TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 6.5 miles DIFFICULTY Easy to Moderate (hills) DATE Sept 30, 2017 MAIN FEATURES Training Hills, Prairies, Bluffs & the St Croix River I was a little surprised to see that I have not reviewed Afton State Park yet! It's my go to park when I want some hills and variety of terrain without driving very far … Continue reading Afton State Park
Myre Big Island State Park and Hennesey Hammock Gear Review
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 8 miles (6.2 mile Hiking Club) DIFFICULTY Easy wide trails. DATE Sept 10, 2017 MAIN FEATURES Wildflowers, Pelicans, 16 miles of trail and sleeping on an island. This summer started out full of hiking in preparation for our trip to Glacier National Park and ended with weeks of biking, camping, kayaking and paddle boarding. It's been … Continue reading Myre Big Island State Park and Hennesey Hammock Gear Review
Hiking Minneopa and Flandrau State Parks
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 10 miles (3 hikes in two parks) DIFFICULTY Easy wide trails. DATE June 10, 2017 MAIN FEATURES Bison, Minneopa Waterfall, Prairie views Today's post is a DOUBLE FEATURE and marks hike #25 of my 52 hike challenge, almost half-way there! I wasn't able to join the scouts camping this weekend, so I met them down at … Continue reading Hiking Minneopa and Flandrau State Parks
Isle Royale Part 2: Training Hikes
As promised, here is the follow up post to Part 1 with a few helpful tips on how we prepared physically for our trip! Our training locations were based the following: Sturdy trail, able to withstand a large group hiking on it Nearby for easy access Accessible to all levels since we would be focusing on distance and … Continue reading Isle Royale Part 2: Training Hikes
Backpacking in Isle Royale National Park: Part 1
I’m pretty stoked to finally get to share about our backpacking trip last year to Isle Royale National Park! There a ton of resources out there to help you plan your trip, but my perspective is of a thrifty Scout Leader that went with a large group of youth backpacking for a week. The trip went … Continue reading Backpacking in Isle Royale National Park: Part 1
Hiking Crow Wing State Park
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 2.3 miles DIFFICULTY Easy DATE May 27, 2016 MAIN FEATURES Historic frontier town, Mississippi River, St. Francis Xavier Chapel Part 2 of our two for one Hiking Club Trail adventure took us from Charles A. Lindbergh State Park to Crow Wing State Park! Hiking Club Trail #21 & 22...only 46 trails to go! Crow Wing is a park … Continue reading Hiking Crow Wing State Park
Hiking Charles A. Lindbergh State Park
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 2.5 miles DIFFICULTY Easy DATE May 27, 2016 MAIN FEATURES Pink Trilliums and Historic Lindbergh landing site Woke up this Friday of Memorial Day weekend, got the kids off to school, made a huge to-do list for myself and then decided to BURN IT DOWN (metaphorically, of course) and grab another Hiking Club Trail. Woke up a … Continue reading Hiking Charles A. Lindbergh State Park
Hiking Sakatah Lake State Park
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 2.5 miles DIFFICULTY Easy, a few rolling hills DATE February 12, 2017 MAIN FEATURES Ice, ice baby. Biking and paddling in the Summer. Sakatah State Park is an 842 acre wilderness area on the shore of Sakatah Lake. The Hiking Club trail and other trails in the park are fairly short, but you will have access to … Continue reading Hiking Sakatah Lake State Park
Hiking Cascade River State Park
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 3.5 miles DIFFICULTY Moderate-steep incline up to Lookout Mountain DATE February 17, 2017 MAIN FEATURES Lookout Mountain, SHT, Cascade Falls After our morning trek to Judge CR Magney State Park, we headed south to Cascade River State Park. This park is just south of Grand Marais and has a great view of Lake Superior the whole way. This … Continue reading Hiking Cascade River State Park
Hiking Judge CR Magney State Park
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 3 miles DIFFICULTY Moderate-Hilly, with steep overlooks DATE February 17, 2017 MAIN FEATURES Devil's Kettle, Brule River This weekend we took a trip to Grand Marais to enjoy two more Hiking Club Trails in the snow, see frozen waterfalls and log some more miles on the Superior Hiking Trail! Judge CR Magney State Park was about a 20 … Continue reading Hiking Judge CR Magney State Park
Hiking Savanna Portage State Park
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 5.5 miles DIFFICULTY Easy to moderate DATE April 23, 2016 MAIN FEATURES Historic Savanna Portage passageway Today's hike took us up to McGregor MN, Savanna Portage State Park! We grabbed the pup and headed up North to hit Hiking Club trail #20! As we got closer to the park, we were struck at how quickly the … Continue reading Hiking Savanna Portage State Park
Hiking Father Hennepin State Park
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 2 miles DIFFICULTY Super easy DATE March 28, 2016 MAIN FEATURES Very accessible trails, shoreline trail, great for young families Today we were able to hike not one, but TWO Hiking Club Trails in one day. We started at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park, hiked their 3.2 mile Hiking Club trail and climbed the tower. Packed up, … Continue reading Hiking Father Hennepin State Park
Hiking Mille Lacs Kathio State Park
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 3.2 miles DIFFICULTY Easy with a couple of hills DATE March 28, 2016 MAIN FEATURES 9,000 years of human history, 100 ft fire tower Our 2nd and 3rd Hiking Club trails of 2016 were Mille Lacs Kathio and Father Hennepin State Parks. We drove about 1.5 hours north of Minneapolis to Mille Lacs Kathio and Father Hennepin … Continue reading Hiking Mille Lacs Kathio State Park
Hiking Rice Lake State Park
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 4.2 miles DIFFICULTY Easy DATE January 30, 2016 MAIN FEATURES Snow Fleas! Our first Hiking Club Trail of 2016 was a short trip down to Rice Lake State Park. Only an hour or so south of the city, it was a nice start to the year. It’s a smaller park with a fairly short trail but an … Continue reading Hiking Rice Lake State Park
Snowshoeing at Fort Snelling State Park
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 5 miles DIFFICULTY Easy when the trail is not covered in ice. DATE December 29, 2016 MAIN FEATURES Bdote, Pike Island, views of the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers After a week at home eating holiday treats and taking the dog for a walk in the neighborhood, we needed to get out! The snow has been scant … Continue reading Snowshoeing at Fort Snelling State Park
Hiking Frontenac State Park
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 9 miles DIFFICULTY Moderate DATE August 13, 2016 MAIN FEATURES In Yan Teopa Rock, Birdwatching, Hill training Saturday’s adventure took us to Frontenac State Park! The view of Lake Pepin is beautiful and the bird watching is one of the main features of the park, we saw 6 bald eagles! The lower trails near In Yan Teopa … Continue reading Hiking Frontenac State Park
Kayak Camping on the St Croix National Scenic Riverway
TRIP DETAILS LENGTH 26.6 milesDIFFICULTY easy until Stillwater, motorized boatsDATE September 18-19, 2016MAIN FEATURES St Croix National Scenic Waterway, Interstate Park, Osceola Landing, William O'Brien State Park Took my first overnight kayaking trip down the Lower St Croix River this weekend and camped one night in the National Park sites. We have small recreational kayaks, so those lightweight backpacking skills … Continue reading Kayak Camping on the St Croix National Scenic Riverway
Winter Hiking at Banning State Park
Trip DETAILS LENGTH 6 miles DIFFICULTY easy with occasional hills and rocky terrain DATE HIKED NOVEMBER 25, 2016 MAIN FEATURES Waterfall at Wolf Creek and Scary Trail names! It's Black Friday and we decided we would skip the holiday shopping for the day and #optoutside along with REI and the 6 million other people who skipped the mall! Most of my … Continue reading Winter Hiking at Banning State Park
Wandering Pine
Wandering Pine is a blog resource for hiking, gear reviews, health, and adventure. I'm a Southern California native, transplanted to Minnesota. After decades of resistance, the land of 10,000 adventures has finally won me over. Its beauty, especially in the winter is something I have come to love. Hiking, backpacking, camping, snowshoeing, and basically any time … Continue reading Wandering Pine