Minnesota State Parks Hiking Club Trails

There are 68 Hiking Club Trails in parks around Minnesota.  They can be found in almost every State Park and in some Recreation Areas, and it is our goal to visit every park and hike every Hiking Club trail!

In many cases, the Hiking Club Trail will lead you to the highlights of the park: the most spectacular waterfalls, excellent overlooks, intriguing geology and natural history.  Most are the "If you're going to hike one trails..." hikes.  Some are more interesting than others - but they are all as unique as the corners of Minnesota in which they are located.

Here's a handy list of Parks/Rec Areas with links to the MN DNR (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) site, the length of the Hiking Club Trail, and the Witch of November hike recaps.




Afton State Park 
2.5 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 8/10/2013

Banning State Park 
2.6 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 6/2/2012

Bear Head Lake State Park  
3.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/21/2013

Beaver Creek Valley State Park  
6.2 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 10/12/2014

Big Bog State Recreation Area
2.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/17/2015

Big Stone Lake State Park  
2.2 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 10/4/2014

Blue Mounds State Park   
6.2 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 6/2/2013

Buffalo River State Park    
2.5 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/30/2013

Camden State Park
2.4 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 5/22/2015

Carley State Park   
1.8 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 10/11/2014

Cascade River State Park   
3.5 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 8/18/2012

Charles A. Lindbergh State Park 
2.8 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/22/2012

Crow Wing State Park  
2.3 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 6/24/2013

Father Hennepin State Park  
2.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 5/10/2014

Flandrau State Park 
2.8 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 6/23/2012

Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park 
2.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 10/13/2014

Fort Ridgely State Park  
2.6 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 5/22/2015

Fort Snelling State Park  
3.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 5/5/2013

Franz Jevne State Park 
1.3 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/3/2012

Frontenac State Park 
2.6 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/8/2014

George H. Crosby Manitou State Park 
4.2 mile (alternate 1.2 mile) Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 6/8/2013

Glacial Lakes State Park 
4.7 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 8/31/2013

Glendalough State Park 
3.3 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/4/2013
Gooseberry Falls State Park 
2.2 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 6/30/2012

Grand Portage State Park 
1.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/1/2012

Great River Bluffs State Park 
2.5 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/9/2014

Hayes Lake State Park 
2.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/17/2015

Interstate State Park 
3.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 8/18/2013

Itasca State Park 
3.5 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/6/2015

Jay Cooke State Park 
3.5 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 3/25/3012

Judge C.R. Magney State Park 
2.5 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/1/2012

Kilen Woods State Park
2.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 5/23/2015

Lac qui Parle State Park 
2.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 10/4/2014

Lake Bemidji State Park 
2.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/17/2015

Lake Bronson State Park 
3.4 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/18/2015

Lake Carlos State Park 
2.9 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/4/2013

Lake Louise State Park 
1.3 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 5/24/2015

Lake Maria State Park 
2.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 8/12/2012

Lake Shetek State Park 
1.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 5/23/2015

Maplewood State Park 
6.2 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/27/2013

McCarthy Beach State Park 
3.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 8/15/2015

Mille Lacs Kathio State Park 
3.2 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 10/19/2014

Minneopa State Park 

2.7 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 6/23/2012

Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area 
4.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/14/2015

Monson Lake State Park 
1.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 8/31/2013

Moose Lake State Park 
2.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/14/2013




Myre-Big Island State Park 
6.2 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 8/1/2015

Nerstrand Big Woods State Park 
2.2 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 4/22/2012

Old Mill State Park 
1.4 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/18/2015

Red River State Recreation Area 
2.2 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/19/2015

Rice Lake State Park 
2.4 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/15/2012

St. Croix State Park 
4.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/4/2012

Sakatah Lake State Park 
2.2 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/16/2012

Savanna Portage State Park 
5.3 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 5/24/2014

Scenic State Park 
2.9 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 8/16/2015

Schoolcraft State Park 
1.8 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 8/17/2015

Sibley State Park 
4.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 3/18/2012

Soudan Underground Mine State Park 
2.5 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/21/2013

Split Rock Creek State Park 
2.6 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 5/25/2012

Split Rock Lighthouse State Park 
5.8 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/15/2012

Temperance River State Park 
1.9 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/1/2012

Tettegouche State Park 
2.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/28/2012

Upper Sioux Agency State Park 
4.3 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 7/3/2014

Whitewater State Park 
2.2 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 10/11/2014

Wild River State Park 
3.3 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 8/17/2013

William O'Brien State Park 
6.0 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 6/21/2014

Zippel Bay State Park 
1.5 mile Hiking Club Trail
Completed on 9/3/2012






16 comments:

  1. Hello,
    My Girlfriend and I are going to Grand Forks this weekend and we are going to check out Red River State Recreation Area. She is a member of the Hiking Club, but unfortunately she left it at home. We want to spend sometime there and take it in. I looked at the map supplied by the DNR and unfortunately it does not say which trail is the Hiking Club Trail. I was wondering if you could let me know which one it is? We would greatly appreciate it.
    Thank you! Love your blog!

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    1. Thanks! I'll look up the info when I get home this afternoon...my book is already packed for the next adventure. I'll reply asap!

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    2. You're very welcome! Thanks for making such an awesome blog! Thank you so much! We really appreciate it! All the best!

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    3. Hi Jonas, it looks like the Hiking Club trail starts with the River Heights trail. It starts at the park office and travels NW. I hope this gets you off on the right foot!

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    4. Hello! Thank you so much! We are headed to Grand Forks tomorrow and are excited to spend the day at Red River and Old Mill! Thank you so much! All the best!

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    5. Thank you again for the help! Red River was interesting, but fun. Worth being along the river. Old mill was short but beautiful! Especially this time of year!
      Thanks again!

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    6. Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly that love and read more on this topic. If possible, such as gain knowledge, would you mind updating your blog with additional information? It is very useful for me. hiking

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  2. Hey, I am keeping virtually the same blog as you (documenting my Minnesota Hiking Club Travels and Travails). You should check it out: http://banjosandbogs.blogspot.com/

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  3. Also, your blog is helpful in planning these trips.

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  4. Thanks for the great writeups, Elly. I did a Saturday adventure this fall with seven Hiking Club trails in one day (Jay Cooke, Moose Lake, Banning, St. Croix, Wild River, Interstate, William O'Brien) - your blog posts were really helpful. Hope to see you out there someday!

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    1. Hey, thanks! I appreciate it!

      Seven in ONE DAY? You basically hiked from Lake Superior to the Cities. I'm very impressed...and you must have been very tired!

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    3. I don't believe you hiked and drove all that in one day. No way. The hiking is 24.4 miles alone!

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  5. We LOVE your blog...using this as a reference on our own trek with our daughters to hike all the hiking club trails. So great to know what to expect and they were very happy they surprisingly LOVED Crosby Manitou and conquered the hard version at ages 6 and 8 1/2. Hoping to do the newest trail at LaSalle Lake State recreation area this summer.

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    1. Wow, thanks! It's great to hear that people are still enjoying this! The Hiking Club is such a neat Minnesotan thing - I'm glad that you're doing it with your family! Crosby Manitou is such a beautiful park. We're going to have to get back up there someday...

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  6. We missed the Password for the Gooseberry Falls hike. Can you help us out for our Hiking Club book? Thanks!

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