Minnesota Hiking Club
#67 - La Salle Lake State Recreation Area
Date Hiked: March 2nd, 2025
Wanderloon Ranking System Score: 1.42
There is a common refrain I found myself journaling throughout this, for lack of a better term, "speedrunning" of the Minnesota Hiking Club.
"I imagine this place is lovely in the summer."
This is the first time I've invoked this notion (of course it is, it's the first park I'm writing about), and it will not be the last. If you're looking for the passport stamp, save yourself the time of checking the information kiosk, because it's located at Itasca State Park, a short drive down the road. I'd also recommend checking this one off your map before heading to Itasca, merely because I'm the kind of person who saves their favorite food on the plate to eat last.
As stated in the Introduction, the very premise of a ranking system necessitates that one of the options is going to be at the bottom of the list. La Salle Lake State Recreation Area looks to be a lovely remote getaway spot in Northern Minnesota, not far from the headwaters of the Mississippi River.
The general landscape of the area reminded me a lot of the first time someone brought me to Northern Minnesota, long before I lived here. The feeling of being far away from civilization permeates throughout the area, and for a reclusive wanderer like myself, that pairs well with doing these hikes in the winter.
On this unseasonably warm day (for Minnesota in March), there wasn't another soul in sight at La Salle Lake, and another advantage to hiking these trails in the winter is that a horror movie-level swarm of mosquitos did not immediately descend upon me the second it heard my car door unlock.
The Hiking Club trail is not next to the information kiosk. It's down the road and on the other side. Hopefully you have it loaded on your trails app of choice, or you risk missing it if you... I don't know... Sneeze.
Do not let the presence of seemingly locked doors deter you... unless they actually are locked at the time, in which case you should probably respect boundaries. This short walk will require pushing through two of them and simultaneously not scaring the shit out of yourself when they slam shut behind you.
One who becomes accustomed to the Hiking Club trails will easily spot signs at the beginning, as well as throughout the hike, pointing one along the way. Other than the password sign itself, there was only one sign, indicating that the river view and password would be found in 1520 feet. This down-and-back jaunt won't take especially long, even if it's covered in ice and slush like it was the day I completed the trail, but other than the final scenic view, it's not exceptionally noteworthy.
As this is the newest state recreation area (it wasn't even on my highlighter map), it's possible the presentation will be improved, but on this particular day, it felt like even the park itself didn't know it had a Hiking Club trail.
I'm so happy you're doing this, and am excited for future posts.
ReplyDeleteLike you said, something has to rank lowest. I can only imagine how startling those slamming doors must have been in the stillness.
ReplyDeleteIt leaves only one place to go.
DeleteWhen you're that isolated. Especially, you're in "shit, that could be a bear" mode, so... hyperawareness.
I know bears are hibernating but I never want to find out the hard way they're not.