Sometimes, we decide we want to go camping, and it's very last minute—like less than a week away. With so little notice, the options can be downright limited, and sometimes there are no options at all, but just one lonely campsite left. In this case, the last campsite for us was at Beaver Creek Valley State Park- in southeastern Minnesota in the bluff country. We had never heard of this place- but decided to give it a whirl.
Is it smart to pick the last campsite available? Logic would tell you that there’s probably an issue since it is the only one not taken. But we took that risk with our dog, Ozzie (he was the only remaining pup from his litter) and guess what, he’s totally awesome and we think he’s the best damn dog in the whole world! Well, we lucked out with the camping selection too - the park was an interesting, worthwhile place to visit and our campsite was just fine, not the best one in the park, but not the worst one either.
Beaver Creek Valley State Park is tucked away in the farmland near Caledonia in southeastern Minnesota. A spring-fed trout stream, Beaver Creek, winds through the park at the base of the steep valley and defines the interesting features of this park. You are never too far from the bubbling, gurgling, cold water stream in this park.
We arrived on Friday around 5 pm. We were watching radar weather because there were multiple rain clouds passing through the area that day. The last one passed through a couple of hours before we arrived but it was still very humid and that humidity stuck in the deep valley all weekend. If you are from the south, this humidity wouldn’t have fazed you, but for us north-landers, we hate it and it hates us right back.
The 42 campsites are strung out along a dead-end road that passes through (literally through) Beaver Creek three times before you get to the turnaround at the end of the road. The campsites hug the road and are sometimes in clusters. Our site was fairly large, with a camp ring and grill, and a large picnic table. We were at site 29, which was on the opposite side of the road from the creek, but you can still hear it bubbling at night. The only complaint we had about our campsite was the very large Wild Parsnip plant that was leaning into our campsite entry. Once we read the signs elsewhere at the park that warned of touching the Wild Parsnip, we were a bit freaked at how many times we had already brushed by it. “If the plant comes in contact with the skin, and the skin is exposed to sunlight, blisters and burn will form.” Great! It was hard to avoid this plant which was reaching at us every time we entered our site….
The tall plant to the left of Ozzie is the notorious "Wild Parsnip".
Because this park is quite compact, you can fairly easily hike all the trails. (But we actually didn’t because, you know, the humidity). If you are map person, make sure to print one out before you leave home, as they don’t have paper maps at this park. They suggest you download one--- the only problem is there is no cell service once you get in the park. There are plenty of signs with maps posted at the beginning of hikes and at key decision points on the trail. Take a photo with your phone and you will be fine.
Big Spring is a spot in the creek where you can see and hear water gushing out between the rocks on the far side of the stream. The cold-water stream has a consistent temperature (even in winter) and is an ideal habitat for the brown trout you can see in various places in the creek. Notice how the mist rises off the stream, adding to the humidity in the valley. This is the clearest water in any stream I’ve ever seen.
The Hole-In-the-Rock hike is a very narrow, sometimes muddy path that winds up the side of the bluff to an outcropping of rock that has a cave. It’s only a 1.1 miles trek, but it connects into the Mossy Seep trail going north, or the West Rim trail to the south. Although this seemed to be a popular trail, it was quite overgrown, and less than a foot wide. Some folks might be more comfortable wearing pants with all the weeds brushing your legs (and thoughts of Wild Parsnip in your head).
The Beaver Creek Valley loop is a 3.5 mile flat and generously wide path that follows the creek to the north end of the park and loops back. Make sure to pause to see trout in the stream, butterflies in the wildflowers, and enjoy the easy walk. The swing bridge that is shown on maps appears to have been replaced by a non-swinging bridge.
Mosquitos were about a 3/10 during the dusk hours, bugs and flies were about 5/10 (although Cormac would say they were seeking out his eyes). We did not see any wood ticks (cross our fingers, as sometimes they show up days later). Fireflies were the cool-bug thing we noticed. It was mesmerizing to watch them at night.
The campground was fairly quiet at night—except that sound seemed to travel far and is magnified a bit by the vertical walls of the bluff. The camping couple across the road from us liked to read to each other well into the night (what the hell are they reading, we wondered? It was just muddled enough to keep that a mystery to us) and large families with multiple little ones that didn’t go to sleep until 11 had us feeling a little curmudgeonly on Friday. Saturday night was much quieter, as the day’s activities likely tuckered everyone out (except for the reading couple, who were still into it on Saturday).
Two nights is about the right amount of time for this park unless you like trout fishing, then you might want to stay all summer. This park is a great place to disconnect from your phone (no choice, there is no service here) and spend some time reading a book or playing cribbage with the family after you’ve explored the park trails. Or take a nap because you didn’t sleep well on that sleeping pad that loses all its air during the night.
We headed into Caledonia one day to check out the town, which is the county seat for Houston County. There is a DQ and a liquor store will only one type of decent beer- Elysian Brewing Contact Haze. We had cell service long enough to google a few things that were bugging us – “How big is Caledonia?” 2,734 in the last census. “Is Caledonia another name for Scotland?” Yes. “How big is the Isle of Man (Cormac question)?” About the same size as Isle Royale. And “What’s with the quilt squares on the sides of barns?” The 8’x8’ colorful squares with quilted patterns on rural barns in the area are a part of a 60-barn quilt tour. Interesting indeed. The countryside was quite lovely. Throw in dozens of barns and the cute little quilt thing and it’s downright charming.
On the way home from Beaver Creek Valley, we stopped by Great River Bluffs State Park, just south of Winona. We were set to do some hiking, but as we started on the path to one of the viewpoints over the Mississippi River, the gunshots from a nearby range were loud and our dog, Ozzie, was having NOTHING to do with this place. We spent a few minutes at the lookout, then headed back to our car to head home. Okay, our “best dog in the world” is not perfect, but he is perfect for us.
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