Carley State Park

A small park but it packs a punch. The wildflowers were fantastic, including Virginia Blue bells, rue anenome, nodding trillium, phlox, violet, columbine and more. Some of the stepping stones were underwater and the creek was running fast. The hiking club trail is definitely the star trail of this park. There was a lovely picnic ground and camping (non-electric). This is really close to Whitewater State Park, one of my favorite parks in Minnesota, and so can be visited as part of a camping trip staying either here or at Whitewater.

The Virginia Bluebells are blooming! This is such a beautiful park. It's great for a hike or a picnic. There are trails throughout the park with various difficulty levels. The incredible Whitewater State Park is only 15 minutes away, so you can see then both while you're in the area. Campgrounds here also if you way to stay a while and really enjoy it.

We had a little trouble understanding the maps but that ended up leading us on a few trails we might not have taken. Especially the very steep incline that led to the overlook. It was worth every minute of the hike just to see the valley and bluffs from that vantage point. The path is only a single file deer path, but that made it even more enjoyable if you want to experience nature at its core. We are trying to do the passport club and visit all the Minnesota state parks and this was our first stamp!

I think Carley State Park is a hidden gem, but I would suggest it for slightly more seasoned campers. I brought my kids this last weekend and while I have lots of camping experience they didn't and the lack of more common amenities at other MN state parks was observed and caused some discussion and adjustment. That said, it has many beautiful trails that all can be hiked by a 3 and 5 year old with some assistance (dad carried them) at times. There was a swing set for the kids but the park is largely unmonitored so they did not have some of the activities we've taken advantage of in the past. The sites were nice and standard like most parks, but there were no flushable toilets, showers, or park buildings. The bugs were to a minimum and the hiking trails were beautiful around the river. There is some damage to the river crossings but it is managable, however not the safest. This is a small park and locals tell me that the river is stocked with plenty of trout!!! Lots of people fishing!