Excerpts from article in the Long Prairie Leader

“Conservation ethic saved tall pines of Scenic State Park for future generations”

by Sue Farmer

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The People’s Park

As millions of board feet of pine succumbed to the ax and saw in northern Minnesota at the dawn of the 20th century, a group of forward-thinking conservationists joined together to save the pine forests around Coon and Sandwick lakes.

They lobbied long and hard to preserve the virgin red and white pine stands surrounding the two lakes located seven miles west of Bigfork. In 1921 their heroic efforts resulted in the designation of the area as Scenic State Park. Those folks are gone now, but what a legacy they left us. The 3,360 acre park preserves not only the trees, but the shorelines of Coon, Sandwick, Cedar, Pine, Tell and Lake of the Isles. There is limited human development in the park and the lake shores are not cluttered with cabins and lake homes. The area looks and feels much the same as it did several hundred years ago. The primary residents of the park are its wildlife, although over 56,000 humans drop by to visit every year.

The park’s hiking trails are exquisite. The trails make the dense forest accessible and one could spend several days exploring this park, its ridges, its valleys, its hills, its lakes. The pines, birches and hardwoods are mature and magnificent, but also along the trails are beautiful woodland wildflowers–asters, Queen’s Anne’s Lace, woodland sunflowers, buttercups and many more. Along the lake shores grow cattails, swamp milkweed and yellow flag iris. White and yellow water lilies sparkle in every bay and backwater.

More than 40 species of wildlife call Scenic State Park home, including:

• white-tailed deer
• moose
• otters
• beavers
• eagles
• osprey
• loons
• pileated woodpeckers
• Canadian geese
• host of songbirds
• 14 species of amphibians and reptiles

The park is located in Itasca County, seven miles east of Bigfork on County Road 7. To reach the Bigfork, head north out of Grand Rapids on State Highway 38 and travel about 40 miles or so. For the last 25 miles of the journey the highway winds its way through the Chippewa National Forest and a couple of state forests.

The park is undergoing several improvements this summer that may cause a few delays, but the result will be a much more accessible park. The park’s main road is being paved and a new cement sidewalk is being built to serve the picnic area on Coon Lake.

But, for those who want to get away from it all, peace and solitude are just a short hike away. The park’s trail system is extensive, covering 16 miles. There are two miles of self guided interpretive trails. Osprey and Chase Point Trails have interpretive signs as does the bog walk section of the Fire Tower Trail. Trails in the park are rated easy to moderate and wind their way around the lakes, through the tall pines. A boardwalk covers one tenth of a mile and allows visitors a close-up look at the park’s unique bog plants.

In winter the park maintains 10 miles of groomed snowmobile trails and six miles of cross country ski tails. Snow shoeing is allowed anywhere in the park except on groomed trails.

The centerpieces of the park are Coon Lake and its neighbor Sandwick Lake. Both lakes are large, crystal clear, and loaded with fish and other aquatic life. The lakes are contained entirely inside the park’s boundaries, saving them from runoff that has damaged so many of the state’s other lakes. High quality fishing opportunities for walleye, northern bass and panfish attract many people to the park.

The park has 95 drive-in camping sites. There are 20 pull-through sites for recreational vehicles and two handicapped accessible campsites. There are two backpack camping areas, five canoe-in sites and one group camp site.

There are 66 state parks in Minnesota, six recreation areas, eight wayside rests and one state trail, preserving 244,000 acres for this and future generations. In 2000, some 8.5 million people visited the state’s park system. Two state parks are located within 30 miles of Long Prairie, Lindbergh State Park in Little Falls and Lake Carlos State Park near Alexandria–check them out, one doesn’t have to travel far from home to have a great state park adventure.

Information for this article was provided by the DNR and through personal observation