Where Gretchen the Lion once roared, park visitors will soon stroll
You wouldn’t guess it by strolling the grounds today, but the property Parks & Trails Council acquired for Charles A. Lindbergh State Park in 2020 was once famous for the menagerie of wild animals that lived there when it was the home of the Smuda Zoo.
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P&TC issues 9 grants to friends groups for habitat restoration projects
Nine volunteer-led friends groups will implement habitat restoration projects at Minnesota parks and trails this year with funds issued by Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota (P&TC). The projects include planting and protecting trees, removing invasive species, and collecting native plant seeds. The projects will ...
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Meet the North Star Ski Touring Club
With the pandemic driving people outdoors this winter, new enthusiasm built around cross country skiing. The North Star Ski Touring Club (NSSTC) is here to foster this newfound interest in the sport and get folks involved in stewardship of Nordic ski trails. While the pandemic ...
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Volunteers support bluebirds on Gateway State Trail
Bluebirds along the Gateway State Trail enjoy a helping hand from volunteers with the Gateway Brown’s Creek Trail Association (GBCTA). Since 2014, the friends group has maintained 16 houses each year, installing them in spring, monitoring the nests throughout summer, and cleaning and storing the ...
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Redwood County announces new camper cabins
Redwood County’s one and only park, Plum Creek Park, is proud to announce the addition of camper cabins for the 2021 camping season.
House Legislative committee hears our case for state trail rehab
On Tuesday, our staff presented at the House Capital Investment Committee to share our State of the Trails report.
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Spring News 2021 – Friends of Scandia
From Friends of Scandia Parks and Trails In This Issue William O'Brien pollinator survey Ecological management at Wind in the Pines Park Buckthorn removal Gateway Trail Extension Click image to download Go to friends' main page
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Parks & Trails Fun Quiz – March
March 2021 Fun Quiz 1 / 4 What is the largest source of fine particle pollution in Minnesota? Personal wood burning (wood stoves, boilers and campfires) Road transporation (cars, trucks, buses) Factory emissions (point source) According to the MnPCA, wood burning for campfires, stoves and ...
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Small Grants
Details Dig into the basics of small grants, from where to look for them, how they work, and what they can help you accomplish. Hear from Friends of the Jackson County Trails on their approach to getting grants—they share a lot of lessons learned! More ...
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Tracks & Trails – Winter 2021
From Glendalough Park Partners In This Issue Native Night Skies Legacy Giving President's Remarks Governor's Fishing Opener Walk 2021 Save the Date Vintage Glendalough Photo by: Walt Huss/P&TC Photo Contest Click image to download Go to friends' main page
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2019-2020 Youth Engagement Grant Projects In Review
In 2019, Parks & Trails Council launched a grant program designed as a partnership with friends groups to engage youth in parks and trails. In this first year of the program we began working with eight friends groups who identified innovative ways to engage youth ...
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Special Places Newsletter Winter 2021
From the president | Gov. proposes park permit increase | Lake Shetek State Park | Nature prescriptions | 5 ways nature makes us healthy | Adapting with friends groups | State Park project updates | Places & Friends: Chester Woods Park
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2021 Legislative Session underway
State park fee increases proposed in governor's budget Lawmakers convened the 2021 legislative session in early January in what will be one of the more unusual yet consequential sessions in recent memory. Legislators have a short but complex list of tasks: battling the ongoing COVID-19 ...
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History of Lake Shetek State Park
1862 Tensions escalate between the Dakota and white settlers leading to a group of Dakota attacking the Lake Shetek settlement in the early days of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. 1863 The bodies of the 15 white settlers who were killed in the attack are ...
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Saving a rare forested peninsula for Lake Shetek State Park
Parks & Trails Council secured a treasured landscape for Lake Shetek State Park during a live auction on Oct. 24, 2020. The sale is expected to be finalized by May. The 24.5-acre property, with 3,000 feet of lakeshore along Lake Shetek, was put up for ...
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