If you are looking for a camping home where the buffalo roam, then Minneopa State Park should be your Home on the Range.
Seldom was heard a discouraging word about the State Park located near Mankato, in southern Minnesota, and the skies were not cloudy all day on our visit there this past summer. We didn’t see any deer or antelope play, but we did enjoy the park’s waterfalls, hiking trails, picnic area and campground. The park also has the remnants of a wind-powered flour mill constructed in the 1860s and a preserve you can drive through to see a herd of bison that roam free on 331 acres of prairie.
The bison at Minneopa are part of the Minnesota Bison Conservation Herd, a joint conservation project of the Minnesota DNR and the Minnesota Zoo. The herd, which currently numbers approximately 130, are located at Minneopa, Blue Mounds State Park and at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley. The herd is largely free of any genetic materials that would have resulted from cross-breading with cattle. This makes them rare among modern bison.
The park’s website warns that the bison aren’t always visible as they wander the preserve, but we had no problems finding them the two days we were there. They were clustered quite close to the fenced roads on our first two drives and a bit farther out, but easily visible on the third.
When it opened in 1905, Minneopa became Minnesota’s third state park. The park’s name is derived from the Dakota language and is interpreted to mean "water falling twice," referring to the double step waterfalls of Minneopa Creek which flows through the park. Bridges and walkways enable you to get a close up view of the creek and waterfalls, steps take you down through the limestone valley the creek cascades into. It’s cool, green and lush along the valley floor — a perfect place to be on a hot summer weekend when we visited. Through a short trail, you can easily get up close to the base of the waterfall and crawl on the large rocks along the creek.
The park has 66 campsites and one camper cabin. Many of the amenities still in use today - buildings, steps and structures - were built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal.
Minneopa is located about five miles west of Mankato, and about a 90 minute drive from the southern edge of the Twin Cities metro area. It’s a relatively quick getaway for an overnight or a day trip if you live in, or are visiting, Minneapolis-Saint Paul.