Details 👪🐶
Useful Links:
Bottom Line
Nice little state park within 30-40 minutes of the Twin Cities. Go there for hiking, fishing, beach, or birding. There is a good variety of hiking, including paved, dirt, and grass trails. You can see nice views of open prairie (oak savanna), forest, and the St. Croix River. The swimming beach is pretty nice. There are picnic tables EVERYWHERE.
TIPS:
- At the beach water station, let the water run a bit before filling up to avoid sediment.
- The weather will be a little cooler as you get closer to the St. Croix River.
Key notes
- Great for easy-moderate hikes (3-4 miles each)
- See oak savanna, osprey nest, deer, turkeys, birds, and St. Croix River
- Swimming beach is nice
Background:
Afton State Park was established by legislature in 1969 (lol), but didn’t officially open to the public until 1982. It lies along the bluffs overlooking the St. Croix River. It spans ~1,600 acres, and has elevations near 938 ft, which is kind of a lot for Minnesota, right? The landscape was carved out by glaciers, leading to the steep ravines and sandstone outcrops you see by the river. While visiting, you can observe a variety of habitats, including forests (oak, aspen, birch, cherry), restored prairie, and oak savanna. What is an oak savanna? I’m not sure. It sounds like basically scattered oak trees with prairie grasses and flowers. These are rare because a lot of them were destroyed by farming. The one in Afton was also destroyed by farming, and the savanna we see today is a human-created restoration. Last fun fact: there used to be railroads going through the area (part of the Milwaukee Road railroad system) in the past, and the bridges you cross are remnants of that era. One of the trails actually used to be a railroad grade.
Things to do While You’re There
Hike Some Trails
There are over 20 miles of trail to hike in the summer (also, 12 miles for snowshoeing and skiing in the winter, 5 miles for horseback, and 4-mile bike trail). I’ll cover the ones I’ve done from shortest to longest.
Interpretive Trail Loop (0.5 miles, Easy)
There’s not much to see here. It’s a self-guided interpretive trail through a restored prairie right next to the visitor center. There are supposed to be a lot of wildflowers, though. I did not see too much in June (pictures below). Maybe July is better for flower blooms. I saw an animal hole, and I think that’s pretty neat. Could be a badger hole. Could be I have no idea what I’m talking about also.
North River Loop (3.6 miles, Easy-Moderate)
Very nice loop! There are a variety of trail types, landscapes, and things to see, so you never get bored. There is a scenic bench spur I recommend you take about 1.7 miles in. After that, you can see remnants of an old farm about 2.2 miles in (distances assume you start at the North parking lot).
Deer Valley Loop (3.7 miles, Easy-Moderate)
This was pretty similar to the North River Loop, without the river views. Nice mix of forest and prairie with various trails (grass, gravel, dirt, paved). There is one unique feature: you can get a decent view of the osprey nest near the end (bring binoculars).
Other trails that I haven’t done yet
South River Loop – looks really similar to the North river loop.
Trout Brook Loop – sounds like they are still restoring the trout brook. I took a look in passing, and it appeared wet. I hear that it’s almost done and there are some genetically native trout.
Camp
There is actually a good amount of camping available. Campsites cost $30 and can be reserved through the DNR reservation site
- 27 hike-in sites (about 1 mile from the North parking area)
- 2 group camps
- 4 camper cabins (with heat/electricity)
- 2 yurts
- 1 wall tent
1 walk-in site (about 0.6 miles from the North parking area))
The walk-in site has two tent pads, a fire pit, and two benches. Lots of good trees for hammocks. It sits at the top of a hill, accessible by stairs. There is water available near the beach at a solar-powered station (although when I used it, there was a lot of sediment in the water. Maybe I should have let it run more). There is a vault toilet nearby that was surprisingly clean, with toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Firewood and trash containers are located just at the bottom of the stairs. It is just across the trail from the beach, but was still very private and surprisingly quiet. Had a visit from some deer and wild turkeys while I was there. There is a trail at the back of the campsite that appears like it would lead to the toilets, but it doesn’t. It just ends in the middle of the woods.
Swim
The swimming beach is really nice!
Fish
There is a pier at the beach, as well as a sandbar you can stand on
Birding
- You can find park-specific bird lists with the DNR. Here is one for Afton! There are over 190 species, including rare ones.
Sit on a bench
There are SO MANY BENCHES! Lower picnic area, upper picnic area, beach picnic area, picnic shelters, and random scattered benches on the trails. You are probably less than 500 feet from a bench anywhere you go.
Hang out with the park rangers
- Check out their events calendar!
Other
- Horseback riding (bring your own horse)
- Bicycle (4 miles of bike trail)
- Volleyball (I think I saw a court at the North picnic area)
- Horseshoes
Try This Itinerary:
Start Time: 8:00-9:00 AM Total time: ~5 Hours
- Hike the Southern Portion of the Park (1-3 hours)
Enjoy some hiking. You can hike the South River Loop, or the Deer Valley Loop. I recommend Deer Valley, since you will hike the North River Loop later in this itinerary, and it is very similar to the South River Loop. If you want to be a completionist, you can also make one big loop out of both by using the trail that links the two (see my map; it’s the black-colored line). This will also allow you to get closer to the osprey nest. - Head over to the beach (1-2 hours)
Swim and/or relax at the beach. Bring food with you and eat at the picnic area there. If you’re into fishing, you can bring some poles and fish off the dock, or just go in the water. - Hike the North River Loop (60-90 minutes)
Hike that loop! Don’t forget to enjoy the scenic bench by taking the short spur trail (depicted in light green on the map) about 1.7 miles from the North parking lot starting point.
Other Information
Logistics
Activity time: 5 hours or more.
Activity season: Spring, Summer, Fall.
Location: Outdoors.
Recommended gear/attire: Comfortable shoes that can get sandy/wet/muddy, water, sunscreen, maybe bug spray.
Value: Excellent!
Safety: Safe.
Accessibility: There are some accessible trails, but not many.
Pets: Allowed at the site and on the trail.
Family: Family friendly. The hike shouldn’t be too hard for kids who can walk a couple miles on their own.
Dating: The hike is a great date idea, if you’re into that! It’s well populated, so they won’t think you’re being creepy if you don’t know each other that well.
Have any suggestions? Noticed something I missed or got wrong? I’m not surprised, because I don’t fully know what I’m doing. Leave me a comment below, or email me 🙂
Leave a Reply