MINNESOTAS BACKYARD

Northland Outdoors

Spuds, blues, Shakespeare and dragon boats: Minnesota has a community fest for everyone

With the unofficial start of Minnesota summer upon us, we've gathered a list of nine of our favorite historic and quirky community festivals that will have revelers eating, dancing and parading.

Northland Outdoors

After COVID, then flooding, 鈥楾his is the year that we talk about鈥� relief for border waters, Walz says

While Gov. Tim Walz and some legislators are talking flood relief, for some resort owners on Minnesota's northern border, 2023 might be the first "normal" summer season they have had since 2019

Mar 3, 2023

Landscapes and nature in wilderness park

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: Enjoy the North Shore trails without the crowds at George H. Crosby Manitou State Park

Located not far from the more popular parks along Lake Superior, George H. Crosby Manitou State Park is home to wilderness, challenging terrain and real solitude on the wooded trails that reach cascades and waterfalls along the Manitou River.

Aug 29, 2022

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: Amazing ecosystem awaits under the boardwalk at Big Bog State Recreation Area

At 500 square miles, Minnesota is home to the largest peat bog in the lower 48 states, and a mile-long boardwalk at Big Bog State Recreation Area allows visitors to explore this unique and vital ecosystem.

Aug 20, 2022

Latest Headlines

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: Devil's Kettle remains a natural wonder at Judge C.R. Magney State Park

Destination No. 19 on our 20-site tour of Minnesota's state parks brings us to one of the great waterfalls, and one of the state's greatest mysteries, at Judge C.R. Magney State Park. One of the quieter and more remote places on the North Shore, a hike to see the Devil's Kettle has fascinated visitors for generations, even after the mystery was solved.

Sep 9, 2021

By Jess Myers

083121.NO.DG.Kilen Woods State Park A1789.jpg

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: Prairie meets woods, birders watch the skies at Kilen Woods State Park

The 18th stop on our tour of 20 Minnesota State Parks is to a place where you can explore the land and the water, but the most intriguing visitors arrive by air. Kilen Woods State Park offers hiking in the woods and the prairie, canoeing and kayaking on the Des Moines River, and some of the best birding in Minnesota.

Sep 2, 2021

By Jess Myers

Lake Vermilion_Armstrong Bay Day-use-1453.jpg

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: Meet the new neighbors at Lake Vermilion State Park, the most recent addition to the state park system

The 17th stop on our tour of 20 Minnesota State Parks is to the newest member of the state park system. Officially less than a decade old, Lake Vermilion State Park was born out of land acquired and preserved during the region's mining boom in the 1880s.

Aug 26, 2021

By Jess Myers

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: At the aptly-named Scenic State Park, quiet walks along tall timber and glacial lakes are the attraction

The 16th stop on our tour of 20 Minnesota State Parks is to a quiet, remote part of north-central Minnesota that was given a perfectly descriptive name 100 years ago. Scenic State Park has history, both natural and man-made, and great fishing on two glacial lakes.

Aug 17, 2021

By Jess Myers

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: At the aptly-named Scenic State Park, quiet walks along tall timber and glacial lakes are the attraction

Aug 16, 2021

By Jess Myers

Franz Jevne_Sault Rapids_Rainy River-6249.jpg

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: On the northern border, Franz Jevne State Park offers birding, hiking, fishing and views of Canada

The 15th stop on our tour of 20 Minnesota State Park brings us to a quiet stretch of the Rainy River, which forms our northern border with Canada. Minnesota's smallest state park offers much more than one might expect, including a riverside campground and myriad perfect picnic spots.

Aug 12, 2021

By Jess Myers

Sakatah Lake_Singing Hills Trail_0019.jpg

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: Welcome to southern Minnesota's version of lake country, Sakatah Lake State Park

The 14th stop on our tour of 20 Minnesota State Parks brings us to the heart of lake country -- no, not the prototypical northern Minnesota kind with pines and deep lakes, but the southern Minnesota version with tall hardwoods, shallow lakes, lots of nearby cornfields and some of the best biking in the state.

Aug 5, 2021

By Jess Myers

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: All is peaceful on a former bloody battlefield at Fort Ridgely State Park

The 13th stop on our tour of 20 Minnesota State Parks is a place where Minnesota nature meets Minnesota history, just up the hill from the Minnesota River. Fort Ridgely State Park was a working military base before Minnesota was a state, and site of some of the most violent battles of the 1862 Dakota Uprising.

Jul 29, 2021

By Jess Myers

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: Near the northern border, campers and hikers find quiet recreation at Hayes Lake State Park

The 12th stop on our tour of 20 Minnesota State Parks is a peaceful alternative to nearby Lake of the Woods. The man-made body of water at Hayes Lake State Park features panfish, a beach, a campground and myriad recreation opportunities for visitors to one of Minnesota's northernmost counties.

Jul 22, 2021

By Jess Myers

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: Just an easy hike from the heart of New Ulm, an oasis of wilderness at Flandrau State Park

You drive through neighborhoods in one of southern Minnesota's regional centers to reach the 11th stop on our 20-site tour of Minnesota's state parks, then you turn a corner, go down a hill and find yourself in a wonderland of woods and prairie at Flandrau State Park, which is a perfect home base for hiking and heritage festivals.

Jul 15, 2021

By Jess Myers

Northland Outdoors

Minnesota's Backyard: Visitors come for the hiking, stay for the history at Savanna Portage State Park

We reach the halfway mark on our 20-site tour of Minnesota's state parks with a visit to a geographical anomaly, and a site of centuries-old history, in mostly flat Aitkin County. Savanna Portage State Park is home to remote lakes, an excellent campground, and miles of hilly hiking trails, one of which was in use hundreds of years ago.

Jul 8, 2021

By Jess Myers

歪歪漫画