We hiked Wild River State Park June 3rd, 2022.

Our hiking adventure started on the River Trail by the Visitor Center.

The plant life was so lush and green alongside the unpaved River Trail. Large ferns were growing everywhere! Song birds gifted us with a wonderful soundtrack as we hiked.

The royal blue sky reflected off the calm St. Croix River.

We crossed over Spring Creek.

Due to all the rain we have had this year, sections of the ground were flooded. It created an almost swampy feel to the land. My cousin teased that we would stumble across an alligator.

Dragonflies danced all around us.

The trail led us to the Nevers Dam Overlook. The history of this location is interesting. Nevers Dam stretched across the river connecting Minnesota and Wisconsin. In the late 1800’s, large logs used to be sent past this location as they made their way to the sawmills down river. In 1903, Northern States Power Company purchased the dam as a way to control the water flow for the hydroelectric dam being built downstream. The dam was removed in 1955 after it was damaged by flood waters. I saw no remnants of the dam, just a beautiful overlook.

A beautiful fine sand beach was next to the Nevers Dam Overlook.

The last part of the River Trail looped us close by the river.

We hiked the Old Logging Trail back towards the visitor center.

Our hiking adventure was 5.3 miles.