August 2, 2021

ST. CROIX STATE PARK

Pine County, Minnesota

“St. Croix State Park is a state park in Pine County, Minnesota, USA. The park follows the shore of the St. Croix River for 21 miles and contains the last 7 miles of the Kettle River. At 33,895 acres it is the largest Minnesota state park.” Wikipedia

I had a free aftenoon, so I ventured to St. Croix State Park. The park is huge with many hiking trails. A map shows the way to drive to some of the “highlites.” But, the map is deceiving, about a mile into the park the nice paved road turned into a very narrow, curvy, gravel road. I think I got up to 30 mph, once. The stops did provide some beautiful vistas. At one I climbed to the top of the fire tower. It was rickety, and I’m not sure how I made it to the top without passing out. The view from the top was stunning, forest for as far as you could see in all directions. There were also stops to view the Kettle and St. Croix Rivers. The road was 12 miles long and ended in a dead end…the only way out was to return over the same narrow, curvy, gravel road that got me there.

I wish I would have had more time to hike some of the trails, but what I did see was really beautiful.