State Park with Bison and Falls

We were in Mankato, MN at the beginning of May to celebrate the graduation of Andy’s nephew from Minnesota State University, Mankato.  After attending  the commencement ceremony and celebrating with the family, we wanted to find a nearby state park to hike.  We found a great park and if you are looking for an easy day trip to a state park from the Twin Cities, keep on reading! 

About an hour and a half drive from Minneapolis, Minneopa State Park is located on the outskirts of Mankato, MN and has many highlights worth checking out. Prior to going to the state park, we had some biased judgments on the park based on its location. It’s more southern MN and is categorized into the “prairie” section of MN state parks. Our favorite state parks are the forested types up north. So we figured Minneopa would be loads of open prairies with plenty of hot sun beating down on us. Parts of the park did have prairies, but there were also parts where the trail ran right along the Minnesota River with plenty of trees to provide shade. We also always hike with our sun hats for extra protection.  There was also a nice breeze coming from the river.

Some highlights of Minneopa State Park include:

• The bison (also commonly called buffalo)! There is a 300+ acre gated area for bison viewing. You cannot get out of your cars because the bison can charge at you 3 times faster than a person can run. So, as always with any wildlife, view from a safe distance and in this case, the comfort of your car. We were there at 11:45 am and saw about a dozen bison including a baby. While talking to the park ranger, she mentioned the bison would be going away in the afternoon. We weren’t sure why and didn’t get a chance to ask but our guess is that they hide out in the shade as it gets hotter. Go early and keep your eyes peeled if you want to sight some bison! Check out more information about the Minneopa bison heard.

• Minneopa Falls. The falls, which reminded us of a smaller version of Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, is an easily accessible area to hike. You can view it from the top, or hike down the long stairwell and hike along the river to the bottom of the falls. The base of the falls is worth checking out because you can get close up to the rock and see the sandstone slowly eroding away. Seeing this is proof of the many years it’s taken for the falls to form.

• Hiking Club trail. We recently joined the MN State Parks’ Hiking Club. This is a “challenge” and the goal is to visit all of the MN state parks and hike on the trails with the “Hiking Club” markers. Once you’ve completed a trail in a state park, you mark it in your Hiking Club trail book. At different milestones you can earn patches and some milestones earn you a free night of camping. You can also join the MN State Parks’ Passport Club and collect stamps at each state park visited. Both clubs are a fun way to visit all the state parks and they keep you adventuring to new ones you may never have even thought of visiting! We look forward to filling our passport and hiking club books up!

• The nature center/history. All state parks come with history, but there was an informative nature center to share the park’s history. I’d recommend checking this out to see the variety of animal fossils/shells/fur and history of the park. Sign the guestbook while your there!

• The campsites. There are plenty of campsites to chose from, including some that overlook the MN river. This beautiful weekend had a handful of groups out camping. There are some group campsites as well. We look forward to camping there in the near future. Camping season is in full swing finally!

We were only able to hike about 3 miles of the park, and there are plenty more trails to explore there. The state park is well worth a day drive or overnight stay! After your visit to Minneopa Falls, we recommend checking out the Mankato Brewery. It’s a quick 10-minute drive from the state park and a craft beer always taste better after a day of hiking!

What state parks do you recommend going to for day trips?

Peace, love, and hike thru life!