Minneopa State Park
July 24,25
"The word Minneopa comes from the Dakota language and is interpreted to mean "water falling twice," referring to the beautiful waterfalls of the Minneopa Creek."
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This year Minneopa State Park will celebrate its 100th Birthday. Share in the excitement and go visit.
Next on the redfox-imagery journey was Minneopa State Park. This park is located approximately 10 miles outside of Mankato. The setup of the park is a little different than the others that we had previously been to. The main campgrounds is located right off of the main highway. To get to the park site office you have to drive several miles down a road past the railroad tracks to find the picnic area, waterfalls and the DNR office.
The campsite was neat, well groomed and private. In each site there was under growth surrounding the cleared out spaces to provide that privacy. Each site had its own fire ring and picnic table and plenty of room to setup camp. Our site was especially nice where we had plenty of shade to keep us cool and plenty of sun for other activities. The restrooms were only a short walk down the road and nice and clean.
The rangers here were friendly. They patrolled the area frequently to make sure everything was ok. One ranger explained to us about the different levels of rank; which I found to be interesting. When she stopped by our site to make sure everything was ok she told us about her dogs which reminded her that at night we might hear the howling of the wild coyote in the prairie area; which we did.
When you come into the camp grounds you have a choice to go either straight into the camp site or to turn to tour and view the rest of the grounds. Along the road you would find explanations of the prairie area and the preservation efforts that have been made by the state to keep it what it is today. We did get to see wild flowers but I think in May or June when the prairie is in full bloom would provide the best pictures. As you follow along the road you do get to view the entire prairie area which in my opinion is breath taking. At the end of the road you find the Seppmann Mill, a wind driven gristmill fashioned in German style from native stone and lumber. Nicely preserved along with the history of this particular mill. Unfortunately one can not go inside the buildings for safety reasons but, the beauty from the outside is well cared for.
The picnic area like I said is in a separate area. I am giving you a link to the Minneopa State Park.pdf file so you can download and see what I am talking about. For this you will need to use the Acrobat reader. Not as convenient as one would like but easy enough to get to. The area does have a nice shelter for cooking and picnicking. At the end of the park you will find the waterfalls. Let me tell you that you are definitely in for a treat. There are two falls one Upper Falls and the larger High Falls. Both are equal in beauty and power. The upper waterfalls is the easier of the two to picture with the park making a nice back drop. You are able to get right down to the Minneopa Creek and the Upper Falls with a little bit of climbing. Not too bad either as there are well beaten down paths to the Minneopa Creek. You can also look at the High Falls from this area from the top view. There is a nice bridge over the creek to the other side which gives you a better view of the High Falls. I didn't journey around the park much to see if there was a way down to the lower level of the creek and better look at the High Falls. I am sure there is one. Perhaps on the next visit we will look for that.
I am providing photos for the gristmill and one of the upper falls in the . All you will have to do is click on the link provided.
Ok now its time to move forward on to our next adventure.
Here is where you will find photos from Minneopa State Park
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