Afton State Park | Washington | 1,600 | 650 | 1969 | St. Croix River | | Lies on a glacial moraine with deep ravines that drop 300 feet (91 m) down to the St. Croix River |  |
Banning State Park | Pine | 5,597 | 2,265 | 1963 | Kettle River | | Contains 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of whitewater rapids and the remains of a historic quarry operation |  |
Bear Head Lake State Park | St. Louis | 3,013 | 1,219 | 1961 | Bear Head Lake | | Provides road access and modern camping facilities in an environment similar to the nearby Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. |  |
Beaver Creek Valley State Park | Houston | 715 | 289 | 1937 | East Beaver Creek | | Showcases the rugged topography of the Driftless Area in a narrow valley carved by a trout stream |  |
Big Bog State Recreation Area | Beltrami | 9,170 | 3,710 | 2000 | Red Lake, Tamarac River | | Encompasses part of the largest peatland in the Lower 48 states (a National Natural Landmark) and a prime walleye fishery. |  |
Big Stone Lake State Park | Big Stone | 980 | 400 | 1961 | Big Stone Lake | | Protects two sections of shoreline on Big Stone Lake, the source of the Minnesota River |  |
Blue Mounds State Park | Rock | 1,567 | 634 | 1937 | Mound Creek | | Protects an escarpment of Sioux Quartzite and Minnesota’s only public bison herd A district of WPA structures is on the NRHP. |  |
Buffalo River State Park | Clay | 1,068 | 432 | 1937 | Buffalo River | | Preserves part of one of the state’s largest and best tallgrass prairies. A district of WPA structures is on the NRHP. |  |
Camden State Park | Lyon | 1,855 | 751 | 1935 | Redwood River | | Preserves a forested river valley in the midst of prairie and farm country. A district of VCC and WPA structures is on the NRHP. |  |
Carley State Park | Wabasha | 209 | 85 | 1949 | Whitewater River | | Donated by State Senator James A. Carley to protect a stand of white pines. Used as an overflow campground for nearby Whitewater State Park. |  |
Cascade River State Park | Cook | 2,867 | 1,160 | 1957 | Lake Superior and Cascade River | | Stretches along 10.5 miles (16.9 km) of Lake Superior coastline in land rehabilitated after construction of Minnesota State Highway 61. A WPA highway wayside is on the NRHP. |  |
Charles A. Lindbergh State Park | Morrison | 417 | 169 | 1931 | Mississippi River | | Contains the restored home of Congressman Charles August Lindbergh and his son Charles Lindbergh, the famous aviator. The house is a National Historic Landmark, and a district of WPA structures is on the NRHP. |  |
Crow Wing State Park | Crow Wing, Cass, and Morrison | 2,335 | 945 | 1959 | Mississippi and Crow Wing Rivers | | Interprets the site of Old Crow Wing, an important town and trading center in the mid-19th century. The town site and a section of the Red River Trails are both on the NRHP. |  |
Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area | Crow Wing | 6,850 | 2,770 | 1993 | Chain of small lakes and streams, filled pit mines | | In development as the land is rehabilitated from open-pit iron mining. Includes Portsmouth Mine Pit Lake, the state’s deepest lake. |  |
Father Hennepin State Park | Mille Lacs | 275 | 111 | 1941 | Mille Lacs Lake | | Provides lakeside recreation in the region visited by Father Louis Hennepin during a French expedition in 1680. |  |
Flandrau State Park | Brown | 840 | 340 | 1937 | Cottonwood River | | Created to provide water recreation near New Ulm. Entire park is a district of CCC and WPA structures on the NRHP. |  |
Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park | Fillmore | 3,163 | 1,280 | 1963 | South Branch Root River and tributaries | | Encompasses the historic townsite of Forestville, the state’s longest explored cave, and three blue-ribbon trout streams. |  |
Fort Ridgely State Park | Nicollet and Renville | 537 | 217 | 1911 | Fort Ridgely Creek | | Surrounds Fort Ridgely, site of the Battle of Fort Ridgely during the Dakota War of 1862. The fort and a large district of CCC structures are both on the NRHP. |  |
Fort Snelling State Park | Ramsey, Hennepin, and Dakota | 1,825 | 739 | 1961 | Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers | | Contains historic Fort Snelling, built in 1819, and floodplain forest in the heart of Minneapolis – Saint Paul. The fort is a National Historic Landmark and the entire park is part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. |  |
Franz Jevne State Park | Koochiching | 118 | 48 | 1967 | Rainy River | | Features scenic property on the Canada–United States border, donated by the sons of Franz Jevne, a lawyer, on the condition that the park be named after their father. |  |
Frontenac State Park | Goodhue | 2,226 | 901 | 1957 | Lake Pepin on Mississippi River | | Attracts 260 species of year-round and migrant birds with its variety of habitats. Includes a natural arch atop a 430-foot (130 m) bluff. |  |
Garden Island State Recreation Area | Lake of the Woods | 715 | 289 | 1998 | Lake of the Woods | | Comprises a nearly undeveloped island, 15 mi (24 km) from the closest mainland marinas, that once bore Native American gardens. | |
George H. Crosby Manitou State Park | Lake | 6,200 | 2,500 | 1955 | Manitou River | | Contains undeveloped North Woods wilderness geared towards backpackers. |  |
Glacial Lakes State Park | Pope | 1,857 | 752 | 1963 | Several kettle lakes | | Preserves rolling tallgrass prairie amidst the glacial landforms of the Leaf Hills Moraines. |  |
Glendalough State Park | Otter Tail | 1,924 | 779 | 1991 | Six kettle lakes | | Developed from the former private retreat and game farm of the owners of the Star Tribune newspaper, with a heritage fishery of large game fish. |  |
Gooseberry Falls State Park | Lake | 1,741 | 705 | 1937 | Lake Superior, Gooseberry River | | Serves as the gateway to the scenic North Shore. Features five waterfalls, an agate beach, and a large district of CCC structures on the NRHP. |  |
Grand Portage State Park | Cook | 278 | 113 | 1989 | Pigeon River | | Features a 120-foot (37 m) waterfall, Minnesota’s tallest, on the Canada–United States border. Co-managed with the Grand Portage Indian Reservation, the only state – tribal collaboration of a U.S. state park. |  |
Great River Bluffs State Park | Winona | 2,122 | 859 | 1963 | Mississippi River | | Features 500-foot-high (150 m) bluffs and steep goat prairies. Formerly named O.L. Kipp State Park. |  |
Greenleaf Lake State Recreation Area | Meeker | 1,230 | 500 | 2004 | Greenleaf and Sioux Lakes | | In development and open for limited day-use recreation. |  |
Hayes Lake State Park | Roseau | 2,118 | 857 | 1967 | Hayes Lake, North Fork Roseau River | | Provides fishing and swimming opportunities in an exclusively recreational reservoir free of agricultural runoff or water level fluctuations for irrigation or power generation. |  |
Hill-Annex Mine State Park | Itasca | 634 | 257 | 1988 | Filled pit mine | | Offers tours of a former open-pit iron mine and fossil collecting. A district of mine structures is on the NRHP. |  |
Interstate State Park | Chisago | 288 | 117 | 1895 | St. Croix River | | Created in conjunction with a state park in Wisconsin to protect a basalt gorge and glacial potholes. Two districts of CCC and WPA structures are on the NRHP. |  |
Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle State Recreation Area | St. Louis | 1,864 | 754 | 2002 | Lake Ore-be-gone | | Provides 36 miles (58 km) of trails for off highway vehicles. |  |
Itasca State Park | Hubbard, Clearwater, and Becker | 30,553 | 12,364 | 1891 | Lake Itasca | | Minnesota’s oldest state park, which preserves the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The entire park and an individual archaeological site are on the NRHP, and a subsection is a National Natural Landmark. |  |
Jay Cooke State Park | Carlton | 8,125 | 3,288 | 1915 | Saint Louis River | | Showcases a rocky, whitewater-strewn river churning through the North Woods. Three districts of CCC and WPA structures and a long-used portage route are on the NRHP. |  |
John A. Latsch State Park | Winona | 409 | 166 | 1925 | Mississippi River | | Features three steep river bluffs. |  |
Judge C. R. Magney State Park | Cook | 4,323 | 1,749 | 1957 | Lake Superior, Brule River | | Contains the Devil’s Kettle, a large glacial kettle into which half of the Brule River disappears. |  |
Kilen Woods State Park | Jackson | 202 | 82 | 1945 | Des Moines River | | Preserves a riverside parcel of forested hills on the Coteau des Prairies. |  |
La Salle Lake State Recreation Area | Hubbard | 1,000 | 400 | 2011 | Mississippi River, La Salle Lake | | In development around the second-deepest lake in Minnesota. |  |
Lac qui Parle State Park | Lac qui Parle and Chippewa | 897 | 363 | 1959 | Lac qui Parle, Minnesota and Lac qui Parle Rivers | | Attracts thousands of migrating waterfowl, earning it the name “Lake that Speaks.” A district of WPA buildings is on the NRHP. |  |
Lake Bemidji State Park | Beltrami | 1,653 | 669 | 1923 | Lake Bemidji | | Features a recreational lakeshore and a spruce-tamarack bog. A district of CCC and National Youth Administration structures is on the NRHP. |  |
Lake Bronson State Park | Kittson | 2,806 | 1,136 | 1937 | Lake Bronson, South Branch Two Rivers | | Features a reservoir created during a drought in the 1930s. A district of WPA structures is on the NRHP. |  |
Lake Carlos State Park | Douglas | 1,175 | 476 | 1937 | Lake Carlos | | Preserves diverse habitats from prairie to hardwood forest to tamarack bog in a transition zone. Two districts of WPA structures are on the NRHP. |  |
Lake Louise State Park | Mower | 849 | 344 | 1963 | Lake Louise, Upper and Little Iowa Rivers | | Features a reservoir surrounded by oak savanna and patches of hardwood forest. Minnesota’s oldest continuous recreation area, formerly a town park since the 1860s. |  |
Lake Maria State Park | Wright | 1,475 | 597 | 1963 | Several kettle lakes | | Provides a lightly developed wilderness area near Minneapolis – Saint Paul in a morainal landscape of Big Woods. |  |
Lake Shetek State Park | Murray County | 1,109 | 449 | 1937 | Lake Shetek | | Features remnants of pioneer history around the largest lake in southwestern Minnesota. Two districts of WPA structures are on the NRHP. |  |
Lake Vermilion State Park | St. Louis | 2,875 | 1,163 | 2010 | Lake Vermilion | | Recently purchased and in development on the fifth-largest lake in Minnesota. |  |
Maplewood State Park | Otter Tail | 8,127 | 3,289 | 1963 | Several kettle lakes | | Preserves a forest/prairie transition zone in the Leaf Hills Moraines. A Native American archaeological site is on the NRHP. |  |
McCarthy Beach State Park | St. Louis | 1,908 | 772 | 1945 | Sturgeon and Side Lakes | | Features a .5-mile-long (0.80 km) beach on an isthmus between two lakes. |  |
Mille Lacs Kathio State Park | Mille Lacs | 9,786 | 3,960 | 1957 | Mille Lacs Lake, Rum River | | Preserves 19 identified archaeological sites dating back 9000 years. The entire park is a National Historic Landmark and four sites are individually listed on the NRHP. |  |
Minneopa State Park | Blue Earth | 1,617 | 654 | 1905 | Minnesota River, Minneopa Creek | | Showcases the largest waterfall in southern Minnesota. The 1864 Seppman Mill and a district of WPA structures are each on the NRHP. |  |
Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area | Hennepin, Dakota, Scott, Carver, Sibley, and Le Sueur | 6,442 | 2,607 | 1969 | Minnesota River | | Comprises non-contiguous sections interspersed with units of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in the valley formed by Glacial River Warren. |  |
Monson Lake State Park | Swift | 343 | 139 | 1937 | Monson and West Sunberg Lakes | | Established as a memorial to settlers who died in the Dakota War of 1862. A district of CCC and WPA structures is on the NRHP. |  |
Moose Lake State Park | Carlton | 829 | 335 | 1971 | Moosehead and Echo Lakes | | Provides water recreation and an exhibit hall on Lake Superior agates (the state gemstone) and the geology of Minnesota. |  |
Myre-Big Island State Park | Freeborn | 1,578 | 639 | 1947 | Albert Lea Lake | | Features two islands with old growth hardwood forest since they were out of reach of prairie fires. Also houses one of the state’s largest research collections of Native American artifacts.[78] |  |
Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park | Rice | 1,646 | 666 | 1945 | Prairie Creek | | Preserves a remnant stand of Big Woods.[79] |  |
Old Mill State Park | Marshall | 287 | 116 | 1951 | Middle River | | Features two mills and a log cabin from the late 19th Century.[80] The Larson Mill and a district of WPA structures are each on the NRHP.[81] |  |
Red River State Recreation Area | Polk | 104 | 42 | 1997 | Red River of the North and Red Lake River | | Reclaims land devastated by the 1997 Red River flood as part of the Greater Grand Forks Greenway, which serves the dual purpose of holding back river waters during floods and providing recreational opportunities.[82] |  |
Rice Lake State Park | Steele and Dodge | 712 | 288 | 1963 | Rice Lake | | Surrounds a shallow lake which attracts migrating waterfowl.[83] |  |
St. Croix Islands State Recreation Area | Washington | 25 | 10 | 1935 | St. Croix River | | Comprises five islands near the St. Croix Boom Site that came under state control but were never developed. Leased to the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway.[4]:318 |  |
St. Croix State Park | Pine | 31,775 | 12,859 | 1943 | St. Croix River | | Developed as a Recreational Demonstration Area by the CCC and the WPA to repurpose land too poor to farm. The entire park is a National Historic Landmark.[84] |  |
Sakatah Lake State Park | Le Sueur and Rice | 810 | 330 | 1963 | Sakatah Lake on the Cannon River | | Features a transitional zone between prairie and Big Woods on a natural widening of the Cannon River.[85] |  |
Savanna Portage State Park | Aitkin and St. Louis | 15,277 | 6,182 | 1961 | East and West Savanna Rivers, numerous kettle lakes | | Preserves a historically important and legendarily difficult 6-mile (9.7 km) portage over a continental divide between the watersheds of the Mississippi River and Lake Superior.[86] The portage is on the NRHP.[6] |  |
Scenic State Park | Itasca | 2,370 | 960 | 1921 | Sandwick and Coon Lakes | | Features pristine lakes and old-growth pines. Two districts of structures built by the first CCC state park camp in Minnesota are on the NRHP.[87] |  |
Schoolcraft State Park | Cass and Itasca | 141 | 57 | 1959 | Mississippi River | | Honors Henry Schoolcraft, who charted the origins of the Mississippi River with the Ojibwe guide Ozawindib. Preserves virgin pine forest that includes a white pine over 300 years old.[88] |  |
Sibley State Park | Kandiyohi | 2,540 | 1,030 | 1919 | Lake Andrew and other kettle lakes | | Honors Henry Hastings Sibley, the first governor of Minnesota, with a popular recreational lakeshore and a morainal landscape.[89] A district of CCC structures is on the NRHP.[90] |  |
Soudan Underground Mine State Park | St. Louis | 974 | 394 | 1963 | Lake Vermilion | | Offers tours of Minnesota’s oldest, deepest, and richest iron mine and a modern high energy physics laboratory. The mine is a National Historic Landmark[91] and a row of 20th Century boathouses is on the NRHP. |  |
Split Rock Creek State Park | Pipestone | 947 | 383 | 1937 | Split Rock Lake | | Features a recreational reservoir on the Coteau des Prairies.[92] |  |
Split Rock Lighthouse State Park | Lake | 2,112 | 855 | 1945 | Lake Superior, Split Rock River | | Surrounds the clifftop Split Rock Lighthouse, one of the most photographed lighthouses in the United States.[93] The lighthouse is a National Historic Landmark. |  |
Temperance River State Park | Cook | 1,134 | 459 | 1957 | Lake Superior, Temperance and Cross Rivers | | Showcases the deep, narrow gorge of the Temperance River (so named for its lack of a “bar” at its mouth) and Carlton Peak, a rock climbing area.[94] |  |
Tettegouche State Park | Lake | 8,998 | 3,641 | 1979 | Lake Superior and Baptism River | | Encompasses the tallest waterfall within the state’s borders, the iconic headlands of Palisade Head and Shovel Point, and a historic fishing camp which is on the NRHP.[95] |  |
Upper Sioux Agency State Park | Yellow Medicine | 1,065 | 431 | 1963 | Minnesota and Yellow Medicine Rivers | | Interprets the site of the agency that administered a Dakota Indian reservation until it was destroyed during the Dakota War of 1862.[96] The agency is on the NRHP.[6] |  |
Whitewater State Park | Winona | 1,672 | 677 | 1919 | Whitewater River | | Showcases a popular steep-sided river valley in the Driftless Area.[97] A large district of CCC and WPA structures is on the NRHP.[98] |  |
Wild River State Park | Chisago | 6,574 | 2,660 | 1973 | St. Croix River | | Follows 18 miles (29 km) of one of the first waterways designated a National Wild and Scenic River.[99] A section of the Point Douglas to Superior Military Road is on the NRHP.[100] |  |
William O’Brien State Park | Washington | 1,783 | 722 | 1947 | St. Croix River | | Provides outdoor recreation opportunities near Minneapolis – Saint Paul.[101] |  |
Zippel Bay State Park | Lake of the Woods | 2,826 | 1,144 | 1959 | Lake of the Woods | | Provides water recreation and birdwatching opportunities on the shore of the country’s sixth largest lake.[102] |  |