- The MN State Parks Hiking Club
- Hike #1: Lake Louise State Park
- Hike #2: Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park
- Hike #3: Rice Lake State Park
- Hike #4: Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area
Forestville and Mystery Cave are combined into one park, but are actually about 10-15 minutes apart by car. Mystery Cave offers multiple types of tours, and the kids really enjoyed touring the cave. So when you’re not hiking, I’d definitely recommend checking out the cave!
HIKING CLUB TRAIL: MAPLE RIDGE TRAIL
For our Hiking Club trail, we were able to leave right from our campground, which was convenient. For more info on what the Hiking Club is, check out my earlier post here.
trail descriptioN
Length: 2 miles
Terrain: Part of the trail was grassy and in the sun, but much of it was in the trees with a dirt or gravel path. Most of the trail was pretty flat and part of it follows the South Branch Root River, which is one of SW Minnesota’s best trout streams. We spotted many trout while looking in the stream! Towards the end of the trail, there’s a climb through an old oak and maple forest up to a ridge. This section was really beautiful.
Features: forest, creek, wildflowers
Difficulty: Easy
Other Park Info:
Although not on the Hiking Club trail, you can easily detour onto a path that takes you into the historic town of Forestville. There’s some interesting history to learn about, and many original buildings are still there and can be toured (they are not always open for tours, so check the website or ask at the park office).
Also, the trail runs along the creek at times, and a few yards away from one of the trail intersections, there is a separate path that crosses the creek on concrete slabs. The kids have a blast wading in the creek and taking a break to play in the water!
park pros/cons
PROS: Easy trail, creek to play in, nearby cave, historic Forestville, great signs and intersections are well marked
Cons: Campground only has one bathroom building with running water and flush toilets and it’s REALLY far from some parts of the cacampground.
Overall, we really enjoyed this trail and the kids had fun looking for the Hiking Club password!