Camden State Park Trails
Near Marshall, MN
Park website: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00127#information
Trail Map: https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state_parks/spk00127.pdf
Know Before You Go: The hiking trails in Camden State Park are hilly but manageable. You may want to bring along bug spray in case the mosquitos are hungry. Ticks also love the tall grasses in this park.
Length: 5 miles of hiking trail as well as 10 miles of paved bicycle trail.
Time: We hiked the hiking trails in around 2 hours.
Difficulty level: Moderate due to steep hills.
Terrain: Packed dirt, mowed grass.
Dog-friendly: Absolutely. Dogs are even allowed in the swimming pond!
Kid-friendly: Absolutely. There’s playground equipment and a swimming pond!
Near Marshall, MN
Park website: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00127#information
Trail Map: https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state_parks/spk00127.pdf
Know Before You Go: The hiking trails in Camden State Park are hilly but manageable. You may want to bring along bug spray in case the mosquitos are hungry. Ticks also love the tall grasses in this park.
Length: 5 miles of hiking trail as well as 10 miles of paved bicycle trail.
Time: We hiked the hiking trails in around 2 hours.
Difficulty level: Moderate due to steep hills.
Terrain: Packed dirt, mowed grass.
Dog-friendly: Absolutely. Dogs are even allowed in the swimming pond!
Kid-friendly: Absolutely. There’s playground equipment and a swimming pond!
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A coworker who lives in Marshall, MN recommended this park to me after learning we like to hike. It took us 6 years to visit it, but during the COVID-19 pandemic we made a concerted effort to find safe activities to do outside as a family. This park is an unexpected gem in the midst of the Coteau des Prairies, which means highland of the prairie. The Coteau de Prairie is a high plateau that encompasses much of southwestern Minnesota. The hiking trails wind through a wooded river valley filled with maples, oaks and other deciduous trees and blanketed by verdant undergrowth. Keep an eye out for sugar maples – this park is actually home to the westernmost natural occurrence of sugar maples in North America. Parts of the trail follow the Redwood River, offering glimpses of small waterfalls and plenty of trout. When you occasionally break out of the trees, you are treated to lush meadows filled with wildflowers and native grasses. Fall colors are spectacular in this park. When you’re done hiking, consider cooling off in the spring-fed swimming pond. This is honestly the coldest water I have ever jumped into aside from northern Montana. My German Shepherd didn’t even want to stay in the pond, it was so cold! If hiking’s not your thing, the park offers 10 miles of paved bike trail, Brawner Lake for canoeing and cross country ski trails in the winter. Camden State Park is also home to quite a lot of history. Archeological discoveries confirm the area was a hunting and fishing hub some 8,000 years ago. In the 1830s, it was the site of an American Fur Company trading post inhabited by Frenchman Joseph LaFramboise. The Veterans Conservation Corps – an offshoot of the Civilian Conservation Corps – started developing the park under the direction of the National Park Service in the mid-1930s. The Works Progress Administration took over after a few years. The result is 13 structures and buildings that are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, many of them made from local stone. 
PHLOX IN MEADOW
BRIDGE OVER REDWOOD RIVER
THE HIKING DOGGIE
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REDWOOD RIVER
RIVER TRAIL
SCENIC OVERLOOK
REDWOOD RIVER
SWIMMING POND
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