St. Croix State Park – Neaton Adventures

St. Croix State Park-Hinckley-Minnesota

October 12, 2025Posted in Adventure, Christi Neaton, hiking, Hiking Minnesota, Minnesota, Minnesota State Parks, Nature, Outdoors, Photography, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, Christi Neaton, exploring, hiking, Hiking Adventures, Hiking fall in Minnesota, Kettle River, Minnesota, Minnesota State Parks, nature photography, Outdoors, St. Croix State Park5 Comments

Today’s hiking adventure was at St. Croix State Park.

We began our adventure at the fire tower.

The change in weather, colorful trees, and crunchy footsteps, I LOVE IT ALL!!! I may have taken a few hundred photos today. Sit back and enjoy a little bit of fall from my part of the world!

Our hike began at the Kettle River Highbanks Scenic Vista Trail.

The Kettle River

We continued on the Kettle River Highbanks Trail.

The crunching sound of our boots stepping on the leaves is so relaxing.

Another Kettle River Overlook

Two Rivers Trail was the next trail we hiked.

It’s not fall without finding mushrooms and feathers along the trail.

The confluence of the St. Croix River and Kettle River.

The blue sky sure was trying to show through the thick clouds.

The trail veered away from the river.

We hiked the road back to our starting point.

Today’s hiking adventure was 8 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.

St. Croix State Park-Hinckley-Minnesota

June 7, 2022June 8, 2022Posted in Adventure, hiking, Minnesota, Minnesota State Parks, Nature, Photography, UncategorizedTagged Adventure, exploring, hiking, Hiking Adventures, hinckley, Minnesota, Minnesota State Parks, nature photography, Outdoors, Parks, St. Croix River, St. Croix State Park, Summer6 Comments

We hiked St. Croix State Park June 3rd, 2022.

As we drove into the park, we noticed that the main park office was 5 miles off the highway. Wow, this park must be gigantic was our first thought. Yep, it is!! St. Croix State Park is the largest state park in Minnesota at over 33,000 Acres!

Our first stop was the Fire Tower. The Fire Tower was built in 1937 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. With 134 steps to the top and 100 feet tall, we were up for the challenge.

As soon as we cleared the top of the trees, a gust of wind hit us and our adrenaline kicked in. No stopping now, we had to make it to the top. We continued our climb to the top for a breathtaking view.

With a rush of energy, we were ready to begin our hiking adventure. We drove to the St. Croix Lodge to hike the trails closest to the St. Croix River. Behind the lodge we found a trail leading down to the river.

The River Bluff Trail was the next trail we hiked.

There were a couple of interesting nature finds on this hike. The first, a tree completely burned to a crisp surrounded by other lush trees. Second, we found a communal nest of caterpillars… kind of cool, kind of gross.