of the main parking lot that lead to interesting conclusions. But the highlight is the hike around Pike Island along the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers to their confluence. How to prepare for and enjoy the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the most pristine landscape in the lower 48 states. Choose a good outfitter, prepare for weather changes, and enjoy the dark skies. Located in Lake Superior 20 miles off the coast of the most northern tip of Minnesota, the 50 mile-long, six mile-wide Isle Royale National Park takes some getting to. But once there it offers what the more popular parks don’t, primarily – splendid isolation. Moose Lake State Park in the early spring: a classic Minnesota walk, a day trip from Duluth or Minneapolis and easy access from I-35. Enjoy a day hike, the woods, wildlife and, in town, a visit to the Blacklock Photography Gallery. It’s an easy walk around the historic Coldwater Spring National Park Service site near Fort Snelling and Minnehaha Creek.Minnesota State Parks
US National Park Sites in Minnesota
Crosby Manitou State Park: A Tough Hike
The Lac qui Parle Mission and State Park
The Upper Sioux Agency State Park
Visiting the Fort Snelling Historic Site
Fort Snelling State Park: Hiking Two Rivers
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Visiting Isle Royale National Park
Walking Moose Lake State Park
A Walk to Coldwater Spring National Park Site
