Northwest Minnesota is home to many beautiful parks, forests and wildlife refuges. Recreational opportunities abound!

STATE PARKS

• Big Bog State Recreation Area: - Waskish
  Located within Red Lake Peatland, also known as Big Bog. Hiking, fishing. Picnic area and swimming beach. Boat launch site. 30 campsites.
• Garden Island State Recreation Area - 10 miles south of Oak Island
  Located on an island in Lake of the Woods. Its natural features include sand beaches, marshes and cedar forest. Wildlife includes shorebirds and nesting bald eagles. Enjoy fishing, swimming, hiking, bird-watching and snowmobiling. Amenities include boat dock, picnic area and a swimming beach. Available for day-use only.
• Hayes Lake State Park - 18 miles southeast of Roseau
  This state park features northwoods pine forest in a remote lake setting. It is located in Beltrami Island State Forest (see below). Enjoy hiking and biking trails. It also features a manmade lake popular for swimming and canoeing, a picnic area, 37 campsites and two camper cabins.
• Itasca State Park - 22 miles north of Park Rapids
  This park surrounds Lake Itasca, source of the Mississippi River. The terrain features pristine lakes and virgin pines. Other features include an interpretive center, extensive snowmobile trails, hiking, horseback riding, boating, fishing and cross-country skiing. There are 218 campsites, lodge and cabins available.
• Lake Bemidji State Park - 5 miles northeast of Bemidji
  This beautiful park, located on the north shore of Lake Bemidji has virgin pine forests and pristine northern bog areas. Enjoy hiking, biking, boating, fishing and cross-country skiing. The park also features nature trails, a visitor center, swimming beach and 98 campsites.
• Lake Bronson State Park - Lake Bronson
  Lake Bronson State Park is located between the flat Red River Valley region and hills of mixed aspen forest and prairie. Visitors may be treated to the occasional moose sighting. Features include nature trails, a visitor center, swimming beach and 200 campsites. Enjoy hiking, boating, canoeing fishing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.
• Old Mill State Park - 12 miles east of Argyle
  This undisturbed area of forest, oak savanna and wet prairie is nestled amid abundant cropland. Visitors can enjoy hiking, swimming, fishing, cross-country skiing, sledding, skating and snowmobiling. Features include an historic grist mill, interpretive trail and a swimming pond. There are 26 campsites.
• Zippel Bay State Park - 7 miles northeast of Williams
  This park has the distinction of being the northernmost park in the United States. Its many features include a wild and rustic beach with a protected harbor on ocean-like Lake of the Woods, bordered by jack pine and birch forest. Local wildlife includes moose, black bear, coyote, timber wolf, bald eagle, white pelican, bonaparte's gull and the endangered piper plover. Enjoy hiking, horseback riding, bird-watching, beach combing, boating, canoeing, fishing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. This park also has nature trails and 57 campsites.

FORESTS

• Badoura State Forest - 8 miles south of Akeley
• Beltrami Island State Forest - 12 miles south of Williams
• Blackduck State Forest - 8 miles south of Blackduck
• Buena Vista State Forest - 12 miles north of Cass Lake
• Chippewa National Forest - northcentral Minnesota
  This land was purchased from Ojibwe Indians in 1908. It contains 1,300 lakes and the Mississippi River. Its natural features include upland cedar, red and white pine stands, orchid bogs, dunes, kames and other glacial features. Wildlife includes bald eagle, common loon, black bear, white-tailed deer and beaver. Within the forest area, there are multiple choices to enjoy camping, fishing, hunting, hiking, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, berry picking and mushrooming.
• Lost River State Forest - 8 miles north of Roseau
• Mississippi Headwaters State Forest - 5 miles south of Solway
• Northwest Angle State Forest - Angle Inlet
• Paul Bunyan State Forest - 20 miles northeast of Park Rapids
• Red Lake State Forest - 7 miles north of Kelliher
• Two Inlets State Forest - 11 miles northwest of Park Rapids
• White Earth State Forest - 15 miles south of Bagley

WILDLIFE REFUGES

• Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge - 15 miles northeast of Thief River Falls
  This refuge boast 61,450 acres on the bay of glacial Lake Agassiz and the Mississippi Flyway. Open water, marsh , upland conifer and tamarack forests provide ideal habitats for moose, white-tailed deer and eastern gray wolf. Waterfowl include 16 duck species, Canada goose, great blue heron, great egret, white pelican, Franklin's gull, ruffed grouse and gray partridge. Its features include an auto tour route and a foot trail.
• Rydell National Wildlife Refuge - located east of Crookston
  Refuge is a combination of maple/basswood/oak forest, wetlands, tall grass prairie and bogs. At least 19 old farmsteads make up the refuge lands. Five partial log buildings remain. 600 acres of prairie have been restored. Rydell NWR provides an annual deer hunt for people with disabilities which accommodates nearly 20 hunters. Environmental education and interpretation, hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, wildlife observation and photography. Visitor amenities include electric golf carts for the disabled, seven miles of trails, five of which are blacktop accessible and a visitor center with bookstore.
• Glacial Ridge Refuge - located in Polk County
  This developing refuge is a major waterfowl breeding and nesting area. It provides critical habitat for declining grassland birds, greater prairie chickens, sandhill cranes, as well as the endangered western prairie fringed orchid, among other species. When complete, the Glacial Ridge will encompass 35,000 acres, forming the nation's largest tallgrass prairie.
  

For more information about experiencing nature in northwest Minnesota, visit www.northernminnesota.org.