Minnesota Hiking Club #17 - Interstate State Park

Minnesota Hiking Club

#17 - Interstate State Park

Date Hiked: December 31st, 2024

Other Hikes That Day: None

Wanderloon Ranking System Score: 3.92

Everything I said about the New Year's Day trilogy in the previous entry on Nerstrand-Big Woods? Yeah, run that back, but make it a day earlier. 

We good? We good. Okay. 

Only the third Hiking Club trail trip, fourth stop overall, and it was somewhere relatively close. The lone St. Croix line trail that wasn't W-coded, I just wanted something to do on New Year's Eve that didn't involve thinking or personal insight, and instead I got a truly badass hike at a time when most people weren't in the parks. What an interesting revelation, I think in retrospect and likely noticed at the time: if I do them all on days like this, I won't have to deal with crowds, noise, people, bluetooth speakers, mosquitos, ticks, people, or any of that shit. 

Also, isn't this about where the Glacial potholes are? Holy shit, it is! This ain't gonna be a down-and-back, it's gonna be a down, check out the super cool adjacent park that is also usually super crowded, then head back. 

And thank goodness I didn't need the ice spikes on this one, because I didn't have them yet and that could've gotten dangerous. 

When I think of hiking near the St. Croix, this is what I imagine. Rocky cliffs, steep descents, aerial views of the river, all of these melding together into an experience that transcends arbitrary state lines and gives one a taste of feeling infinite for a while. 

But don't go in thinking this is an easy walk, ice spikes being necessary or not.

Interstate State Park might feel redundant to say, and even to type, but it's a legit experience. Tucked right in along the Minnesota side of the border, up in the cliffs before the road down to Taylor's Falls, the hike runs right along that road. Immediately the signs will advise you to be cautious about the rocks and be aware of the conditions, because the trail is narrow, steep, and covered in smooth rocks that only tolerate your existence and presence until they decide "nope, not gonna do that anymore. I'm a rock, not my problem." Climbing isn't inherently necessary, at least on this portion, but it's exceedingly obvious that it's an activity people do on the slopes right next to the trail. Why wouldn't it be? There are people who see giant slabs of rock above a river and think "I'ma climb that." Of all the places in Minnesota with that possibility, especially if heading out to Colorado or Washington isn't plausible in that moment (dammit), this is an option. It may not reach the same heights, but the difficulty is there regardless.

You've probably already beat me to it, but it's Minnesota, you know what that means.... GLACIERS! Glaciers forming river valleys and not repairing their potholes, infrastructure has always been unpopular, whether it be crumbling roads or ice giving rocks the finger. Don't drive over these potholes, or you better learn the phrase "embrace the void" pretty fast.