Kinnickinnic State Park #45

We visited Kinnickinnic State Park on the same warm, humid day that we visited Willow River State Park. They are just a 15 minute drive from each other, so it made sense to combine the two on our trip. The park is located at the confluence of the Kinnickinnic and St. Croix rivers, making it an ideal place for fishing, boating, and camping. The park offers 6.5 miles of hiking trails, winding through a variety of landscapes, including hills, prairies, and wetlands. There is a sandy swimming area on the St. Croix river, and multitudes of people enjoy water sports on the busy St. Croix waterway.


The park is also a busy place in the winter, with trails available for cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and skate skiing. There is also a sledding hill! The park was established in 1972 when three families donated their land, a total of 45 acres, to the state, the park has grown to approximately 1,200 acres today.


We hiked the brown trail and the orange trail. The view from the overlook on the brown trail was beautiful, very much like the views from all of the other state parks along the Mississippi River. There was a "natural" playground that led to some consternation from G, as he only has knowledge of those man made playgrounds. The valley of the Kinnickinnic River, a cold water trout stream, is a rare sanctuary and somewhere I would definitely like to plan to return to in the future. It's a haven for other birds and wildlife as well, more than 140 species of birds frequent the valley during migrating season.