Minnesota National Parks

NATIONAL MONUMENT 

Grand Portage Grand Portage, MN 

Travel into the past to discover the present. Explore the partnership of the Grand Portage Ojibwe and the North West Company during the North American fur trade and the NPS today. Follow pathways into a distant time. Experience the sights and smells of a bustling depot reconstructed in its exact location. Hear the beat of the drum echo over Gichigami – Lake Superior.

NATIONAL RIVER AND RECREATION AREA 

Mississippi Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, MN 

In the middle of a bustling urban setting, this 72 mile river park offers quiet stretches for fishing, boating and canoeing, birdwatching, bicycling, and hiking. And there are plenty of visitor centers and trails that highlight the fascinating human history of the Mississippi River. This a great place to start your exploration of this important river.

NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL 

North Country Seven States-New York to North Dakota MI, MN, ND, NY, OH, PA, VT, WI 

Come to the North Country. Trek the hills and valleys. Stand on the shores of lakes & streams from glaciers 10,000 years before. Clear-flowing water, red/gold of autumn, a fairyland of snow, open prairies, and distant horizons paint the land. Historic sites along the way tell how America settled and grew as a nation. From North Dakota to New York (and soon Vermont), adventure is never far away.

NATIONAL MONUMENT 

Pipestone Pipestone, MN 

For countless generations, American Indians have quarried the red pipestone found at this site. These grounds are sacred to many people because the pipestone quarried here is carved into pipes used for prayer. Many believe that the pipe’s smoke carries one’s prayer to the Great Spirit. The traditions of quarrying and pipemaking continue here today.

NATIONAL SCENIC RIVERWAY 

Saint Croix Saint Croix Falls, WI, MN 

Grab your paddle and your longing for adventure and head to the St. Croix and Namekagon rivers! Together they form the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, offering over 200 miles of clean water that glides and rushes through a forested landscape. Paddle, boat, fish, and camp among this wild and scenic beauty. Hiking and historic towns also beckon, if you can bear to leave the cool water. 

NATIONAL PARK 

Voyageurs International Falls, Kabetogama, Ash River, and Crane Lake, MN 

Voyageurs is a maze of interconnected water highways. Plan ahead before coming to this water-based park by bringing your own watercraft, reserving a watercraft, or taking a park ranger boat tour.