Afton State Park

Afton State Park is one of the best day trips from Minnesota. The Afton State Park is located along the banks of the St. Croix River in Hastings, where it provides a beautiful and rugged outdoor recreational area that is very popular among hikers and runners. The undulating landscape means that many of the trails are quite challenging and many runners come to the park to train for races. Families can have fun walking the Prairie Walk Interpretive Trail is often covered with wildflowers in spring and will lead you through several contrasting habitats. You can pick up trail maps at the Visitor’s Center.

This area along the St. Croix River is about a half-mile walk from the parking area. The picnic area features a shelter, fire rings, and pedestal grills. The swimming beach is adjacent to the lower picnic area. It is located in a shallow, calm section of the river, and is marked with buoys in the summer. Stairs along the river trail allow access to this sand bar below the Trout Brook delta when the river is at or below normal levels. Current land use practices have greatly improved the quality of this former trout stream. Trout currently do not use the stream due to the silt that covers the stream bed. Standing along the brook you can see the railroad bridge, the lower trail crossing, and a number of wood duck boxes.

Location: Minnesota, United States

Website: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00100#homepage

Distance from Minnesota: 190 miles

Travel time: 3 hours

Tel: 1 651-201-6780

Hour: 8:00 AM - 22:00 PM

Fee: $35 per person

TripAdvisor Review: 113 reviews