The wild and scenic Kettle River runs through Banning with its multi-faceted beauty. It’s like a Jekyll and Hyde river that changes from dramatic sheer cliffs along roiling rapids to grassy shorelines along gently meandering waters.
The trails follow the river and traverse the boulder-strewn landscape covered in pines, aspens, and maples. It’s a wonderland with many nooks and crannies created by the boulders. In the late 1800s, Banning became famous as a sandstone quarry. That didn’t last long, though, as steel became the material of choice by the early 1900s, prompting the quarry to close. This was shortly after the great Hinckley forest fire of 1894 that swept through the area. The area became a park in 1963, and today, visitors can see remains of the old quarry along a self-guided interpretive trail.
In 1993, a key area of Banning State Park was up for sale. The land was located just south of the most used area in the park with the Kettle River running through it. The scenic shoreline on both sides provides ideal land for recreational trails. The Minnesota DNR was originally given the option to purchase from the owners, but did not receive enough legislative funding to act. We were able to step in to act as an intermediary to purchase the land that year and incorporate it into the park the following year.
This land is truly special as a destination for climbers due to its unique limestone boulders ideal for bouldering. For years, member of the Minnesota Climbers Association (MCA) had come here with the owners’ permission and grew connected to this place.
Eventually however the landowners’ situation changed and they put the land up for sale. The future use of the land for climbers was unlikely with a new private owner.
MCA came to P&TC and together we acquired the 108-acre parcel for the park. During the 17 months when we owned the land, we facilitated discussions between MCA and park managers to allow climbing while protecting vulnerable resources. By the summer 2014 Banning became the fifth state park to allow climbing. During this time we worked with MCA to build a road, parking area and trails to the bouldering area.