This past weekend, I did some research on where fall colors were best and headed north to Wild River State Park for a hike. It was likely the last nice day in the 70s and I wanted to hit some hiking trail. Lots of other folks had the same idea and Wild River was busy.
Wild River State Park has 18 miles of frontage on the St. Croix River near Center City MN. The park's name "Wild River" is derived from the fact that the St. Croix River was one of the original eight rivers protected by the U.S. Congress through the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. Nearly 5,000 of the park's total 6,803 acres were donated by Northern States Power Company.
Rather than doing the Hiking Club trail (which we assumed would be too busy), we ventured off to the south to do the Old Military Road and Deer Creek Loop, returning through Amik’s Pond. We quickly realized that most of this south route was also horseback riding trails and so we ended up walking through a lot of horse shite on really soft, sandy trails and moving aside for the dozens and dozens of horseback riders. Note to others—this loop isn’t recommended by us unless you are on a horse. Wild River has a horse camp section in the park and there is a riding stable adjacent to the park.
AND…. The leave colors two blocks from our house (see below) are way better than up in the Center City area, where Wild River State Park is. I’m not really sure I trust those color maps by the DNR….
But it’s still nice to explore a state park, even if it’s a gray fall day and the trail we took wasn’t optimal.
Back to the Old Military Road trail….. we learned that this road was intended to be a highway for troop movement from Hastings MN on the Mississippi River to Superior Wisconsin and was one of the first roads in Minnesota Territory. The road was started in 1852, by the federal government, but when Minnesota became a state in 1858, responsibility for the road fell to the state and well….we didn’t have the money to finish it. An alternative to the Military Road came in 1895 when an alternative railroad line ran through Sandstone and the Military Road fell out of favor. Parts of the road can still be seen in Banning State Park as well as at Wild River.
Another thing we discovered was two canoe-in campsites along the St. Croix River. Canoeing into a campsite and doing some day trips seems like a great way to experience this park---and be quite remote from fellow campers. Note to self to remember this.
Cormac, our 13-year old, is always a reluctant hiker, but he has gotten used to the fact he has no choice in the matter. It’s a weekend, so we’re out doing something. I like to think that someday he will choose to do this on his own, but you never know, he might always need the promise of a Dairy Queen chicken strip meal to encourage him
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