The next outing I’m running is going to be a simple one. We’ll hike Pike Island at Fort Snelling State Park on Saturday, April 15th. This is an easy 3 mile hike that is great for beginners. If you haven’t really done much hiking in the past and would like to give it a try before we start going on longer or more remote hikes, this is a good time to go. Aside from getting a small taste of what hiking is all about, you will be able to talk with experienced hikers who can give you some useful knowledge and tips.
We’ll meet at the fire ring outside of the visitor center at 1PM. The hike should take about an hour. Usually parking isn’t too bad, but the first few weekends with good weather have a tendency to be really busy and you might have to search a little for parking. I recommend bringing some water with you and a rain jacket if it’s raining.
Just like all other state parks, you need to have a vehicle permit to enter the park. Annual permits are still being sold for $25, but this is going to be going up to $30 in the near future. You may also get a $5 day pass which can be applied towards an annual pass later on.
For those of you that use public transportation, there is a bus stop at Fort Snelling. There is a half-mile trail that goes from this bus stop down to the visitor center. Of course, if you take the bus you don’t need a permit. Here’s some links to the maps for this particular bus stop.
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/destinations/state_parks/fort_snelling/bus_stop_to_snelling.pdf
https://www.metrotransit.org/Data/Sites/1/media/pdfs/Schedules/RouteMaps/36/007Map.pdf
I'm just a Hodgepodge.
As for skipping out on the permit fee by parking at the historic site, I discourage that for two reasons.
I feel very strongly about supporting the parks as they are one of our state’s most valuable resources, but at the end of the day it is up to you. If you don’t want to pay the fee and park at the historic site, that is your choice to make. Regardless of which location you chose to park at, we’re still going to meet down by the visitor center. I know there are already plenty of people with a park permit, and you’ll be going past the visitor center anyways, so there really isn’t any need to move the meeting location.
There is currently a slight chance of rain. We’ll hike even if it’s raining, so you may want to bring rain gear along.
See you there!
If you have waterproof footwear or something you don’t mind getting wet you should bring that too. Otherwise I recommend bringing a second pair of shoes and dry socks to change into after the hike. With the amount of rain we’ve gotten so far there’s going to be some mud.
This also comes down to personal preference. Some people, such as myself, actually enjoy hiking in the rain as it has a unique atmosphere to it. If you know you don’t like hiking when you’re going to get wet it’s ok to skip this one. I have another hike planned in three weeks, which I’ll be announcing later today.
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