Free Admission Offered to All Minnesota State Parks This Saturday
The Minnesota DNR will be offering free admission to state parks and a number of special programs and activities this Saturday (June 13). The free admission and special events are being coordinated as part of National Get Outdoors Day.
The weather looks like it will be perfect to get out and enjoy a day outside, so why not grab the family or some friends and head out? If you want to take advantage of one of the special programs, here is some of what's being offered at the parks near the Twin Ports (with links to event details):
- Jay Cooke State Park - The park will hold an open house as part of their 100th anniversary celebration. Activities will include a river adventures program, Ojibwe cultural puppet show, and cake and refreshments as Jay Cooke becomes the 5th Minnesota State Park to turn 100 years old.
- Split Rock Lighthouse State Park - A guided daytime bike ride to Iona's Beach on the Gitchi Gami State Bike Trail. The 3 mile ride on some of the park's paved trails is open to riders of all abilities. An evening program called "Shipwrecks of the North Shore" will also be held, highlighting the infamous Maatafa Blow Storm of 1905. Visitors are encouraged to bring flashlights for this program if they have one.
- Gooseberry Falls State Park will be offering two programs with live falcons. The afternoon program is called Peregrine Falcons in the Midwest and the evening event is The Sport of Kings: Falconry with LIVE birds.
- Tettegouche State Park will be offering three different programs through the day. Slithering Snakes will offer an introduction into some locally native snake species with a live snake. Dragonflies of the North Shore is the first in a series of dragonfly field programs at Tettegouche, and will offer an introduction to the creatures with identification and photography tips among the parts of the program. The evening will conclude with Antlers and the Animals Who Wear Them, with an on-site collection of antlers at the Tettegouche Amphitheater.
- Cascade River State Park - Play Clean Go: Give Invasive Species the Brush Off will offer information and educational materials about invasive species and how to prevent their spread.