Lake Maria State Park is a great place to get away for an afternoon if you live in the Minneapolis/St Paul area of Minnesota. It covers over 1,500 acres and the main features of the park are Maria Lake (pronounced mar-eye-uh), heavily wooded hiking trails, and plentiful wildlife. I have visited here quite a few times and find it a great place to spend an afternoon in the outdoors if you just want some light hiking, watch for deer or take photographs.

Trails
Altogether there are fourteen miles of hiking trails and most are easy or moderate in difficulty. I have hiked on almost all of the trails in my numerous visits to this park. Most trails are quite wide and worn down from a lot of activity. Expect to see lots of other people the trails closest to the parking lot; this is not a place to go to quiet solitude. The trails are not handicapped accessible and are not paved.

The most popular trails, according to the park’s literature, are the Big Woods and Bjorkland Trails, which are 5-1/2 and 2 miles long respectively. These trails pass through rolling terrain in a hardwood forest. Occasionally you will cross a stream and pass-by a pond or lake. One thing that may confuse hikers is that these two trails overlap each other in one area – sort of like a highway with two route numbers. The Kettle and Kame Trail is only about a mile long, but passes over some unique hilly features that were formed when the last Ice Age ended.

The Forest Shadow Trail and the Zumbrunnen Trails are each a ½–mile long interpretive trails with brochures about the forestland and terrain. Of the two the Zumbrunnen, which is near Maria Lake is more scenic and informative. All the trails have small signs on a post about every mile that pinpoint where you are in the park. However, it would be hard to get too lost here, since there always seems to be someone else close-by.

Six miles of horseback riding are available here on trails through the woods, and I have seen quite a few horseback riders here at times. There is a separate area for horse trailers to park and for riders to saddle up. There is no horse rental operation in or near the park though. Cross-country skiing and snow shoeing is permitted in the park in the wintertime, but I have never done these activities here.

Camping
There are seventeen backpacking sites at Lake Maria State Park, which are scattered throughout the park. About half are grouped close together on the Bjorkland Trail, while others are quite isolated from each other. All the sites are within a 20-minute walk of parking areas. I have never camped in any of these sites, but I have stopped to check out a few that were unoccupied on my visits here.

Almost all the backpacking sites are heavily shaded, have picnic tables, and a fire pit. Some are on hilly areas while others are on level ground. There are also primitive toilets and drinkable water close-by. None is close to Maria Lake, but most are near a small lake or pond of some sort. They are all first-come, first-served and cannot be reserved in advance.

Although there is no car camping within this park, the park employees here manage Anne Lake Campground in nearby Sand Dune State Forest. It has 36 rustic campsites and they are available in a first-come, first-served basis.

There are three rustic camper cabins in Lake Maria State Park, which must be reserved in advance. They look like miniature log cabins with a small porch. Each one holds up to six people (in theory) and has a fire pit and picnic table. I have seen the cabins from the trail but they all had signs that read "Do Not Enter Unless You Have Reserved This Site". I imagine people were peeking in the windows to see that it looked like inside – which is what I wanted to do! The cabins have no facilities except for pit toilets, which are nearby.

There is a group camps sites, the Oak Hill and the Whitetail, and each holds about 50 people. I have never checked-out the groups camp but can see from a map that both are located on a small lake in the park’s northern end. Hiking trails are nearby.

Maria Lake
Maria Lake is the main feature of Lake Maria State Park (I don’t know why the word "lake" precedes "Maria" for the park’s name, but it does). It covers over 100 acres, has a tree-lined shore, and is surrounded by a safe haven for Bald Eagles, Osprey, numerous types of waterfowl, and various mammals. It's a very quiet lake and there are just a few tables and benches along the shore where people just hang out and relax.

A park brochure says that fishing is popular here, and that crappies, pike, and bullhead are the most commonly caught species. Canoeing and fishing are permitted on the lake, with boat rentals available from the park office. Boat motors are limited to just 20 horsepower since the lake is quite shallow and a wake would probably erode the shoreline.

Other
There is a Visitor's Center near the main parking lot, about 1 mile inside the park’s entranceway. This building is, quite frankly, ugly. It is about 1,000 square feet with a lot of odd angles and dark colors. The inside contains restrooms, some displays, a few tables, refreshment machines, and an area for programs by park rangers. It is dimly lit with more than a few cobwebs here and there.

Just outside of the Visitor's Center is the picnic area, which has about 10 picnic tables sitting in either direct sunlight or partial shade. The picnic area seems to be an afterthought, even though it has been there for years. There is nothing to look at besides the Visitor's Center and the parking lot. This is not the best park for a picnic.

There are rare Blanding's Turtles in the park and one of the roadways has a big "Turtle Crossing" sign where a pond abuts the pavement. I have stopped here a few times and have seen turtles sunning themselves on logs, but I don’t know if they were the rare ones.

If you go
Lake Maria State Park is about 40 minutes northwest of Minneapolis just off of Interstate 35, near Monticello, MN. There are signs along the highway indicating which exit to take. It is a little tricky to find the signs once off the highway since they are quite small. Look for route 39 out of Monticello and then turn north onto road number 111. There is a sign at the park's entrance but it is easy to pass-by before seeing it.

The best activities to do at Lake Maria State Park are hiking, fishing, watching wildlife, and backpack camping. There is not much else though. If you are staying any length of time you may run out of activities that interest you.

As of 2005 the park charges $7/day for each vehicle to enter, and for $25 you can buy an annual pass good at all Minnesota State Parks. The backpacking campsites cost $11 each night and cannot be reserved in advance. The Group Camp ranges in cost from about $30 to $40, and have to be reserved. Camper Cabins are $30/night. If you want to reserve a group site, camper cabin, or get information about the nearby Anne Lake Campground you’ll have to call the park office.

Nearby
Monticello is just a few miles south of the park. Gas, motels, shopping, and fast-food restaurants are everywhere. Take your pick.

Lake Maria State Park
11411 Clementa Avenue
Monticello, Minnesota 55362
Phone: (763) 878-2325

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/lake_maria/index.html

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© trailhound. 2005.

Recommended: Yes

Best time to go: June-August
Recommended for: Familes
Review Topic: Hiking & Trails