State Parks in Southwest Minnesota

Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages 67 state parks which are open throughout the year to provide outdoor recreation. Minnesota's southwest state parks offer activities such as hiking and fishing during the spring through autumn, and guests can use park trails for skiing and snowmobiling during the winter. Southwest Minnesota's park campgrounds are open all year long and the DNR welcomes well-behaved leashed pets on park trails and campsites.

Blue Mounds State Park

Blue Mounds takes its name from the cliffs embedded with Sioux quartzite within the park, which appeared blue to the 19th century settlers who made their homes in the park. A 1,250 foot array of rocks sometimes called Minnesota's Stonehenge stretches along the Blue Mound's southern end. During the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes, this stone arrangement is perfectly aligned with the rising and setting sun. Blue Mounds is home to deer, coyotes and a bison herd, and it also contains one of Minnesota's last remnants of tallgrass prairie, which blanketed huge regions of North America before settlers entered the territories. Blue Mounds hosts 73 campsites and 13 miles of hiking trails, and visitors may also fish and canoe in the park's waterways.

Camden State Park is located upon Minnesota's Coteau Des Prairies, a plateau with a summit that rises 900 feet above sea level. The park provides habitats for raccoons, mink and coyotes throughout the year and whitetail deer live in the park during the winter. Anglers can cast their lines for trout within Redwood River and Brawner Lake teems with bluegill and bass. The park has 80 campsites, 35 of which are open during the winter, and the park permits hiking, cross country skiing and snowmobiling upon its trails.

Kilen Woods is located 12 miles northwest of Jackson upon the easternmost end of the Coteau Des Prairies, with the Des Moines River flowing through the park. Deer roam throughout the park and muskrats and beaver live along the river, which also has rich stocks of catfish, bullheads and walleyes. Kilen woods provides a picnic ground for guests as well as a horseshoe pit and volleyball court, but visitors must bring their own equipment.

Sakata Lake State Park hosts a stretch of the Singing Hills State Trail, a 39-mile hiking trail running between Faribault and Mankato. Deer, mink and rabbits make their homes within the park, which was originally inhabited by the indigenous people of the Dakota Nation. The park offers canoe and kayak rentals for guests to traverse the lake and anglers are welcome to try their luck from Sakata Lake's fishing pier. Sakata Lake also hosts camping facilities equipped with electricity and hot running water.