Some weekends we want a lazy adventure. We don’t want to drive far and we want a familiar trail. Richard T Anderson Conservation Area in Eden Prairie has become our go-to destination when we want to hit the trails but don’t want to be out all day long. A mere 16 minutes from our house with several short loops to choose from situated in a beautiful forest with hills, streams, and views of the Minnesota River Valley it’s a great local hiking destination. Rowan has been sick with Croup for over a week and after a late-night trip to the…
Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge
With March temps predicted in the 60s for the weekend we knew that we had to get out and explore. Though the temps were high, the winds were howling at 10-20 miles per hour. We hoped that our first visit to the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge wouldn’t be spoiled by cold winds. The visitor center is closed on Sundays and Mondays so we weren’t able to explore inside. However, the trails are open and ready for exploring! This area with miles and miles of hiking trails is a touch of urban wilderness nestled between the Mall of America and the MSP…
Interstate State Park
Interstate State Park used to be our weekend hangout where we climbed the crags along the scenic bluffs towering above the St Croix River. The river bisects the park creating a park that spans two states, Minnesota and Wisconsin. We haven’t visited in awhile as we now live over an hour away, but we were craving elevation gain, scenic views, and a brief escape from reality. We drove to the Wisconsin side and chose not to follow a “trail” per se but opted instead to follow the climbers trails we have walked so many times before. It felt strange to revisit…
Willow Falls
It’s been 27 days since our last hike in the woods. 27 days since our Jack was healthy. In the span of 27 days Jack got a stomach bug, broke his right clavicle, and got pneumonia. In 27 days Jack has been in 2 Emergency Rooms, had 2 X-rays, 3 blood draws, 1 urine test, 4 physical exams, and 3 prescriptions filled. In 27 days Jack has missed 3 swim lessons, 4 ECFE classes, and we had to cancel 1 weekend on the North Shore. In the last 27 days Jack has spent 1 day outside on a walk around our…
Minneopa and Minnemishinona Falls
Last week, we compiled a list of the 7 Best Frozen Waterfalls within 90 minutes of the Twin Cities. We have only been to one so far, but all 7 are on our bucket list for this winter. This weekend we checked off two more from the list. The weather was looking somewhat warm this past Sunday so we decided to drive the hour and fifteen minutes south to Mankato, MN where Minnemishinona and Minneopa Falls are located. We visited Minnemishinona Falls first. At 42 feet this waterfall is an impressive sight, especially in winter time. However, the site itself is tiny and…
7 best frozen waterfalls within 90 minutes of the Twin Cities
When we think of waterfalls in Minnesota we usually think of the North Shore in the summer and all of the beautiful falls along Hwy 61 like High Falls in Tettegouche State Park. But, there is beauty to be found in the cold of winter right here in town. So grab some snacks, throw on your winter coats, and jump in your car to check out local gorgeous and natural “ice sculptures”! Note: waterfalls are listed in proximity to Minneapolis, MN. 1. Minnehaha Falls The Mouth of the Beast #minnehahafalls #frozen #onlyinmn #exploremn #winter #park #travel #minneapolis #ice #cityofminneapolis #kare11 #captureminnesota #startribune #waterfall A photo posted by…
Big Woods State Park – Hidden Falls
On October 25th we welcomed our daughter, Rowan Margaret, into our family. We could not have been more excited to have her join our family. Unfortunately, my postpartum recovery took much longer then anticipated. Physically I was fine within a couple of weeks, mentally was a whole other issue. I was struggling in every respect. I was convinced that it was simply my hormones trying to balance out after having given birth. Bobby was convinced something else was going on, and held my hand while taking me to see my midwife and discuss the possibility of Postpartum Depression and Anxiety.…
North Country Trail: Grand Sable Lake to Grand Marais, MI
For our final day of vacation my parents gave us the enormous gift of watching Jack for a few hours so we could have a solo hike. We haven’t hiked together and without Jack since he was 11 months old. We had already done some exploring of the incredibly scenic Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore with Jack along and were now faced with a morning off. We decided to hike a short section of the North Country Trail (NCT), a 4,600 mile trail that stretches across seven states and runs clear through this National Lakeshore. The section we chose was the very…
Presque Isle Waterfall Loop
We had time for just one big hike while we were staying at the beautiful Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park in Michigan. We read up on hikes in the area and found helpful information on the Porcupine Mountains webpage. We decided that since Jack is so into waterfalls the best hike for us would be the Presque Isle Waterfalls hike, which includes not one, not two, but THREE waterfall viewing areas! To get to the hike we were faced with a rather long drive! This park is huge (just under 60,000 acres) and we were camping at the opposite end…
Big Bay State Park
Big Bay State Park is located on Madeline Island, one of 22 of the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior. The park has 62 campsites (51 are reservable) with 15 being electrical, 38 standard tent sites, 2 group sites, and 7 walk-in sites. Water taps, a shower building, many privies, and garbage cans are sprinkled around the campground. The campsites are beautiful with ample vegetative screening and are generally quite large. The site we ended up with (#25) was a little narrow but very long. The park has a large picnic area, a little over 7 miles of hiking trails, and 3.5…