Gneiss Outcrops SNA OverlookGneiss Outcrops SNA
Chippewa County
Because Gneiss Outcrops SNA has not always been public property it can be difficult to determine what is public and what is private land. There are a few barbed wire fences that appear to mark private land but are actually well within the public lands. A map and GPS would be ideal but if you can view the farm at the Northeast end of the park, public land extends approximately another 100 yards north. The land on the Southeast end of the park is more clearly marked.
The tall grass and lack of trails make hiking difficult but this absence of human activity is also quite rewarding in that everything that lives here is surviving with minimal human influence. Wildlife is abundant and the gneiss outcrops support brittle prickly pear and plains prickly pear cacti that flower through June and July. I've also come across sagebrush, a plant I've not found elsewhere in Minnesota.
Hiking on Gneiss OutcropsGneiss Outcrops SNA
Chippewa County
Sagebrush on Gneiss OutcropsGneiss Outcrops SNA
Chippewa County
Minnesota SagebrushGneiss Outcrops SNA
Chippewa County
Gneiss Outcrops SNA Prairie GrassChippewa County
Flowering Prickly Pear CactusGneiss Outcrops SNA
Chippewa County
Plains Prickly Pear CactusGneiss Outcrops SNA
Chippewa County
Gneiss Outcrops at TwilightGneiss Outcrops SNA
Chippewa County
Gneiss Outcrops SNAGranite Falls, Minnesota
Chippewa County
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Riverview Trail was created by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933 and currently has 568 steps leading to the top. Though not leisurely, if I can make it with my camera gear, I’d suggest anyone wishing for a view from the top also make the effort as the views and solitude make it all worth while. With very few visitors, a rest along the way is unlikely to inconvenience anyone.
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It looks to be an exceptional year for Minnesota Crops.
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Nicollet County
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My initial exposure to Lake of the Woods County came during a late summer trip across Northern Minnesota in 2009. I’d decided to spend a few days at Zippel Bay State Park while traveling east from Thief River Falls to my eventual journey’s end in the Arrowhead and Superior National Forest. It was not until 2012 however that I decided to really explore the remoteness of Beltrami Island State Forest, a vast area of forest and wetlands, mostly abandoned by homesteaders in the mid-1930s, that I discovered what the area really has to offer: If you want to know what it’s like to have 700,000+ acres of Northern Minnesota all to yourself, drive into Beltrami Island State Forest.
Yes, Lake of the Woods is a very far drive from Minneapolis. But it’s also uniquely Minnesota and very beautiful.
On the 2nd day of my stay, it rained on and off all day. A few hours before sunset, I was determined to drive to the North Dakota border and find a train trestle across the Red River to photographed at sunset. I drove west on highway 1 out of Thief River Falls until I noticed a very tall Granary on the north side of the road and decided to stop for a photograph.
Deer are thick like rodents on Marshall County and I imagine this granary now primarily used as a hunting stand, but so majestic.
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Because the park is just a short drive west of Minneapolis on Highway 55, I find myself here quite regularly for hiking and photography, year round. The images below show the park from Spring's ice-out through Fall.
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The Arcola Soo Line Bridge spans 2,682 feet and stands 184 feet above the St. Croix River, connecting Stillwater, Minnesota with Somerset, Wisconsin. Usually when I take a photograph, I drive up in my Jeep in good light, get out with my camera gear and set up - this has pretty much been my routine for years and I've been able to capture hundreds of beautiful scenes, but the Arcola Bridge required a different approach.
On a hot September afternoon I decided it was time to drive to Stillwater and capture the Arcola High Bridge the way I wanted to see it. A full moon was going to rise an hour before sunset and a windless, humid day meant that a haze in the air would create vibrant colors in the sky after sunset. I parked along Arcola Trail North and trekked northeast into the woods until I reached the bridge.
This bridge is alive, constly shifting and settling. I stood there on the tracks for any hour as the sun set and the moon rose higher into the eastern sky, leaving only after the last sign of civil twilight faded away.
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We had a very warm Fall in Minnesota and I took the opportunity to explore the Minnesota River Valley from Chaska to Henderson.
I'd been familiar with Henderson for years, but the Minnesota River Valley State Recreation Area in Chaska had remained a mystery to me until I one day looked at Google's satellite images and noticed cars parked off of Highway 41 south of Chaska. I went out and found that this is a part of the Minnesota State Park system and that it was set up for easy access to the river for hiking and fishing - and it's just 30 minutes from downtown Minneapolis.
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Zippel Bay State Park is located in far Northwestern Minnesota on the southern shores of Lake of the Woods. The 3,000 acre park offers sandy beaches, 6 miles of hiking trails and exceptional fishing opportunities. Unlike most of Minnesota's 58 State Parks, the 4 campgrounds at Zippel Bay do not have electrical hookups for the RV crowd, creating a much more rustic camping experience.
I first came to to the park by chance while on a trip across Northern Minnesota in 2009 and I've returned at least once a year ever since. This is the place to go when I want a solitary camping experience, so I feel a sense of personal betrayal when I say that this is Minnesota's best State Park.
There are four distinct campgrounds here: The Angler's Campground, Ridge Campground, Birch Campground, and Lady Slipper Campground. There is also a swimming beach as well as a smaller beach reserved for those who are camping. This smaller beach even has a fire pit and picnic table. Though the lake is never what one would consider warm, swimming can be enjoyable.
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Roseau County was once covered by glacial Lake Agassiz. Most of the terrain is now vast farmlands, but Roseau County also contains Hayes Lake State Park, Lost River State Forest and also a significant portion of Beltrami Island State Forest. Because the area is so far away from most tourists destinations, there is not a lot of traffic to deal with and people you'll encounter tend to be out and about their daily lives.
The people of Roseau County are some of the most genuine that I have found in all of my travels. They are open, friendly and willing to help without hesitation. If you should visit, Roseau has hotels, grocery stores, mechanics and restaurants. Everything you need and more is right there. Camping at Hayes Lake State Park is also beyond comparison. It's a beautiful, well-run Park on the edge of Betrami Island State Forest.
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Minnesota has 58 state forests, most of which are located in the northern third of the state. What's unique about Beltrami Island State Forest is not only its size (it's our second largest state forest covering 703,366 acres) but also its living history, with an inherent sense sense of isolation while still remaining easily accessible from the North and West. You'll find miles and miles of gravel roads, making travel by car or truck relatively simple, as well unmarked logging trails that cut through the forest and offer some of the most pristine camping to be found in Minnesota. There are also three state-maintained rustic campgrounds and healthy wildlife population of black bear, porcupine and wolves. I heard wolves each night during my stay and saw a porcupine along Palsburg Forest Road that was so large that I initially thought it to be a bear cub.
Beltrami was settled in the early 1900s, but the sandy soil and lowland bogs proved unsuitable for farming and most of the homesteads were abandoned by 1940, since reclaimed by nature. The only remaining structures are the restored Winner Silo and Penturen Church. If you plan to visit, understand that there is no cell service and you're unlikely to meet anyone else out there with any predictability. On my last visit in late August 2012 I only encountered a few people even though I put over 500 miles on my Jeep throughout the forest's dusty roads. If you are not prepared it will be a very long wait or miles of walking in the event of a breakdown, so bring a map, compass and plenty of water, and keep in mind that ever year someone walks into these woods never to be seen again.
What brought me to Beltrami this year was the story of a lost hunter who'd chased a ruffed grouse into the woods near Penturen Church and didn't find his way out until the next day. I wanted to understand how someone familiar with the area could become so utterly lost in a matter of minutes. As a photographer, I wanted to see for myself and document what this vast and little-known forest has to offer in terms of scenery and wildlife. What I found was perfect solitude and an appreciation for what it must have taken for those who tried in vain to settle this land over 100 years ago.
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