Minneopa State Park ~ Third oldest State Park in Minnesota

“You don’t have to be rich to travel well”

~ Eugene Fodor

This is my absolute favorite park in Minnesota and it has it all!!

• Pet Friendly
• Waterfalls
• Hiking
• Camping
• Picnic Spaces (covered and uncovered)
• On Site Bathrooms
• Seppmann Mill
• Wildflowers
• and the best part of all …. American plains bison!!

I found this place while searching for waterfalls and although the waterfalls are amazing the bison are what made me fall in love!

The park is separated into two locations and each location is a must see if you ask me. Off Highway 69 is where the picnic spaces, bathrooms and waterfalls are located. Off Highway 68 is where you can hang with the bison, camp, see wildflowers and view/read about the Seppmann Mill. Both locations have trails for you to walk or hike. Access to the park requires a small fee, $7 daily or $35 annually, but it is well worth every penny!

Waterfalls

There are two waterfalls to enjoy, the upper and lower falls. The upper falls are a short distance from the parking lot and the lower falls you can see from above or you can take a short hike to get up close and personal. Below are a few more shots of the falls, hike and a video of Elwood enjoying the water (you have to click the link to watch the video).

Bison Bison Bison

Most commonly called buffalo, the technical term for these magnificent animals is bison bison bison, or bison for short. Both names are considered accurate but if you want to get technical (I’m a technical person) you will find bison in North America and buffalo in Africa and Asia. Bison are the largest mammals in North America and they are magnificent to see in their natural habitat.

Below is a link to a video I took of the 20+ bison that paid us a visit. Elwood was extremely excited to see them and he couldn’t contain his excitement so you’ll hear him calling to them almost the entire video.

The bison have 331 acres to roam so they may be difficult to see at times but we were extremely blessed and they were right outside our window. It’s important to note that bison are extremely fast so please watch them from the safety of your vehicle.

The picture on the left is the Wildlife Petting Chart from Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and it should explain everything perfectly 😉

Note: Dogs aren’t really allowed at Theodore Roosevelt National Park so that is likely the only pic I will ever post from that location but it seemed like a really cool place so you may want to check it out.

Minneopa State Park is special; not only is it the third oldest state park in Minnesota but it is also one of three locations dedicated to the conservation of high quality genetics of the American plains bison through a formal agreement between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Zoo.

I could go on and on about bison and Minneopa State Park but I’m going to stop for now. If you haven’t been here I highly recommend it and if you want to learn more about Minneopa State Park and/or the bison check out the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00235#homepage