Buffalo River State Park Near Gylndon, Minnesota
The Buffalo River State Park near Glyndon Minnesota is a beautiful natural area that has many attractions. You can take an afternoon stroll down some great paths in the restored prairies or spend the weekend camping in one of the parks over seventy sites.
The Buffalo River State Park was started in 1937 as a natural park for the state. In 1982 the Bluestem Prairie was designated as a State Scientific and Natural Area to help restore and preserve natural prairies.
With both the Bluestem Prairie and the Buffalo River State Park there is a total of 5,000 square acres of land that is protected prairie. The state has undertaken the job of preserving this prairie for the future.
The park is fourteen miles due east on highway Ten from Moorhead Minnesota, along the Buffalo River. It is about 230 miles from Minneapolis Minnesota.
The park has undergone some great improvements recently, mostly the man made swimming pond with it’s handicapped access, change rooms, and filtered water system.
The park is a great getaway for naturalists, outdoor lovers and sightseers. There are twelve miles of hiking paths for you to see the hardwoods along the Buffalo River as well as the prairies of the Midwest.
There are over 300 native prairie plant species in the prairie area with 200 species of birds and 40 species of mammals. The prairies restoration has been an important part of the park since it’s start in 1982.
A prairie is a natural area that was an important part of the Midwest and Western United States natural ecosystems. Prairies contain natural and wild grasses, plants and animals and have an important role in nature.
They gave natural food and breeding areas to many species of animals such as the Buffalo, White-tailed Deer and Prairie Chicken. These animals were an abundant food source for the settlers as they crossed the great prairies heading west.
Prairies are an interesting ecosystem, they require care and management to maintain them for future generations. Each year the state along with The Natural Conservancy conducts controlled burns of prairie areas to provide the needed regeneration of the prairie.
Burns are needed for many reasons. Some species of plants and small trees need a burn to open seeds, it keeps invading brush and trees from the prairie areas and consumes plant litter, preventing the litter from suffocating the plants and returning nutrients to the soil.
The Friends of Buffalo River State Park is a great not for profit group that helps the park raise funds to ensure the park is here for future generations to enjoy.
There is a fee to enter the park of $7 or an annual State Parks permit for $25, good at any Minnesota State Park for that year.
The park has year round access and camping facilities available with both winter and summer restroom facilities.
You can make reservations for camping for a non-fundable $8.50 charge. Camping fees are $11 for rustic sites with no showers or electric and $15 for those amenities. Electric and sewage hook ups are available for extra fees.
There is a list of fees to the park at their web site.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/fees.html
Group camping is available for $45 to $75 for large groups and need to be reserved in advance. There is also an enclosed picnic shelter that can be reserved by calling the park or reserving it online. You can go to the Minnesota Department of Natural resources to reserve campsites or the picnic shelter.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/reservations.html
The park has occasional activities at the various parks and they can be found here.
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/events/index.html?keywords=stpk
While I was there over the past weekend they had an Aquatic Wildlife display by the volunteers and staff of the nearby Minnesota State University Moorhead’s Regional Science Center.
The center is a great place on 300 acres of prairie and woodlands where they conduct year round activities for schools and the public including wildlife research, geology and astronomy.
They have a reflecting telescope in the adjacent planetarium and conduct programs in the center as well as self guided nature trails and youth group programs.
The center is just down the road from the state park, about a mile from the front gate. You can find out more information about The Regional Science Center here.
http://www.mnstate.edu/regsci/
There are trails are open during the winter for cross country skiing along with a warming house near the parks picnic area. The park maintains six miles of ski trails and allows snow shoeing anywhere in the park except the ski trails.
When I visited the park, I enjoyed the hiking along some of the paths were I saw not only chipmunks, squirrels and various species of birds but a white-tailed deer not thirty feet up one of the trails.
The kids went swimming in the very nice swimming lake with it’s sidewalk access and life guards on duty. We topped off our stay with a picnic, the area for day activities has many tables and grills for use.
I really enjoyed my stay at the Buffalo River State Park and will be going back soon. The park has many opportunities for fun and enjoyment even if you are not an outdoor type person. Nearby are two golf courses, one right next to the park.
Another golf course is in nearby Detroit Lakes, the Ironman golf course is a professional course with a pro shop and all the amenities.
Fargo Moorhead is fifteen miles away with many fun things you can do there. The two cities have many shopping opportunities and there are other activities that you can check out online here.
The Buffalo River State Park is a great trip, whether for an afternoon, day or weekend event. If you’d rather not brave the great outdoors camping you can stay in nearby Fargo-Moorhead or Detroit Lakes for an overnight trip that your sure to enjoy and remember.
