Meet Our Friends Group Partners

Together, we network and collaborate to support parks and trails across Minnesota.

Additionally, Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota is proud to act as the fiscal sponsor for some Friends Groups. As a fiscal sponsor we manage their financial accounting records and process online donations.

You may Donate to support a fiscally sponsored Friends Group.

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Bluemounds

State Park

Friends of Blue Mounds State Park

A community organization devoted to enhancing the experience of Blue Mounds State Park.​
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Logo with a tent and moon

Camden

State Park

Friends of Camden State Park

Supporting and promoting Camden State Park since 2000.
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Logo: Frontenac State Park Association

Frontenac

State Park

Friends of Frontenac State Park

Working to preserve, protect and enhance Frontenac State Park and its surroundings.
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Logo of Glendalough State Park featuring silhouettes of cattail plants emerging from wavy lines representing water, with the text "Glendalough State Park" arched above the image. Perfect for groups or friends looking to explore nature together.

Glendalough

State Park

Glendalough Park Partners

Assist the MnDNR in preserving and utilizing Glendalough State Park.
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A circular logo with "Friends of Itasca" in white text on a green background. It features trees at the top, a river at the bottom, and a white vertical shape on the left side. The logo is encircled by a blue border with a white circle at the top left.

Itasca

State Park

Friends of Itasca State Park

An all-volunteer group that raises money for projects that are needed at the park.
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Logo for Friends of Lake Bemidji State Park. It features the organization's name in cursive brown text and an illustration of a tree and bridge within a light yellow oval.

Lake Bemidji

State Park

Friends of Lake Bemidji State Park

Support and enhance the resources of Lake Bemidji State Park.
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Lake Louise

State Park

Friends of Lake Louise State Park

Support the operations and increase awareness of the park.
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Logo for Friends of Lake Maria shows an egret flying over a marsh.

Lake Maria

State Park

Friends of Lake Maria State Park

The Friends of Lake Maria State Park work together to preserve the park’s environment and support park activities
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Lake Shetek

State Park

Friends of Lake Shetek State Park

To provide support for reasonable improvement, maintenance, protection and expansion of Lake Shetek State Park for the benefit of present and future generations.
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Logo of Friends of Maplewood State Park featuring stylized human figures surrounded by vibrant leaf shapes in green, yellow, orange, and red. The text reads "Friends of Maplewood State Park" in a combination of cursive and sans-serif fonts, symbolizing a close-knit group dedicated to the park's preservation.

Maplewood

State Park

Friends of Maplewood State Park

To support and encourage the park’s recreational, interpretive, educational and environmental activities through leadership, volunteerism, program development, and fund raising.
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Minneopa

State Park

Friends of Minneopa State Park

Work with Minneopa State Park to preserve, manage, and promote the resources of the park.
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Nerstrand Big Woods

State Park

Friends of Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

A community organization devoted to preserving and enhancing the experience of Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.
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Rice Lake

State Park

Friends of Rice Lake State Park

To support and promote the natural resources in and around Rice Lake State Park and to facilitate outdoor recreational opportunities.
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Savanna Portage

State Park

Friends of Savanna Portage State Park

Support and encourage use of the park’s recreational, interpretive, educational, and environmental activities through leadership, volunteerism, program development, and fundraising.
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Logo of Sibley State Park Improvement Association featuring a circular emblem with a heron standing among cattails on the left, surrounded by the text "Sibley State Park," and the association's name in capital letters to the right.

Sibley

State Park

Sibley State Park Improvement Association

To promote public interest in Sibley State Park and Glacial Lakes State Trail and to help enhance and enlarge the park, while encouraging its protection and enjoyment.
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Tettegouche

State Park

Friends of Tettegouche State Park

Support and encourage the park’s recreational, interpretive, educational and environmental activities.
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Whitewater

State Park

Friends of Whitewater State Park

Education, fundraising and other activities to sustain the organization’s vision and goals for Whitewater State Park and sustaining the park’s ecology, natural beauty and cultural history.
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Wild River

State Park

Friends of Wild River State Park

A community organization devoted to preserving and enhancing the experience of Wild River State Park.
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Silhouette of a person fishing against a sunset. A bird flies nearby. Text reads "Partners of Zippel Bay State Park." A lighthouse is visible on the horizon.

Zippel Bay

State Park

Friends of Zippel Bay State Park

Our mission is to support and encourage Zippel Bay State Park’s year-round recreational, interpretive, educational, and environmental activities.
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Brown's Creek

State Trails

Gateway Brown's Creek Trail Association

Represent trail users to the DNR and the State Legislature.
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Casey Jones

State Trail

Friends of the Casey Jones State Trail

Advocate for the continued development of the trail.
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Central Lakes

State Trail

Central Lakes Trail Association

To promote the Central Lakes Trail as a destination to the region and communities along the trail.
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Chester Woods

State Trail

Chester Woods Trail Group

Support the establishment of a biking and hiking trail between Rochester and Eyota, with connections to nearby state trails.

Gateway

State Trails

Gateway Brown's Creek Trail Association

Represent trail users to the DNR and the State Legislature.
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Gitchi Gami

State Trail

Gitchi Gami Trail Association

Work with MnDOT and DNR in the planning, development, construction, maintenance, and promotion of the trail, and to organize trail activities, including the Annual Ride.
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Goodhue Pioneer

State Trail

Goodhue Pioneer Trail Association

Provide the developmental and promotional efforts to ensure the on-going maintenance and vitality of the trail for the benefit of its users and communities.
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Heartland

State Trail

Itasca-Heartland Trail Citizen Committee

To determine a preferred route for a state multi-use trail from the Heartland State Trail outside Park Rapids to Itasca State Park and encourage its development.
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Mill Towns

State Trail

Mill Towns Trail Group

Support the continued development of the Mill Towns State Trail.
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Logo for Prairie Visions Shooting Star Trail Scenic Byway, crafted with Elementor, featuring stylized text and an illustration of a flowering plant.

Shooting Star

State Trail

Shooting Star

For 25 years the main activity has been in supporting the Shooting Star State Trail and Shooting Star Scenic Byway.
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Willard Munger

State Trail

Munger South Trail Group

A grassroots organization of cycling enthusiasts that advocates for improvements of the Willard Munger State Trail throughout Pine County and southern Carlton County.
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A metal sculpture of a bird with outstretched wings, covered in snow, is set in a snowy field with bare trees in the background. Text at the bottom reads "Friends of Anderson Park.

Irving & John Anderson

Regional Park

Friends of Anderson Park

Preserve the natural beauty and primitive nature of the park and assist Isanti County with its planning, development and maintenance of facilities.
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Logo for Back Country Horsemen of America with silhouettes of horses and riders, "BCHA" text, and "Minnesota" written below in bold letters, highlighting Friends Group Partners.

Back Country Horsemen of Minnesota

Statewide System

Back Country Horsemen of Minnesota

The Back Country Horsemen of Minnesota share a love for horses and advocate a combination of service and education to keep public lands open to equine use.
BCHM website →

Bertram Chain of Lakes

Regional Park

Friends of Bertram Chain of Lakes Regional Park

Provide grassroots support to conserve the Bertram Chain of Lakes as a regional park for the public to enjoy, and as an irreplaceable natural and community resource for current and future generations.
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Border Route

Regional Trail

Border Route Trail Association

To coordinate the maintenance of and increase public awareness of the Border Route Hiking Trail.
BRTA website →
A green and white logo with a nature scene featuring trees, a winding path, and a flying bird. Below the image, text reads "Friends of Chester Woods" with an acorn replacing the letter "O" in "Woods.

Chester Woods

Regional Park

Friends of Chester Woods Regional Park

Support the educational, environmental, and recreational goals of Chester Woods Park.
Friends' Website →

Chisago County

Regional Trail

Chisago County Parks and Trails Foundation

Chisago County Parks & Trails Foundation works to create and celebrate the outdoors of Chisago County through trails
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A road sign with a black arrowhead shape bordered in red reads "Glacial Ridge Trail" above "Scenic Byway" in black text on a white background, highlighting the efforts of Friends Group Partners to preserve this scenic route.

Glacial Ridge

Regional Trail

Glacial Ridge Trail Association

To develop strategies that promote, preserve, enhance, and interpret the rich culture and historic resources, scenic beauty and recreational resources of the region of the Glacial Ridge Trail Scenic Byway.
GRT website →

Jackson County

Regional Trail

Friends of Jackson County Trails

To develop a trail system throughout Jackson County to bring families, friends, and communities together by providing economic opportunity, improving the quality of life, and offering a safer means of outdoor activity.
Jackson Co Trails website →
Circular logo featuring a stylized map, red and yellow gradient background, green foreground, and the text "Trail Lake Vermilion Friends Group Partners" at the bottom.

Lake Vermilion

Regional Trail

Friends of Lake Vermilion Trail

Support in building a premier, paved, scenic trail that provides an opportunity for healthy, safe, non-motorized, year-round, transportation and recreation and connects Cook and Tower/Soudan in the beautiful natural landscape south of Lake Vermilion for residents and visitors.
FLVT website →

Lashbrook

City Park (Northfield)

Friends of Lashbrook Park

Preserve, maintain, and enhance Lashbrook Park as a natural, passive park for all people in all seasons to enjoy nature and refresh their souls.
Logo for Friends of Minnehaha Park, a Friends Group Partners organization, featuring a stylized waterfall, flowers, and greenery inside a blue shield with the group’s name in bold blue text to the right.

Minnehaha

Regional Park

Friends of Minnehaha Park

Provide stewardship and advocacy for the park, engage with the community to respect, and learn about the environment and cultural history of the park, and partner with the Park Board and community to foster public engagement.
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Minnesota Nordic Ski Association

Statewide System

Minnesota Nordic Ski Association

Promotes education, recognition, involvement, and competition of cross country skiing and ski trails across Minnesota.
MNSA website →
Logo for North Star Ski Touring Club, a Friends Group, featuring silhouettes of people cross-country skiing and the club name in bold text above and below the images.

North Star Ski Touring Club

Statewide System

North Star Ski Touring Club

The North Star Ski Touring Club’s mission is to enjoy and promote the development of cross-country skiing through group activities, education and trail development.
NSST website →
Logo for NorthStar Trail Travelers features a hiker inside a Minnesota outline, trees, a loon, boot prints, and the text "Dedicated to Walking in Our State Parks"—celebrating Friends Group Partners who support local trails.

NorthStar Trail Travelers

Statewide System

NorthStar Trail Travelers

The NorthStar Trail Travelers is a unique Folkssports club that holds walking and snowshoeing events primarily in Minnesota state parks, trails, forests, and recreation areas.
NSTT website →
Black and white logo for Friends of Oxbow, MN, created with Friends Group Partners, features icons for playscape, camp, trails, and zoo alongside trees, a moon, and a deer.

Oxbow

Regional Park

Friends of Oxbow Regional Park

Support the educational, environmental, and recreational goals of Oxbow Park.
FORP website →

Scandia

Parks and Trails

Friends of Scandia Parks and Trails

Protect and enhance the parks, trails, open space and natural areas in the City of Scandia.
Friends' Facebook →