The beautiful state parks near Fridley, MN, with their spectacular landscapes of rugged cliffs, deep ravines, forests, rivers, and lakes, provide a wide range of summer and winter recreational activities. Visitors can explore the parks on miles of hiking, biking, horseback riding, and skiing trails and camp, fish, and swim in scenic surroundings.
Fort Snelling State Park
Explore the Mississippi River Sandplains and the Minnesota River floodplain at the beautiful Fort Snelling State Park at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. The marshes and cottonwood, ash, silver maple, and willow trees along the banks of the rivers attract an abundance of wildlife. Visitors often see white-tailed deer, coyotes, foxes, woodchucks, turkeys, and turtles.
Summer Activities
An extensive 18-mile hiking and biking trail system winds through the marshes and forests along the rivers and Snelling Lake. The trails range from easy to moderate and are mostly hard-packed, gravel trails. There are five miles of biking trails and ten miles of mountain biking trails. Boat, canoe, kayak, and fish in the rivers and Snelling Lake. The lake has a fishing pier and a lovely swimming beach where you can relax after a day of boating, paddling, and hiking.
Winter Activities
In winter, the park sets aside 12 miles of well-maintained tracked trails exclusively for skiers. There are also three miles of walking trails on Pike Island.
Afton State Park
Enjoy a day of magnificent scenery and panoramic views at Afton State Park. Discover a rugged landscape filled with sandstone outcrops, deep ravines, prairies, and oak and pine forests. Relish in the spectacular views from the ridgetops and bluffs of the beautiful St. Croix River below and stroll through carpets of prairie flowers in spring, puccoons and butterfly weed in summer, and sunflowers in the fall.
Birdwatching
The park is a birding paradise where a wide range of birds can be observed. There are meadowlarks and bluebirds in the prairies, migratory birds in the floodplains, and hawks and waterfowl along the St. Croix River.
Hiking, Biking, and Horseback Riding
The multi-purpose trails that cut through the park include 20 miles of hiking trails, four miles of paved biking trails, and five miles of equestrian trails. Deer, foxes, badgers, squirrels, and turkeys are often spotted along the trails.
Camping
The park has a canoe campsite and a rustic backpack campground with 28 sites. The campground without electricity is roughly a one-mile hike from the parking area. Two group camps are set in a secluded area. You can stay in yurts without electricity or in one of four camper cabins with electricity and heat throughout the year.
Winter Activities
The park has 12 miles of snowshoe and cross-country skiing trails. There is a 2.5-mile beginners loop trail, and the rest of the cross-country skiing trail is for intermediate and advanced skiers.
Interstate State Park
The picturesque park offers a great escape for nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts with a wide range of outdoor recreational activities. In autumn, the forest is a wonderland of orange, yellow, and brown. In spring, the park changes into a colorful tapestry of wildflowers. Enjoy paddling on the 23-acre Lake O’ Dalles, fight the rapids on the St. Croix River, and hike down scenic trails with spectacular views.
Hiking
In addition to over nine miles of nature trails, a section of the 1,200-mile National Scenic Ice Age Trail cuts through the park. It’s considered the most geologically unique trail in the park. The trails in the park take hikers to the highest points with views of the river valley, past potholes formed by glacial meltwaters, and down riverbeds surrounded by steep, rocky canyon walls filled with mosses, ferns, and wildflowers.
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