GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - What was the very first State Park in Minnesota and where is it? That's what a viewer named Patty wanted to know, as we explore the first question in our new askKARE segment.
Minnesota’s oldest state park is Itasca State Park, located in northwestern Minnesota, 30 minutes south of Bemidji and about a 3.5 hour drive north of the Twin Cities, established in 1891.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources celebrated the 125th anniversary of Itasca State Park and the entire Minnesota State Parks and Trails system last year. It’s where you’ll find the Headwaters of the Mississippi River, where starts on its long winding 2,500-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico.
Over the decades, it has become a rite of passage for Minnesotans to cross the Headwaters. The DNR has a webcam situated at the Headwaters for a live feed of people that come from all over the world to step across the rocks at the beginning of the Mississippi.
“I have my own childhood experience about slipping on a rock and falling in, but it's a great thing to do there's a post there, a lot of people have that in their family albums, where they took a picture standing right by the headwaters post,” said Pat Arndt, communications and outreach manager for Minnesota Parks and Trails.
A visionary man named Jacob Brower who first rallied for the concept of state parks in Minnesota back in 1891, asking the legislature to establish a state park, which is Itasca State Park today.
State parks have always been established by the state legislature, and the legislation establishing Itasca passed by a narrow 1 vote margin back in 1891. But the victory Brower fought for gave birth to a nationally renowned state park system Minnesotans enjoy and treasure today.
“We now have 75 state parks and recreation areas located around the state, most people have a state park within 30 minutes to an hour drive wherever they live around the state,” said Arndt.
The most recent state park, the Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park, was established in 2010 and is still being developed.
Programs for families at Itasca State Park include the Junior Naturalist programs that encourage children to explore nature with hands-on activities, Family fun hikes, stand up paddleboarding and twilight canoe trips.
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