News – Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota

August 6, 2018

Meet the Minnesota Trail Riders Association

MTRA uses membership dollars and donations to provide financial assistance to local, county and state parks in Minnesota that allow equestrian use in their parks.

August 1, 2018

State Park digital maps now track you on the trail

Getting away from it all and traveling down a remote trail in the woods has all the makings for a great adventure. Unless of course you get lost. If you or someone you know is at all uneasy about this possibility, you may be interested …

Person holding a GeoPDF showing their location (blue dot) at Itasca headwaters

July 31, 2018

#ResearchBike adventure underway

Collecting data on the condition of all the paved state trails in Minnesota Have you ever thought about biking all 600 miles of the paved state trails in Minnesota? Well, that’s what our intern, Karl, is doing this summer. And you can follow his journey, …

July 30, 2018

Keeping Our River Clean – Annual St. Croix River Cleanup

The Friends of Wild River State Park has an annual summer tradition of gathering to canoe down part of the river—from Sunrise Landing to Wild River State Park Landing—to clean up any trash found along the way.

July 23, 2018

Music Fills the Air at Maplewood State Park

Community members flocked to Maplewood State Park to attend two music concerts

July 13, 2018

Parks & Trails Council conveys 154-acre property to Sibley State Park

(NEW LONDON, MN)– A multi-year effort to add key land to Sibley State Park was finalized on June 20 as Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota sold the 154-acre property to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 71 ...

The rolling grasslands with pond at Sibley State Park

July 5, 2018

DNR and city seek public input on Gitchi-Gami trail development

The MnDNR will host an open house on July 12 to discuss and get feedback on the Gitchi-Gami State Trail's newest planned segment from Grand Marais-to-Cutface.

bicyclists on Gitchi Gami with Lake Superior in back

June 27, 2018

Volunteers install 400 tree cages at Itasca State Park

Itasca is well-known for its old-growth trees. But growing the next generation has been a challenge as deer have been eating and destroying the young trees. In 2009, park staff planted a 65-acre region known as the Bear Paw Restoration.

June 25, 2018

DNR upgrades outdoor recreation maps for mobile devices

From MnDNR – Navigating Minnesota’s woods and waters with a mobile device is now easier than ever with new digital maps available from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Cartographers in the Parks and Trails Division have recently upgraded nearly all of the maps for Minnesota …

June 18, 2018

Friends respond to emerald ash borer by planting maples at Maplewood State Park

In a project coordinated by the Friends of Maplewood State Park and DNR staff, 15 sugar maple trees have been planted in the park. The newly planted trees, which are between six to ten feet tall, are a proactive response to the threat posed by the invasive insect known as emerald ash borer (EAB)

June 15, 2018

Gateway State Trail: Tunnel Crossing

Gateway State Trail Tunnel Photo courtesy of Gateway-Brown's Creek Trail Association Supported Project in P&TC’s 2018 Legislative Agenda Project Overview Improve user safety by constructing a tunnel for the trail to cross under Hadley Ave, which currently challenging to cross because the street exceeds 8,000 ...

June 11, 2018

BSA Scouts Join Friends of Wild River to Protect Young Oak Trees

On National Get Outdoors Day, youth with a troop of Boy Scouts of America put on their sunscreen and bug spray and “got outdoors” at Wild River State Park. They joined the Friends of Wild River and a DNR naturalist to tackle a conservation project …

June 8, 2018

$750,000 Trail Center Bonding Approved – Glendalough State Park

The Glendalough Citizens Advisory Board was recently informed that Governor Mark Dayton signed the 2018 bonding bill which includes $750,000 for pre-design, design and construction for a new trail and visitor facility in Glendalough State Park. The bonding will augment more than $200,000 of private …