Exploring Interstate State Park - MN

St. Croix River from MN side of Interstate State Park

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Interstate State Park - Minnesota and Wisconsin

One of my favorite places to hike near the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) is Interstate State Park. There are actually two state parks with the same name - one in Minnesota and the other is just across the St. Croix River in Wisconsin. The bluffs along the river are beautiful and the bald eagles are amazing to watch, but I think the best part of these parks are the glacial potholes. Along the rocks which form the bluffs, there are trails past, through, around, and over small, medium, large, and huge perfectly spherical holes. Some are the perfect size to climb into, some you can walk into down steps, and some are extremely deep. In fact, Bottomless Pit, which is at least 60 ft deep is the largest known pothole in the world, resides on the MN side of Interstate Park along the Pothole Trail.

Link to MN Interstate Park Map: MN Map

Link to WI Interstate Park Map: WI Map

The perfect sized pothole

How to Spend Your Day

A trip to Interstate Park could be a 4-hour trip or a full weekend. If you only have a half day, I’d recommend visiting Minnesota’s Interstate State Park. The potholes are more impressive and the boulders are more fun to climb around, especially if you’re hiking with kids.

There are two parking lots - the first is in the Pothole region and the second is at the campground. One parking pass gives you access to both lots and you can quickly re-park your car. These parking lots are connected by a loop trail option - approximately 1.5 miles each way. The trails are pretty and less busy than the pothole region, but if the walk is too far, driving between lots is easy.

As the pothole region is my favorite place to explore, I tend to park there and then hike into the other part of the park. However, in the wintertime, this parking lot is closed and you will be restricted to the campground lot.

Pothole Trail

From the bottom of the Bake Oven Pothole

Pothole Trail is a series of interconnecting trails along the bluffs. Some portions of the trails are better marked than others, but most people walk off the trail and explore on the rocks. These bluffs are quite high so if you are hiking with little ones, don’t let them wander off without you. There are no guard railings. There are several small unnamed potholes and also very large potholes such as Devil’s Alcove, Hourglass, Lily Pod, Devil’s Parlor and Bottomless Pit. You can even walk down the steps into the Bake Oven pothole in the later months of summer when the water drains out.

Hiking into the Bake Oven Pothole

Interstate State Park is open in the winter but is not maintained. Due to the height of the bluffs and the fact that the rocks are slippery when there’s ice on them, this part of the park is better explored when there isn’t any snow.

St. Croix River from the MN-side

River Trail

St. Croix River from the MN Interstate State Park - River Trail

The River Trail is a 1.25 mile one-way trail that connects the Pothole area of Interstate State Park with the Campground and Picnic Area. The trail climbs upwards at a steep incline from the parking lot and then levels out on top of the bluffs for the majority of the hike. As you get closer to the campground, the trail descends back towards the river.

River Trail in the winter

Railroad Trail

To walk a different way back to the Pothole parking lot, take the one-way 1.5 mile Railroad Trail back. This trail takes off from the other side of Hwy 8. To get across the highway, you will go through a tunnel under the road. To find the tunnel, walk towards the campground check-in area. The tunnel starts with a trail behind this building. You won’t be able to see much of the river from this trail, but it follows up and down the valley through the forest and is a less traveled trail than the River Trail.

Railroad Trail

Sandstone Bluffs Trail

Sandstone Bluffs Trail

If you up for a little longer hike, before you head down the Railroad Trail, take an immediate left after you’ve past the tunnel. The Sandstone Bluffs Trail is a one-mile loop hike, but it will intersect again with the Railroad trail half way around. You can choose to only walk half of this loop and then walk back to the parking lot following the Railroad trail for about a 2 mile hike.

You never know what you might find hiking out in the woods - this Christmas Tree made us laugh as we went for a winter trek on the Sandstone Bluffs Trail.

 How to Spend Your Weekend

St. Croix River

If you have more time, consider camping at the MN Interstate Campground. I judge campgrounds based on how quiet it is at night and how clean the bathrooms are. We’ve stayed at this campground twice and it was lovely both times. I would recommend getting a riverside campsite. One of the nicest aspects of this campground if you live near Minneapolis or St. Paul is that it is so close to home it makes a great “trial campground.” If you haven’t camped before, especially if you haven’t taken your kids before, this is a great place to start because if you forget something or if your night isn’t going well, you could get in the car and drive home and come back in the morning to take things down at the campsite. We’ve never had to do either, but while you are getting used to the idea of camping, trying it out close to home is a nice option knowing there is a cheap backup plan if needed.

Boating

Going for a Kayak Ride in Interstate State Park - St. Croix River

If you’ve got a canoe or kayak, you can bring them into your campsite and take off straight from the river or there is a public boat launch as well. Keep in mind that you are on a river so go upstream first and then float back down. Or you can rent a canoe from Interstate State Park, and included in the fee is a free bus ride back to the campground so you can just enjoy your float downstream. I’ve done this twice for work outing events, both of which were quite fun.

Swimming

Another option is swimming if you have older kids, although keep in mind this is a river so pay attention to how fast the water is flowing

Visit Wisconsin Interstate State Park

Wisconsin Interstate State Park

Head across the bridge and checkout the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix River. This is a different state, so the entry fee you paid to the MN State Parks won’t be valid when you enter the Wisconsin State Park. You’ll have to get a new pass. There are similar pothole trails on the WI-side although these trails are more traditionally defined than the MN Park which involves more exploring across the rocks. There is also a trail that goes past 18-ft high Silverbrook Waterfall (1.2 miles), or you can see this waterfall by boat from the river.

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