Interstate State Park

My first stop on my journey to visit all of the Minnesota State Parks started at Interstate State Park in Taylor's Falls. I've been to this park so many times for day trips of hiking but this was the first time I actually camped here. It has 37 campsites and they are all reservable so they fill up fast! Every time I go to this park is is busy with lots of hikers - most there for a day trip because it's so close to the Twin Cities.

For this trip I went with my boyfriend, Kirk, and our two friends Michael and September. They are from Oklahoma and moved here a few years ago for work so this was their first camping trip in Minnesota. We were lucky enough to reserve the very last site available and even though it was right next to the bathrooms it was still a great site. We were able to fit our two tents and even had two perfect trees for our ENO Hammock.

We arrived at the site pretty late in the evening because we all came from work. We spent the first night just setting up our tents and sitting in the screen tent talking because we had a little bit of rain.

We were a little bit early in the year for camping so we had a very cold night... it was down to 38 degrees! And we were definitely not prepared for sleeping in that weather.

The next morning we had an early start after not being able to sleep because of the cold so we decided to get started on our hike. Interstate State Park has great hiking trails that lead you two a little

waterfall and then down by the St. Croix River. Be prepared to do a lot of stairs if you do the trails north of the highway!

A little guy I found on the trail :)

One of my favorite parts of Interstate State Park is free climbing / hiking to the top of the cliffs to over look the river. The view is unbelievable!

The city of Taylors Falls has the cutest little downtown area. It has a giant yellow chair for visitors to sit in, a few bars with good food and drinks, a motel, a bead store, and a bakery!

We visited the ice cream shop called Schoony's Malt Shop & Pizzeria (which we do every time we visit Interstate State Park) and they give you the biggest cones of ice creams!

We also decided to check out The Drive-In for a round of mini golf. I can honestly say this was one of the best and well maintained mini golf courses I've ever been to! It had great obstacles and was beautiful. This was one of my favorite views of the course. We didn't stop for food there but it smelled delicious and was very busy!

This is definitely one of my favorite state parks. It's a great little getaway without having to drive too far from the cities and it has so many different things to do. I would also suggest driving over the river and checking out Wisconsin's Interstate State Park. It has great trails for hiking, picnic areas, and also has a lot camping if the Minnesota Stat Park is aleady full.

Check back for more updates on my journey to visit all the Minnesota State Parks! I already have some trips planned for the end of summer so there will be more posts soon!

Happy Exploring!

Jaqui

#statepark #minnesota #camping #interstate