Activities Offered For April 2026 Free Minnesota State Park Day

This Saturday is one of the four annual free Minnesota State Park days on the calendar, when you can visit without needing to have a park pass to enter and enjoy some time there.

Each year, the Minnesota DNR offers 4 different free park days, one for each season. The 2026 Minnesota free park days are as follows:

Monday, January 19 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day)
Saturday, April 25
Saturday, June 13
Friday, November 27 (Black Friday)

During these free park days, a number of Minnesota State Parks offer additional free activities and events to give you even more to do during your visit, besides just enjoying and exploring the park.

What activities and events are being offered for the April free Minnesota State Park day on April 25? Here's a look!

Activities and events offered for April 2026 Free Minnesota State Park Day

While all state parks are free to enjoy on April 25, not every park is offering events and activities. Here's a look at what parks are offering extra things to do on April 25, 2026:

Blue Mounds State Park is offering a few different events, including:

Blue Mounds Birding, a 1-mile walk with a naturalist to learn birding skills from 9 am to 10 am
Bison Babies Nature Cart, an educational table with a naturalist to talk about the bison calving season from 1 pm until 3 pm.

Fort Ridgely State Park is hosting two different wildflower hikes called "Spring Awakenings. They have one from 10 am until 11 am, and another from 1 pm until 2 pm.

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Fort Snelling State Park is hosting an event called "Wading for Duckman", where you can learn about the birds that make the park home, especially those that spend time on, in, or near the water.

Frontenac State Park is doing a volunteer cleanup event for Earth Day, cleaning up Sand Point from 9 am to noon.

Glendalough State Park has a partner event called "Walk for Glendalough", an annual walk and bike ride. Registration is at 9 am, and the walk/ride wraps up by 1 pm with food available before and after.

Gooseberry Falls State Park has three different events they are hosting on April 25, which are:

Chasing Waterfalls Tour, a tour of the park's major waterfalls with a park naturalist from 11 am until 12:15 pm
Can You Knot?, an opportunity to practice (or learn) knot-tying skills from noon until 2 pm
Celebrate Spring Fishing Runs gives you a chance to learn about the spring fish run, enjoy fish-related activities, and enjoy games and art-making activities from 2:45 pm until 4 pm

Itasca State Park is doing a couple of different events, including:

Bingo Scavenger Hunt is a fun scavenger hunt activity around the park from 9 am until 3 pm
Seeing the CCC: Walking Tour, learning about the Civilian Conservation Corps and projects from 12:30 pm until 1:30 pm
Old Timer's Cabin, Open Tour, an opportunity to tour and learn about the cabin from 1:30 pm until 2:30 pm

Jay Cooke State Park is hosting several events, with most of them tying literature and the outdoors together. Here's a rundown of each of them:

Nature Tales on the Trail - Story Strolls 10 am - 3 pm
Pages and Pines: Where Books and Nature Come Together, an outdoor storytime with local authors and "story strolls" 11 am - 3 pm
I Can! Programs - Learn about skills to camp, fish, mountain bike, and more 11 am - 3 pm
Campfire Book Lounge 11 am - 3 pm
Pages and Pines Discovery Tables 11 am - 3 pm
Tales Under the Trees - Cloquet Library Storytime 11:30 am - noon
Once Upon a Campfire - storytime around a campfire with marshmallows for roasting noon - 12:30 pm
Stories and Insights: Allie Tibbetts and Sam Zimmerman 12:30 pm - 1 pm
Nature's Voice - nature-themed poetry and readings open mic 1 pm - 1:30 pm
Tales Under the Trees - Duluth Library Storytime 1:30 pm - 2 pm
Stories and Insights: Janis Fairbanks 2 pm - 2:30 pm

Lake Maria State Park is hosting an event called "All About Bluebirds", where you can learn...all about bluebirds from 1 pm until 2 pm.

Sibley State Park has two events planned: an event called "A Morning on the Oak Savanna" to learn about the rare oak savanna ecosystem from 10 am until 10:45 am, and an Owl Pellets event to learn about owls and their diet by cracking open an owl pellet from 1 pm until 1:45 pm.

Whitewater State Park is hosting a "Signs of Spring Hike", where you can explore signs of springtime in the park during a hike from 10 am until noon.

Wild River State Park is hosting a Bird Migration Walk to learn about birding, with a focus on migrating birds in the park. Organizers say this event is best for those ages 8 and up, and is from 9 am until 10:30 am.

William O'Brien State Park is holding a pair of events on April 25, which are:

Not Every Fire is a Wildfire- Prescribed Burns, where you can learn about prescribed burns from 10 am until noon
Restoring Historic Landscapes (Oak Savanna)- Nature Table, where you can learn about recent restoration efforts on a hike from 12:30 pm until 2:30 pm

Zippel Bay State Park has a pair of chickadee birdhouse building workshops, but they are already both full.

Best Minnesota State Parks To Avoid Big Crowds

While iconic state parks like Itasca, Gooseberry, and Fort Snelling draw massive numbers of visitors each year, there are a lot of awesome state parks and recreation areas around Minnesota that offer fantastic outdoor or camping experiences without the high number of visitors. Give these a look!

Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper