ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.ค. 2024
- Better late than never.
The video is best viewed at 720p or higher.
Find any of the trail maps I used in this video: www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_par...
Chapters
Intro: 0:00
Lac Qui Parle: 1:14
Sakatah Lake: 2:04
Hill Annex Mine: 2:38
Wild River: 3:21
Fort Ridgely: 3:52
Upper Sioux Agency: 4:50
Kilen Woods: 5:29
Charles A Lindbergh: 5:58
Lake Louise: 6:40
Old Mill: 7:32
Big Stone Lake: 8:09
Zippel Bay: 8:48
Monson Lake: 9:34
Rice Lake: 10:01
Hayes Lake: 10:34
Flandrau: 11:53
Lake Shetek: 12:31
Mille Lacs Kathio: 13:18
Mccarthy Beach: 14:23
Franz Jevne: 15:09
Lake Carlos: 16:04
Split Rock Creek: 16:30
Fort Snelling: 17:16
St Croix: 17:50
Myre-Big Island: 19:21
Itasca: 20:06
Buffalo River: 21:17
Crow Wing: 21:51
Lake Bronson: 22:31
Scenic: 23:27
William O Brien: 24:11
Savanna Portage: 24:47
Moose Lake: 25:42
Father Hennepin: 26:15
Nerstrand Big Woods: 26:53
Minneopa: 27:39
Lake Maria: 28:30
Glendalough: 28:58
Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine: 29:42
Afton: 31:01
Schoolcraft: 31:42
Lake Bemdji: 32:29
Bear Head Lake: 33:24
Carley: 34:26
Camden: 34:59
Sibley: 35:35
Maplewood: 36:25
Blue Mounds: 37:28
Forestville Mystery Cave: 38:22
Glacial Lakes: 39:18
John A Latsch: 40:27
Great River Bluffs: 41:09
Banning: 41:43
Interstate: 43:12
Gooseberry Falls: 43:59
Judge C R Magney: 44:58
Cascade River: 45:50
Temperance River: 46:41
Grand Portage: 47:49
Frontenac: 48:50
George H Crosby Manitou: 49:28
Beaver Creek Valley: 50:38
Jay Cooke: 51:52
Split Rock Lighthouse: 52:58
Whitewater: 54:02
Tettegouche: 55:12
Conclusion: 56:39
My analytics are showing that the state parks videos are getting a bump from the algorithm as of recent. If you somehow found this, feel free to subscribe, as I will likely not be posting MCC content and will probably post one of these videos every year. Totally up to you.
I’ve learned four things from this video:
1) You have perseverance.
2) The Mosquito is the Minnesota state bird.
3) Things are ranked based upon how many mosquitos they don’t have.
4) You did an excellent job on this video. Thank you.
My goal was to provide a consistent ranking of the parks from my point of view. If I turned around because of too many bugs, there wouldn't be much experience to report on. I just comment on the bugs because they are, well, memorable. They also don't factor into the ranking as much as the video conveys. If 2 parks had the same geographic features but one had bugs and one didn't, sure the less buggy one is gonna be higher, but generally, it only had a minor effect (2 or 3 spots) on the ranking. I do a bad job in this video of telling how important the geography actually is, and I do a better job of conveying it in my Wisconsin video. You should watch it if you're familiar with the state >:). It's a much much better video and is not pulling as many views as this one does.
This was a really in depth summary of every park, including some surprises that I want to check out now. Thank you for posting!
Happy to inform :)
Really interesting synopsis of all the parks. I wish you didn't emphasize bugs so much because that varies greatly by season and year but you still bumped a few up my,list to visit. And I'm definitely jealous that you were able to visit them all.
I can’t stress enough how important it is to visit some of these in the fall or winter they are very enjoyable those seasons. 😊
I don't doubt it. Just going off my experience. Everyone's opinion and experience is different.
Highly suggest hiking north shore state parks in winter you won’t run into many if any people and the beauty in winter is unmatched
Constructive critisim...I don't think mosquitos should effect a parks ranking since these are invetible. Areas prown to them are best hiked early spring and fall. Areas with more bugs are better planned around weather.
I understand where you are coming from, but there are parts of Minnesota that just don't house mosquitoes. If they were inevitable, they wouldn't affect the ranking because all parks would have mosquitoes. The driftless area is notably mosquito-less because of the lack of lakes, while the immediate shore of Lake Superior doesn't have them either because the lake is too cold for too much of the year for them to breed. Not to mention parks that have next to no shade, which would sometimes suffer anyway due to sun exposure or deer flies. There are parts of Minnesota that are just simply better for year round hiking than others, which is part of why parks in the driftless area ranked so highly. At the end of the day, this is simply my experience at the parks during an unusually wet year. This is not meant to be an end all be all ranking, simply a guide as to which parks might be better suited to each person (and which ones to avoid during mosquito season lol).
This was fantastic!! Thank you! Just what I needed to narrow down my summer hiking options. :)
Glad you enjoyed it :)
This was really great. Thanks for making it. We have 24 parks left to visit and your video helped us prioritize which ones to hit first. Thanks!
Curious which ones you have left if you don’t mind me asking :)
SW MN and NW MN for the most part. We know they’re typically the less glorified parks, so hoping to mix in the good with the not-so-good on our trips.
@@chrishaase1164 yeah I would definitely hit some NW parks outside of mosquito season, but some of them are real gems. I live in Sioux Falls and I go out to Blue Mounds near Luverne often.
thankyou for the information ☺️
Thanks for doing this. We love Minnesota's state parks and this gave us more information. We'll done.
Absolutely! If you have any questions about specific parks, feel free to ask them! I love talking state parks with people!
thanks very informative 😊
Nice work that is really cool
Thanks man, appreciate it
I liked Grand Portage State Park. I hiked the portage with two gallons of water and camped out at Ft. Charlotte at the other end. I love the fur trade history.
Sounds fun. I hope to get back up there sometime since my visit featured in this video was my first time going there, despite my family going to Lutsen for trips basically every year.
Great list. I can tell a lot of effort went into this. Photo selection was excellent for each park.
I thought the downgrades for mosquitos was overdone, as this can be handled by time of year, wind, bug shirts, etc..
I did talk to a Ranger when I was camping at Sakatah Lake - and he thought the mosquitos were the worst of nearby parks 😂.
I hiked that trail along the lake you mentioned and can't disagree. Nice job!
I’ve been to every state park in Minnesota too! I disagree with your rankings though. My best memory is Scenic State Park just as the snow was falling in late October. The silence with the deer and the beauty was undescribable.
Also… you said a lot of park names wrong for example sakatah and Myre Big Island
@@Bonedigs i had a feeling I would butcher some names, oh well
As I explore things to do in retirement, one of those is to visit all of the State Parks in Minnesota and also all of the National Parks. I appreciate your video! You did a great job and since bugs are hit or miss depending upon the season or recent rain, I don't think I would let them deter me from a visit. Again, thank you!
Happy to help :)
Thank-you for this video. I have been to 28 MN SP so far. I am curious if when you did this did you participate in the hiking club trail or passport program?
No, I didn't do either of those :)
I love your assessments of the parks, but we are Minnesota. Bugs are part of the landscape. Bug spray is mandatory on most hikes.
Oh don’t worry, I’ve figured that out. I still figured it was only fair to factor the bugs into the ranking on a small scale.
Yup Minnesota has mosquitoes in the summer🤔He never mentioned Itasca park is the headwater’s of the Mississippi and has tons of fun things to see and do…
I figured most people knew that, given how popular Itasca is. I ranked the parks from a day hiker's perspective, so campgrounds, overnight amenities, and visitor centers weren't really included in my ranking.
Nice vid., back in my day MN State Parks had what they called a "Pass Port". You got a card to get stamped at every Park you visited didnt matter when or year. After every 8 you got a nice, stitched patch. We only made it to 29, to you I wish they had kept that going you would be the king, SKOL........
The fact Father Hennepin is higher than Itasca is crazy. I need to let you know many of the once you complained about you gotta go in fall or winter. Also, Lake Maria is very popular. Especially fall. Summer is hard because of mosquitos but come mid September and you'll love it. Or for fall colors on October. Father Hennepin is cool if you like paved and not much time in woods. Don’t mind passinG RV campers, showers and volleyball court definitely didn’t feel like a hike more stroll in a community..
Eh, I liked the change of pace. I could actually see Mille Lacs, which was a plus. Minnesota state parks are all big and sprawling, so it was nice to see a smaller park. Part of what happens when you charge for park entry, parks can't be too small. Not saying there is anything wrong with that. Iowa doesn't charge to get into parks and we have several state parks that are designed like city parks (Okoboji area especially). 20 acres of green space and beach on a lake. Father Hennepin kind of reminded me of this.
I may be more encouraged to visit if you had more positive things to say about MN and the parks. What is your rating system and the priorities you find most important?
My "system" is entirely subjective, so there's no points system or anything like that. I just put the parks where I felt like they ended up based on my experience. The bottom 20 are really where most of my poor experiences were, with lots of buggy parks without particularly exciting scenery up north. If you like to camp (especially in one of the park's campgrounds and not in the forest), this ranking will not represent your opinions at all. I'm a hiker, not a camper. Trail conditions, scenery, and luck on the day of my visit all factored into the ranking.
At the end of the day, everyone's experience will be different, and everyone's opinions and values are different, this video is just my well-informed opinions. I went back to a few of the north shore parks this summer when I was doing Wisconsin's state parks, and after visiting 4 of them again, Split Rock Lighthouse would have been the number one park if I had done Minnesota one year later. There is no way to have an objective ranking.
I have only visited Great River Bluffs but I would like to visit more. The 2 I am considering this year are Gooseberry Falls and Jay Cooke.
Go for it man! Those two are awesome picks. Gooseberry you should get there right at open time so you can get a parking spot. They fill up quick.
@@ARandomDonut Even on the weekdays?
@@dvferyance During tourist season most definitely. People vacation on the north shore all the time. If you go during April or May you might have better luck.
@@ARandomDonut I was planning on going sometime in September.
@@dvferyance Get ready for crowds, people love the fall colors. If you go early enough, bar labor day weekend, you should be good.
Great pictures and clearly did your research on each park. This was very well done. Nothing the state park system can do is control bugs. With all the tax money collected by MN, our parks should be better maintained. Perhaps we should bring the CCC back...since many parks still have projects completed by them back in the day.
I think that MN's resources are spread too thin across 66+ parks (will drop to 64 soon, 2 parks are due to fully close soon). If they had more money or less land they could manage their trails better. When I did Wisconsin, I noticed a lot less trails that needed grooming compared to MN, however, part of it might have been me doing MN in a really wet summer, compared to Wisconsin in a drier one.
@@ARandomDonut I know that the Upper Sioux Agency State Park is closed. What is the second park that you are saying that will close ??? I want to go see it now while I still can.
@@CavemanCBB Hill Annex Mine in Calumet up in the Iron Range has been forecasted to close as a state park for a while now, they haven't taken much action yet though. The park just consists of a museum and overlook of the mine. The "park" will still operate, it will just be operated by the city instead of the state.
@@ARandomDonut Thank you for your response. I'm glad that it will stay open as a city park. Ramsey Park in Redwood Falls was once a state park too and it is now a city park.
@@CavemanCBB Wait really? I went there when I was staying in RWF and really thought it was worthy of state park status. Cool falls and stuff.
fort ridgely has fort ruins and a cemetary.
I had a great time at Hill Annex Mine State Park as a kid. It saddens me to hear that all the staff is gone and the tours have stopped. I think it could've been in the top half of your list if the tours were still available.
Yes, tis a shame. Hard to believe Minnesota is down to 64 state parks just two years after I made this. I'm not liking this progression 😬
Good video...but no love for Big Bog?
Big Bog is listed as a state recreation area, so I did not visit it. I've heard good things about it, and almost got there, but a last second change of plans changed one of my routes to not go through that area. I only visited DNR lands that end in State Park for this challenge.
@@ARandomDonut ah I see...no sras. you should get there one day...very unique. take care.
2023 was even worse for mosquitos
Don't ya just wonder where these zillions of mosquitoes find enough blood to keep on breeding?
Sakatath state park pronounce Su cot A - also while these reviews are great if you are in Minnesota there will be bugs. I ignored all mentions as mosquitos may flies and deer flies have nothing to do with parks as that is ecology and again Minnesota. Common sense use bug repellant and sun screen. Most out door people know how to exist without crying about bugs
Do they though? Maybe it's a Minnesota thing because whenever I'm out hiking with someone they complain about the mosquitoes more than I do. Also from my experience every other person has a different way to pronounce that lake and trail, so I was gonna lose either way lol.
bully for you
This video drives me nuts. Try looking at the ground, at the trees, in the grass, in the riparian areas, etc. The desirable traits of a park don't solely rely on it having topography and pretty scenery right on trails. Be adventurous. Also, dont mention bugs unless they are a serious issue. There are like 3-4 state parks that dont experience bad mosquito or biting fly seasons.
A grouse made you backtrack a quarter of a mile? Dude. Just stay home. I wish I could give this video more thumbs down.
“Be Adventurous”
“Just stay home”
Interesting combination of phrases to have in the same comment lol
@@ARandomDonut It's an edited comment that was just a continuation of a thought. At first, I had hope and thought you should try and be more adventurous, but when I heard the grouse comment, I thought you should probably just stay indoors. You may encounter a woodchuck that won't stop walking towards you, or a terrifying strutting timberdoodle.
Didn't show anything interesting,