Fall – Neaton Adventures

Hyland Lake Park Reserve-Bloomington-Minnesota

November 4, 2023Posted in Adventure, hiking, Minnesota, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, Autumn, exploring, Fall, hiking, Hiking Adventures, Hyland Lake, Hyland Lake Park Reserve, Minnesota, nature photography, Outdoors, Parks, Three Rivers Park District6 Comments

Today’s hiking adventure was at Hyland Lake Park Reserve.

Watching the sunrise over Hyland Lake was a magical way to begin our adventure.

We followed the trail closest to the lake to enjoy all the views the lake had to offer.

Most of the brilliant fall colors are past their peak however, some trees are still holding strong.

We briefly hiked on the paved trail towards the Lake Trail. The Lake Trail was littered with crunchy leaves.

Hyland Lake looked like glass. The sun highlighted the trees across the lake creating a beautiful mirrored reflection.

We diverted from the Lake Trail and began hiking on Oak Knob Trail.

Frost still coated the tips of the grass.

As a sliver of ice coated the edges, it made some of the fallen leaves so artistic.

The rolling hills offered an impressive landscape.

We hiked on the paved trail to loop us back to our starting point.

Out of the corner of my eyes, something grabbed my attention. I stopped, backed up and took a good look through the trees. Boy, am I glad I did. A giant buck was laying down just out of view from people on the trail.

We made our way back to Hyland Lake. The clouds had rolled in and gave the lake a completely different appearance.

Today’s hiking adventure was 6 miles.

Frontenac State Park-Frontenac-Minnesota

October 28, 2023October 28, 2023Posted in Adventure, hiking, Minnesota, Minnesota State Parks, Mississippi River, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, exploring, Fall, Frontenac State Park, hiking, Hiking Adventures, In Yan Teopa, Lake Pepin, Minnesota, Minnesota State Parks, Mississippi River, nature photography, Outdoors, Parks1 Comment

Today’s hiking adventure was at Frontenac State Park.

The weather in Minnesota has begun to change, again. It was a bit chilly this morning with the temperature in the low 30’s. The wind whipped around us, keeping us on the move.

Our adventure began on the Riverview Trail. Golden leaves paved the way towards the Mississippi River Overlook.

We veered off the paved trail to hike the Upper Bluff Trail. It was hard to see where the trail was at times due to all the fallen leaves.

We took in another overlook of the river as we made our way towards In Yan Teopa Rock.

In Yan Teopa is a giant rock with a hole in it. The view from the overlook allowed us to view only the top of the rock.

As we made our way down towards the Lower Bluff Trail a sign was posted warning people of the rough terrain ahead. Spoiler alert, the trail was rough, but definitely worth it.

In Yan Teopa came into view as we made our way down the bluff. An amazing sight!

Down down down we went…

Large boulders were coated with a vibrant green moss. We really enjoyed the contrast of colors on this hike.

We made our way down to the river.

Nature always astounds me! Check out this interesting rock and design in the trunk of a tree we found.

Finding the trail was tricky at times.

So many large boulders made their home along the bluff.

We continued along the trail and eventually made our way back down to the river.

More interesting designs were found in the trees located by the river.

Up the bluffs we went. There was a bit of a human traffic jam as we made our way up. Everyone was stopping to rest and breathe. I, too, was one of those people trying to catch my breath. The only photos I took on the way up were of the colorful leaves on the ground.

Near the top, we passed through the former Frontenac Quarry.

We enjoyed all the views of Lake Pepin which is a lake on the Mississippi River.

Today’s hiking adventure was 3.7 miles.

Bethel Haunted Forest-East Bethel-Minnesota

October 18, 2023Posted in Adventure, hiking, Minnesota, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, Bethel Haunted Forest, East Bethel, exploring, Fall, Haunted Forest, Haunted Hikes, hiking, Hiking Adventures, Minnesota, nature photography, Outdoors, Parks3 Comments

We hiked Bethel Haunted Forest October 17^th, 2023.

Fall is definitely here! The smell, sound, and sight of the colorful leaves were amazing for our senses.

The afternoon sun filtered through the trees creating an incredible site.

We found sooooo many magical mushrooms along the winding trails.

Even the old tree stumps looked surreal.

The haunted forest used to be host to a spooky event put on by the Bethel Fire Department. The props were left in the forest for hikers and bikers to explore.

Ghosts swayed in the wind as they hung from the trees.

Skeleton heads as well as bones were randomly placed throughout the forest.

A few gravestones scattered themselves throughout the forest.

Finding baby dolls hanging upside down nailed to the trees was rather creepy though.

Most of the old scary buildings had seen better days.

Hansel and Gretel apparently won the fight over the evil witch that was trying to eat them for dinner.

We even found a few random items hanging from trees.

I would have loved to have seen the haunted forest in its prime. There are so many places for creepy characters to hide and jump out at people.

Our hiking adventure was 5 miles.

St. Croix State Park-Hinckley-Minnesota

October 12, 2023Posted in Adventure, hiking, Minnesota, Minnesota State Parks, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, exploring, Fall, Fire Tower, hiking, Hiking Adventures, hinckley, Kettle River, Minnesota, Minnesota State Parks, nature photography, Outdoors, Parks, St. Croix State Park4 Comments

We hiked St. Croix State Park on October 8^th, 2023.

The fire tower was our first destination. The fall colors were at a minimum. We noticed quiet a few trees were already bare, so we may have missed some of the bright red and orange fall colors. I absolutely love the views from fire towers.

Our hiking adventure began at post #13 on the Matthew Lourey State Park Trail. There were so many leaves on the ground. The crunching leaves added a cool soundtrack to our hike.

We crossed over Bear Creek.

The trail led us to a large open field. A sign posted nearby said the area is used as a helicopter evacuation site. Thankfully, we didn’t need to be evacuated.

The sound of the Kettle River crashing across the rocks as it flowed by us was so relaxing. A guy fishing nearby said the river was higher today due to all the rain we have had recently.

Hiking on the Kettle River Highbanks Trail allowed us to hike near the river.

The overlook of the Kettle River was stunning! The blue water reflecting off the brilliant blue sky was incredible.

Chapel Grove Trail looped us back to our starting point.

The fire tower in the distance.

A small pond mirrored the clouds above.

A fall hike is never complete without finding mushrooms, and we found a giant mushroom patch!

Our hiking adventure was 9.3 miles.

Kaplan’s Woods Parkway-Owatonna-Minnesota

November 6, 2022Posted in Adventure, hiking, Minnesota, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, exploring, Fall, hiking, Hiking Adventures, Kaplan's Woods Park, Lake Kohlmier, Minnesota, nature photography, Outdoors, Owatonna, Parks, Straight River2 Comments

Today’s hiking adventure began at Kaplan’s Wood Park.

The temperature was a cool 44 degrees and the sun was beginning to shine as we began our adventure. Thick leaves layered the unpaved trail.

Pumpkins were scattered throughout the park for the critters.

There were maps throughout the park, however, they were not incredibly helpful. The different trails seemed to wind around the forest haphazardly. At times we wondered… “have we been on this trail already?”

Our mushroom friends helped us remember which trails we had been on before.

Raindrops laid gently on the leaves from last night’s rain.

Straight River flowed through the park.

We left Kaplan’s Woods and hiked to Lake Kohlmier. The wind was so strong it almost blew us into the lake from the dock.

The bridge brought us to a small island. Ducks were swimming all around us and the geese could be heard gossiping with each other in the distance.

Today’s hiking adventure was 6.6 miles.

Salem Hills Park-Inver Grove Heights-Minnesota

October 22, 2022Posted in Adventure, hiking, Minnesota, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, exploring, Fall, Fall colors, hiking, Hiking Adventures, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, nature photography, Outdoors, Parks, Salem Hills Park4 Comments

Today’s hiking adventure began at Salem Hills Park.

The end of October is always bitter sweet. We are in the season of letting go. There are more leaves on the ground than on the trees. Fall colors are beginning to fade and the air is getting cold. Today though, may have been the perfect fall day. The sun was shining, the temperature was warm, and there was a cool breeze blowing.

The park is made up of unpaved shared hiking and biking trails.

Hiking through the birch tree groves was incredible. The changing colors of the leaves popped alongside the white bark.

The trail led us to a small pond.

Mushrooms were enjoying the weather too!

The trail looped around the park offering an amazing view of the spectacular fall colors.

Today’s hiking adventure was 5.3 miles.

Quarry Park and Nature Preserve-Waite Park-Minnesota

September 24, 2022Posted in Adventure, hiking, Minnesota, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, exploring, Fall, hiking, Hiking Adventures, Minnesota, nature photography, Outdoors, Parks, Quarries, Quarry Park and Nature Preserve, Waite Park5 Comments

Today’s hiking adventure began at Quarry Park and Nature Preserve.

Ah, the crisp fall air felt wonderful as we began our hike into the park. There are many different unpaved trails throughout the park that weave around the 20 different quarries. Saint Cloud Red Granite was quarried from the land with operations ending in the mid 1950’s. Quarry Park and Nature Preserve opened in 1998. Along with hiking, biking and skiing, people are able to swim, SCUBA dive and rock climb in designated areas.