Mary Jo Mosher - Hiking Minnesota: A Guide to the States Greatest Hiking Adventures

Mary Jo Mosher is a freelance writer and retired journalist with an undergraduate degree in journalism and a masters degree in communication management. She is also the author of One Man Against the Mountain, Pennys Tale, and The Volunteers. She and her husband, Robert Dingmann, are volunteers for the USDA Forest Service in Sheridan, Wyoming, and have ridden horseback in many of Minnesotas state parks, national forests, and other parks. Their favorite trails in Minnesota are Pillsbury State Forest and the rugged Tamarack in St. Croix State Forest. They live in Becker, Minnesota.

Kristine Mosher (center, with her son, Emmett, and daughter, Maarja) grew up in Minnesota. She spent many years as a wilderness instructor/outdoor educator and worked with the Voyageur Outward Bound School in Minnesota and Texas, and Prescott College in Arizona. She has hiked throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, yet Minnesota remains one of her favorite places to explore. Kristine is a nurse practitioner and lives in Ely, Minnesota.

There are so many people who were supportive of us during the writing of this book, including the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, park employees, and others who checked our work for accuracy or who provided us with needed information. Were also indebted to those who helped us with lodging and meals while we were on the road.

We thank our family for their interest and support of this project and FalconGuides for providing us with the opportunity to write this book. We would also like to acknowledge Voyageur Press and Constance Jefferson Sansome for permitting us to model our regions of the state after the regions in their book Minnesota Underfoot.

Three great rivers, the Mississippi, St. Croix, and Minnesota, merge in east central Minnesota and are scenic focal points in the states largest metropolitan area. Portions of all three have been declared wild and scenic or protected waterways. These rivers each carve distinctive valleys through glacial sediment and ancient bedrock, and each one tells a unique geologic story. Located in the deciduous forest and prairie biomes, much of the area surrounding the Twin Cities is either heavily wooded or has been cleared for farmland. An abundance of lakes and rivers, rolling hills, broad river valleys, deciduous forests, small prairie remnants, and sand plain forests of planted red and white pine make this a varied and interesting region. Floodplain forests of willow, cottonwood, and elm thrive along the banks of major rivers and provide habitat for birds and wildlife. This region is bounded to the east by the St. Croix River, to the north by the Anoka sand plain, to the west by the limits of the St. Croix moraine, and to the south by the Bluffland region.

The St. Croix River originated as a path for glacial meltwater and became the Glacial St. Croix River, draining glacial lakes in the Lake Superior basin. As glaciers receded northward, meltwater eventually drained eastward through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, causing the St. Croix to shrink to its present size. The river gorge forms a high, rock-bound canyon called a dalles, where the river cuts through a dark basalt flow and layers of siltstone and sandstone that together rise 270 feet above the river. The basalt flow was part of the mid-continental rift that scientists believe formed 1.1 billion years ago from the Lake Superior region south to Kansas. As plates spread apart along this rift, lava poured out like pancake batter and formed the landscape features of Lake Superiors North Shore and the dalles of the St. Croix.

The Minnesota River is a slow, silt-laden river that occupies the enormous Glacial River Warren valley. Glacial River Warren was a high-volume outlet stream for Glacial Lake Agassiz, which covered northwestern Minnesota and into Canada. As the glacier retreated, Glacial Lake Agassiz drained northward and the river diminished to the present-day Minnesota, which has gradually filled the valley with sediment. The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are located where the Minnesota joins the Mississippi. Originating in the north central part of the state, the Mississippi River cuts a narrow, steep-walled canyon at the confluence through sedimentary sandstone, shale, and limestone deposited in ancient shallow seas. Americans and Europeans traveled north on the Mississippi River, a primary commerce route, to settle in Minnesota near the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers. The cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul developed as centers for commerce at the confluence, the northernmost navigable section of the Mississippi River, because of St. Anthony Falls, and became the most populated region of Minnesota.

Despite its size, many people are surprised by the wealth of preserved natural areas within this heavily populated region of east central Minnesota, but Minneapolis and St. Paul contain numerous city parks, regional parks, and nature preserves.

Driving into Minneapolis, youd never guess that a valuable gem lies hidden deep within the citys maze of freeways and city streets. Unscathed by surrounding development, Minnehaha Creek winds lazily through the city on its way to the Mississippi River. As you hike along the creekwhich is surrounded by oak savannas, streams, springs, and marshesits easy to imagine yourself far away from city life. This historic hike gives you an idea of what Minneapolis must have looked like during pre-settlement days and later when hundreds of visitors traveled by rail to see these popular falls.

Start: From the parking lot nearest the pavilion

Distance: 3.0-mile loop

Approximate hiking time: 1.5 hours

Difficulty rating: Easy due to well-maintained flat trails along the creek

Trail surface: Dirt trails, stairs that descend to the creek

Lay of the land: Minnehaha Creek valley

Other trail users: Hikers only

Canine compatibility: Leashed dogs permitted

Land status: City park

Nearest town: Minneapolis, MN

Fees/permits: No permits required. Some parking lots require parking fees.

Schedule: Open year round, sunrise to sunset (8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.)

Maps: USGS maps: St. Paul West, MN; state park map

Trail contacts: Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board, Minneapolis, MN; (612) 230-6400 or (612) 722-2220 for Stevens House information, or visit www.minneapolisparks.org

FINDING THE TRAILHEAD

From Minneapolis: If you are coming from north of the Twin Cities, take Interstate 94 to Highway 55 (also Hiawatha Avenue) southeast. The entrance to the park is on your left near the intersection of Highway 55 and Minnehaha Avenue. If you are traveling on Interstate 35E (north or south), head northwest on Highway 55. The park entrance is just before Minnehaha Avenue.

THE HIKE

Minnehahas laughing waters bring to mind the famous poem Song of Hiawatha, completed and published in 1855 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Inspired by stories and legends of Native American tribes, Longfellow was particularly impressed by descriptions of Minnehaha Creeks dramatic falls. Many of these stories and legends appeared in a book called