Native yellow sunflowers in a field

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2023 Photo Contest

Parks & Trails Council

2023 Photo Contest

Photo Categories

Four regions of Minnesota

NW State Parks & Trails

STATE PARKS:

Big Bog | Buffalo River | Crow Wing | Cuyuna Country | Franz Jevne | Garden Island | Glendalough | Hayes Lake | Itasca | Lake Bemidji | Lake Bronson | La Salle Lake | Maplewood | Old Mill | Red River | Scenic | Schoolcraft | Zippel Bay

STATE TRAILS:

Cuyuna Lakes | Heartland | Paul Bunyan

NE State Parks & Trails

STATE PARKS:

Bear Head Lake | Cascade River | George H. Crosby Manitou | Gooseberry Falls | Grand Portage | Hill Annex Mine | Jay Cooke | Judge CR Magney | Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine | McCarthy Beach | Moose Lake | Savanna Portage | Split Rock Lighthouse | Temperance River | Tettegouche

STATE TRAILS:

Gitchi Gami | Willard Munger

SW State Parks & Trails

STATE PARKS:
Big Stone Lake | Blue Mounds | Camden | Charles A lindbergh | Father Hennepin | Flandrau | Fort Ridgley | Glacial Lakes | Greenleaf Lake | Kilen Woods | Lac qui Parle | Lake Carlos | Lake Maria | Lake Shetek | Mille Lacs Kathio | Minneopa | Minnesota Valley | Monson Lake | Sakatah Lake | Sibley | Split Rock Creek | Upper Sioux Agency

STATE TRAILS:
Casey Jones | Central Lakes | Glacial Lakes | Luce Line | Minnesota Valley | Sakatah Singing Hills

SE State Parks & Trails

STATE PARKS:

Afton | Banning | Beaver Creek Valley | Carley | Forestville/Mystery Cave | Fort Snelling | Frontenac | Great River Bluffs | Interstate | John A Latsch | Lake Louise | Myre Big Island | Nerstrand Big Woods | Rice Lake | St. Croix | Whitewater | Wild River | William O’Brien

STATE TRAILS:

Blazing Star | Brown’s Creek | Gateway | Goodhue Pioneer | Great River Ridge | Douglas | Mill Towns | Harmony-Preston Valley | Root River | Shooting Star

Deadline

Thursday, June 15, 2023

Full Timeline

May 15 – Submissions process opens

June 15 – Submission deadline

June 16-30 – Judging selection process

July 3 – Winners announced online and on social media

Guidelines

Details and judging criteria

Photo Requirements

Photo must be taken in a state park or trail in Minnesota.
Limit of 4 photos per person.
Photo must have been taken and owned by the person submitting (e.g., copyright has not been sold to another person or entity)
Photo must be in .jpeg or .jpg format
Photo must not depict anything against the rules of the park or trail where photo was taken.
The recommended size of the photo is
- 300 dpi.
- At least 2,000 pixels on the longest side. Larger images are encouraged and may improve your photos’ quality.
- The winning photos must be of sufficient quality to use in print publications.
- Less than 8 MB.
Photos must not be digitally altered beyond standard optimization.
- Acceptable changes include adjustments to color, contrast, brightness, and sharpness; removal of dust and scratches; cropping; black-and-white conversions; and use of HDR (High Dynamic Range), where multiple exposures of the same scene are combined for a greater tonal range, and similar processes for extended depth of field.

Judging Criteria

A panel of judges will be choosing the winners using the following criteria:

1. Content – capturing the unique qualities, experiences or beauty of that park or trail. Photos from any season is welcome.

2. Composition – the framing and balance of elements within the shot.

3. Technical Quality – the lighting, crispness, color, focus of the shot.

Prizes

Variety of prizes

Calendar Feature

All photos (not just the winners) have the potential to be featured with photographer credit in our 2024 calendar. Any photographer whose photo is selected will receive two copies of the calendar, plus a discount on any additional copies.

Hints for increasing chances of being featured:

consider submitting spring, winter, or fall photos, rather than summer.
submit horizontal photo that would fill a calendar page.

Magazine Feature

four issues of Minnesota Trails Magazine

First place photos from each category will be published in Minnesota Trails Magazine, which is distributed to all state parks and many bike shops, plus mailed to P&TC members.

State Park Gift Cards

Gift cards to Minnesota State Parks will be awarded as follows for each of the 4 categories.

1st = $50 value
2nd = $40 value
3rd = $30 value

Online Recognition

All submitted photos (that abide by the rules and criteria) will be displayed on this page of our website and winners will recognized.

All winning photographs will be recognized on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

Upload Your Photos

Southeast State Parks and Trails

STATE PARKS:
Afton | Banning | Beaver Creek Valley | Carley | Forestville/Mystery Cave | Fort Snelling | Frontenac | Great River Bluffs | Interstate | John A Latsch | Lake Louise | Myre Big Island | Nerstrand Big Woods | Rice Lake | St. Croix | Whitewater | Wild River | William O’Brien

STATE TRAILS:
Blazing Star | Brown’s Creek | Gateway | Goodhue Pioneer | Great River Ridge | Douglas | Mill Towns | Harmony-Preston Valley | Root River | Shooting Star

Upload Your Photos

"Midnight in the Whitewater River Valley"<br /> By Larry Paulson — Whitewater State Park
"Midnight in the Whitewater River Valley"
By Larry Paulson

By Kasey Wilson Photography — Interstate State Park
By Kasey Wilson Photography

"The pilings in the foreground are the remains of the Minnesota Valley Railway, constructed between 1864 and 1865. If you look through the Mendota Bridge and across the river you will see an opposing set of pilings. Back then, this area was a swampy backwater."<br /> By Larry Paulson — Fort Snelling State Park
"The pilings in the foreground are the remains of the Minnesota Valley Railway, constructed between 1864 and 1865. If you look through the Mendota Bridge and across the river you will see an opposing set of pilings. Back then, this area was a swampy backwater."
By Larry Paulson

"Taken at the end of March 2023, this red squirrel had seen enough snow for the year!"<br />By Gretchen Haynes — Fort Snelling State Park
"Taken at the end of March 2023, this red squirrel had seen enough snow for the year!"
By Gretchen Haynes

Wolf Creek Falls with long exposure. I love long exposure water fall photos and this is one of my favorites. This was in the fall so you can see many different colors. I also love the flow of the leaves in the water.<br/>By Steven Bursaw — Banning State Park
Wolf Creek Falls with long exposure. I love long exposure water fall photos and this is one of my favorites. This was in the fall so you can see many different colors. I also love the flow of the leaves in the water.
By Steven Bursaw

"Autumn's Glow overlooking the St. Croix River."<br />By Lori Warne — Interstate State Park
"Autumn's Glow overlooking the St. Croix River."
By Lori Warne

Southwest State Parks

STATE PARKS:
Big Stone Lake | Blue Mounds | Camden | Charles A lindbergh | Father Hennepin | Flandrau | Fort Ridgley | Glacial Lakes | Greenleaf Lake | Kilen Woods | Lac qui Parle | Lake Carlos | Lake Maria | Lake Shetek | Mille Lacs Kathio | Minneopa | Minnesota Valley | Monson Lake | Sakatah Lake | Sibley | Split Rock Creek | Upper Sioux Agency

STATE TRAILS:
Casey Jones | Central Lakes | Glacial Lakes | Luce Line | Minnesota Valley | Sakatah Singing Hills

Upload Your Photos

"A January sunset in the Minnesota River Valley."<br /> By Larry Paulson — Minnesota Valley State Rec Area
"A January sunset in the Minnesota River Valley."
By Larry Paulson

"This was taken at the picnic area of Father Hennepin State Park." <br/>By Marta Spencer — Father Hennepin State Park
"This was taken at the picnic area of Father Hennepin State Park."
By Marta Spencer

By Jon Wood — Blue Mounds State Park
By Jon Wood

"An evening sunset from the upper campground."<br />By John G. White — Lac qui Parle State Park
"An evening sunset from the upper campground."
By John G. White

"Minneopa Bison shedding his winter coat." <br/>By Sam Payne — Minneopa State Park
"Minneopa Bison shedding his winter coat."
By Sam Payne

"Winter time sunset."<br />By John G. White — Big Stone Lake State Park
"Winter time sunset."
By John G. White

Northeast State Parks and Trails

STATE PARKS:
Bear Head Lake | Cascade River | George H. Crosby Manitou | Gooseberry Falls | Grand Portage | Hill Annex Mine | Jay Cooke | Judge CR Magney | Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine | McCarthy Beach | Moose Lake | Savanna Portage | Split Rock Lighthouse | Temperance River | Tettegouche

STATE TRAILS:
Gitchi Gami | Willard Munger

Upload Your Photos

"White breasted nuthatch on the trails."<br />By Joshua Baklund — Jay Cooke State Park
"White breasted nuthatch on the trails."
By Joshua Baklund

"Smoke from Canadian wildfires intensified the sunrise colors."<br /> By Larry Paulson — Split Rock Lighthouse State Park
"Smoke from Canadian wildfires intensified the sunrise colors."
By Larry Paulson

By Jason Wesenberg — Savanna Portage State Park
By Jason Wesenberg

"Shovel Point after the storm of the winter."<br />By Annamay Snyder — Tettegouche State Park
"Shovel Point after the storm of the winter."
By Annamay Snyder

By Jon Wood — Grand Portage State Park
By Jon Wood

"Fog rolling onto beach."<br />By Stephanie Herington — Temperance River State Park
"Fog rolling onto beach."
By Stephanie Herington

Northwest State Parks and Trails

STATE PARKS:
Big Bog | Buffalo River | Crow Wing | Cuyuna Country | Franz Jevne | Garden Island | Glendalough | Hayes Lake | Itasca | Lake Bemidji | Lake Bronson | La Salle Lake | Maplewood | Old Mill | Red River | Scenic | Schoolcraft | Zippel Bay

STATE TRAILS:
Cuyuna Lakes | Heartland | Paul Bunyan

Upload Your Photos

"Just outside camper cabin #6."<br />By Joshua Baklund — Glendalough State Park
"Just outside camper cabin #6."
By Joshua Baklund

"Red Wing Blackbird"<br />By Alan Grillo MD — Hayes Lake State Park
"Red Wing Blackbird"
By Alan Grillo MD

"A friend fishing from a canoe on Annie Battle."<br />By John G. White — Glendalough State Park
"A friend fishing from a canoe on Annie Battle."
By John G. White

"Just outside camper cabin #6."<br />By Joshua Baklund — Glendalough State Park
"Just outside camper cabin #6."
By Joshua Baklund

"Hayes Lake."<br />By Alan Grillo MD — Hayes Lake State Park
"Hayes Lake."
By Alan Grillo MD

By Jon Wood — Buffalo River State Park
By Jon Wood

View Previous Winners