Banning State Park was one of our favorite outdoor stops during our Hinckley getaway. The park is…read moreknown for its scenic hiking trails, sandstone cliffs, and the views of the Kettle River, making it a great place to spend a few hours exploring. Our goal was to find the waterfall, but like many first-time visitors, we ended up taking a wrong turn and wandered a little longer than expected. Honestly, it turned into part of the adventure. As we explored, we spotted deer quietly moving, squirrels darting between the trees, and plenty of birds and caterpillars along the way. We discovered quiet trails, beautiful overlooks, and peaceful stretches of the river that we might have missed if we'd gone straight to our destination. The sound of the water, the surrounding rock formations, and the forest scenery made it one of those places where you naturally want to stop and take it all in. If you're visiting Banning State Park for the first time, don't stress if you get a little turned around. Give yourself extra time, wear comfortable shoes, and enjoy the journey.

This is a beautiful state park that offers so many opportunities to commune with nature. Lush…read moretrails, flowers native to shorelines and wet soils, and a waterfall are among some of the many joys here. It is located off I-35 near Sandstone, and 90 miles away from the Twin Cities (about an hour and a half away). It is worth making a day trip to visit. The park stretches along 10 miles of the Kettle River, and has 1.5 miles of churning class IV rapids for those daring kayakers.

Crow wing is a lovely place to get out and connect with nature! There are many hiking and bike…read moretrails. It also is filled with wildlife! You can take a walk through the old town of Crow Wing and learn alot about its past! You can go down and see the Mississippi River while you have a picnic or hotdogs over a fire. The cabin is very rustic but it does not have electricity. Still overall a very nice place!

Excellent day of hiking! Trails are well marked and maintained. Only a small area are paved the…read morerest of the trails are grassy or wooded. Checked in with Ranger Barry Osborne. He was Uber helpful and friendly. We enjoyed the historic markers and learning about the area. Lots of good picnic spots.

My family and I stopped by this park while on vacation in the area in March 2024. We were thrilled…read moreto see there are hiking trails as well as the fire tower, plus there are a lot of interesting things to read about the tower history and fire history in the area. The whole park is nice - clean, well kept, both paved trails and gravel lined trails, well-built steps, and quality railings where steps are located. There is a paved trail that goes to the tower, as well as an unpaved trail that is a good uphill climb. The tower looks neat, and we would have loved to climb it, but it was closed. There is a big fence with a locked door around it. This was a bummer for me - the websites that I found describing the park had said that the park was open year-round, which I (wrongly) thought included the tower. I do understand - it is an unseasonably warm winter, and most people aren't going hiking or climbing giant towers in March. I was just disappointed. Nonetheless, we enjoyed our time there - both the hiking and learning about fire safety in the area.

One of the more medium sized MN State Parks but had some lovely features. We were here to hike and…read morewe did the hiking club trail. Our visit in the fall provided stunning tree color. The little stream that follows part of the path was slow moving and provided a perfect mirror of the colorful foliage. The bridges across the water provided some great photo ops. You can learn a bit about Mr Lindbergh's life as well from the placards that are found near the trail head. Great stop.

A fairly compact park near Little Falls near the start of the Mississippi River. There are some…read morestructures from the WPA era (1930's) and a few hiking paths. There is a large campsite and trials marked for hiking and for winter sports. There is a boat launch, swimming and plenty of picnic options. The trails aren't titled so be sure to pick up a map in the case outside the main office, which has limited hours only from Friday to Sunday. A highlight on the trip is Charles A Lindbergh landing site in a former farm field of his first plane which he bought used in Georgia and flew home to Little Falls.

Super nice park/hiking trail that has so many facilities. Park has Softball/Baseball Field…read moreTennis Courts (4) Disc Golf Pickleball Courts (2 fenced) plus on the Basketball Court Basketball Court Volleyball Court (sand court) Horseshoe Pits (2) Bean Bag Toss (2) Children's Playground Equipment (New in 2022) Outhouses Drinking Fountain Numerous Picnic Tables Pollinator Garden in Trails Area. They have a fun hiking trail that has hidden gnomes to find that was so fun to search for them. Would recommend this park to all age ranges because of all the options that are available.

The Pelican Lake Conservation Club is a local organization dedicated to improve the lake,…read moresurrounding area, and its community members. If you live in the area please join the club, it's only a few dollars a year and all of the cool kids are doing it. Well maybe not "kids" as the average member age is about 65, but please don't let that stop you as everyone is very inviting, fun, and young at heart. If you are visiting the area stop by and take a walk on the nature trails or use the kids playground (both open to the public) and on the second Saturday of each month they host the most amazing pancake breakfasts complete with sausage, egg bake, biscuits and gravy, coffee and juice for only $7. They also serve dinners once each month, and conduct the bar bingo and pull tabs at several of the local bars to raise money for other organizations in the community. This is truly a wonderful organization and I am proud to be a member! TIP: If you a member living in the area they have offer free composting area for your grass clippings.

I stopped by here when visiting the nearby Father Hennepin SP. The park is near lake Mille Lacs,…read moreand is about 2 hours from the Twin Cities. The highlights of the park for me are kayaking the Rum River or climbing the 100 foot fire tower to experience the view of the lake. Bird watching is also a good attraction here.

One of the my best core memories was made here this past weekend. We were able to book one of the…read moregroup camping grounds and have such a lovely place to stay for 4 days and 3 nights. We got to climb the fire tower, fish at the local lakes and dams, dance around with our family and friends, and enjoy the stars at night. Everything is very clean when arriving. Bathrooms are outhouses that are well maintained, but once toilet has ran out we didn't get much of a refill. Parking space was big enough for our party and the other down the hill from us.

Bicycled through the park, stopping to enjoy the views and old farmstead. Real flush toilets…read more(clean-thank you!) and lots of open parking for cars. I enjoyed our stop under the mature trees!

Bend in the River State Park was created after the Graves donated their land to the County of…read moreBenton. The park has benches for sitting, restrooms and manicured walking paths. What was disappointing was the lack of a paper map however the website https://www.co.benton.mn.us/Facilities/Facility/Details/Bend-in-the-River-Regional-Park-2 Has a downloadable map that's very handy. The park has 3 / looks of the river with each overlook containing sign in to detail the history of the Mississippi River end the area of Benton County. it was also interesting learning about the prairie wildfires and how it affected the trees growing in the area. there are also several paths that lead down to the Mississippi River which gives you could access for fishing kayaking and general relaxing along the whispering Waters of the Mississippi River. That is your return to the parking area you can see the Benton homestead which was very interesting learning about life in the 1850s through the early 1900s. however I was disappointed that it seems like the house is not being used for anything and that is a disappointing fact because many young adults could learn about farming in early life if they restore the homes and then use them as a teaching museum. Overall it takes about 35 to 40 minutes to see the whole park and learn about the Mississippi River. It's definitely worth a stop if and only if you're staying in the area however I don't think I would go out of my way to come here unless I was visiting.

Great trip. Captain Tim very knowledgeable on history and nature of area and a lot of fun…read more The area is beautiful

We had an amazing trip today with Captain Tim of Voyageurs Outfitters. We went to Kettle Falls…read morefrom Thunderbird Lodge. It was a perfect day full of fun memories and lots of laughs. Thunderbird Lodge is also amazing. We had an absolute blast. Thank you SO much!! Jenn Ryan