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West Central Minnesota boasts a lot of natural beauty, with a number of state parks with miles of paved and natural hiking trails through out as well as designated scientific and natural areas. Here are some worth visiting:

In between Minnesota Highway 23 and U.S. Highway 212, in Yellow Medicine County, is 27 acres of natural Minnesota River Prairie where the largest populations of Minnesota's rarest lizard species can be found.

The namesake of the park comes from the five-lined skink, known for its bright blue tail in juvenile stages and five bright shiny stripes that run along its back.

The granite outcrops are a feature of the the lizards love as the natural habitat helps allow them to regulate their body temperatures.

To find the park go .2 miles south from Granite Falls on Minnesota Highway 23 and then west on County Highway 39 (540th Street) for about .15 miles and park in the pull-off near the wood-routed sign.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

Connecting Kandiyohi and Stearns Counties is the Paved for 22 miles between the cities of Willmar and Hawick and connected with many different parks in the area. An additional seven and a half miles of paved trail between Roscoe and Cold Spring is popular among tourists due to the fact the trail runs past a number of area lakes south of Richmond.

Though most of the land has since been cultivated, remnants of what the environment could have looked like all those years ago can be seen along the seven miles of undeveloped trail on the old railroad right-of-way between the Kandiyohi and Stearns county line to Roscoe.

The trail can also serve as the means to enter Sibley State park with three miles of paved shoulder along Kandiyohi County Road 148.

Parking can be found at trail accesses in Willlmar, Spicer, New London, Hawick, Richmond and the East Nest Lake public water access.

Address: 800 Sibley Park Road NE, New London

Sibley State Park outside of New London has a number of natural trails and things to do. Hike up Mount Tom to see forest, farmland prairie and a number of lakes within one of Minnesota’s best natural views.

Lakeview Campground will be closed to the public until spring of 2025 for park improvements and redevelopment

Park hours run 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Address: 17980 640th Ave., Darwin

With 385 acres, several wetland areas and two lakes to boot, Green Leaf provides a great opportunity to reconnect with nature. A mostly flat trail packed with dirt leads park visitors through an open field and into a shaded oak forest.

Anglers will also be happy to find a boat access and a fishing pier in the main recreational area of the park.

Address: 14047 20th Street NW, Watson

Open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Visitors can access seven miles of trails from the picnic shelter in the lower campground of the park. Trails along some of the backwaters in the park also provide good spots for bird watching as the lake is also a popular stop for migratory Canada geese and other waterfowl.

Be sure to check out the largest recorded cottonwood tree in Minnesota by taking the short trail on the east side of the lake. The park also has historical buildings including the Lac qui Parle Mission and Fort Renville. Trails in the upper and lower units of the park are susceptible to flooding depending on the weather so be sure to check the park’s website for any alerts or notices.

Macy Moore / West Central Tribune

The western segment of the runs from Veterans Memorial Park at Thompson Lake in Cosmos through the natural prairies in Meeker County and into Hutchinson.

Running 63 miles from Plymouth to Cosmos this trail is on the site of a former railroad grade that today is popular for hiking, biking and even horseback riding. A horse pass is required for horseback riders who are 16 and older.

Address: 1690 15th Street NE, Sunburg

Approximately two miles southwest of Sunburg is Monson Lake State Park, featuring a one-mile hiking trail for those looking for a shorter excursion.

The location nestled between Monson and Western Sunburg lakes in Kandiyohi County makes the park the perfect location for spotting birds such as pelicans, herons, and other waterfowl while hiking through the woodland.

The located in Renville County within a meander of the Minnesota River, has some of Minnesota’ oldest bedrock.

Visitors may be surprised to find a native but uncommon Kentucky coffee tree, identifiable with its greenish-white flowers, and large leaves that can get as big as 3 feet in length.

This natural area does allow horseback riding on designated trails from May 15 to Oct. 15, when conditions allow.

From Redwood Falls, go 1.5 miles westbound on Minnesota Highway 19 then turn North onto County Road 17 for approximately 7.9 miles. Turn west for about .4 miles on County Road 15 and park at the pull-off. River Warrens Outcrop will be to the southwest.

Located on the border between Yellow Medicine and Redwood counties, is known for its pink medium grain quartz outcrops, known as Sacred Heart granite.

The stone outcrops dot much of the 207 acres and provide unique environments for rare state listed plant species such as Wolf’s spike-rush and water hysopp. Surveyors have also noted the park’s great diversity of wildlife having identified twenty-six species of spider, five species of reptile, four species of fish, and four species of bat within the designated natural area.

Find parking by driving seven miles south of Sacred Heart on Renville County Road 9 and 1.5 miles west on 440th Street (Township Road 1) and pull off on the south side of the road.

Additional destinations worth a visit include:

• Ordway Prairie Preserve, acquired by the Nature Conservancy in the 1970s, is located off Minnesota Highway 104 north of Sunburg. It can be reached via a rest area on Lake Johanna Hill. The glacial till prairie is made up of meadows, wetlands and woods. It is home to a variety of plant and animal life, including the rare Hill’s thistle and the Poweshiek skipper butterfly.
• Lund Prairie, covering 110 acres, is one of the region’s most recent additions to the Nature Conservancy. About half of this preserve is untouched native prairie. It contains more than 200 different species of native grasses and flowers. Lund Prairie is 25 miles west of Willmar on Minnesota Highway 40.
• Regal Meadow is a 185-acre preserve exemplifying the region’s native mix of prairie, forest and wetlands. Hikers may be able to spot a rare lady-slipper, the state flower, in marshy areas of the meadow. Owned by the Nature Conservancy, the Regal Meadow is located on 160th Street Northeast, two miles north of Hawick.
• Chippewa Prairie Nature Preserve is a rich site for plant and bird diversity and is well known for grassland birds. The prairie chicken has been reintroduced here. The land has never been tilled and has hundreds of species of native natural grasses and wildflowers. An old ox-cart trail provides a two-mile trail for hikers and bird watchers.
• Gneiss outcrop is located southeast of Granite Falls. Follow U.S. Highway 212 east for one and half miles to County Road 40, then continue south one mile. Gneiss outcrops comprises the most ancient rock in the world, some 3.6 billion years old, which dominate the landscape and surround a natural lake.
• Bruce Hitman Heron Rookery is a short ride from Brooten to Lake Johanna. Follow Stearns County Road 8 three miles west and then go three miles south on County Road 37. The rookery is one of the state’s largest and most diverse nesting sites for water bird colonies. The rookery will open for summer visitors beginning July 16.