Minnesota state parks
Minnesota state parks: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources publishes 64 state parks and 9 state recreation areas, as of 6 September 2026.
The directory is those units after the named PAD-US exclusions.
Parks Manager does not check campsite openings and does not finish a booking.
PAD-US still carries Minnesota at its 2015 DNR contribution. The agency count date is on the source row.
How the count is made
The agency page used as the control total is dated 6 September 2026.
The reconciled catalog holds 64 state parks and 9 state recreation areas.
Units the agency no longer counts
PAD-US still carried these rows. They are omitted from the table because the agency page says they are not part of the system.
- Upper Sioux Agency State Park closed permanently on 2024-02-16; the land was returned to the Upper Sioux Community under Minnesota Laws 2023 ch. 60 and ch. 72. Source
- Hill Annex Mine State Park was deauthorized as a state park by the Minnesota Legislature in 2024; the site returns to active iron mining. Source
- Ray Berglund is a state wayside rather than a state recreation area. Source
Where overnight stays are reserved
Minnesota overnight stays are reserved on US eDirect. Parks Manager names the desk and leaves the booking there.
A statewide reservation desk is not a park-wide entry reservation. Driving into a Minnesota state park does not require a timed-entry permit from US eDirect.
The reconciled list
Names, designations, and acreage come from PAD-US. A competitor with the same file can regenerate the columns. The agency count, the named exclusions, and the reservation desk are the reason this page exists.
| Name | Designation | Acres | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afton State Park | State Park | 1,599 | Open |
| Banning State Park | State Park | 5,248 | Open |
| Bear Head Lake State Park | State Park | 4,307 | Open |
| Beaver Creek Valley State Park | State Park | 744 | Open |
| Big Bog State Recreation Area | State Recreation Area | 9,128 | Open |
| Big Stone Lake State Park | State Park | 1,022 | Open |
| Blue Mounds State Park | State Park | 1,585 | Open |
| Buffalo River State Park | State Park | 1,338 | Open |
| Camden State Park | State Park | 1,804 | Open |
| Carley State Park | State Park | 209 | Open |
| Cascade River State Park | State Park | 2,595 | Open |
| Charles A. Lindbergh State Park | State Park | 434 | Open |
| Crow Wing State Park | State Park | 2,625 | Open |
| Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area | State Recreation Area | 2,909 | Open |
| Father Hennepin State Park | State Park | 285 | Open |
| Flandrau State Park | State Park | 820 | Open |
| Forestville Mystery Cave State Park | State Park | 3,326 | Open |
| Fort Ridgely State Park | State Park | 552 | Open |
| Fort Snelling State Park | State Park | 2,586 | Open |
| Franz Jevne State Park | State Park | 88 | Open |
| Frontenac State Park | State Park | 2,367 | Open |
| Garden Island State Recreation Area | State Recreation Area | 526 | Open |
| George H. Crosby Manitou State Park | State Park | 6,143 | Open |
| Glacial Lakes State Park | State Park | 1,929 | Open |
| Glendalough State Park | State Park | 1,920 | Open |
| Gooseberry Falls State Park | State Park | 1,659 | Open |
| Grand Portage State Park | State Park | 245 | Open |
| Great River Bluffs State Park | State Park | 2,127 | Open |
| Greenleaf Lake State Recreation Area | State Recreation Area | 384 | Open |
| Hayes Lake State Park | State Park | 2,727 | Open |
| Interstate State Park | State Park | 272 | Open |
| Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle State Recreation Area | State Recreation Area | 3,526 | Open |
| Itasca State Park | State Park | 29,213 | Open |
| Jay Cooke State Park | State Park | 7,834 | Open |
| John A. Latsch State Park | State Park | 380 | Open |
| Judge C. R. Magney State Park | State Park | 4,240 | Open |
| Kilen Woods State Park | State Park | 215 | Open |
| La Salle Lake State Recreation Area | State Recreation Area | 988 | Open |
| Lac qui Parle State Park | State Park | 657 | Open |
| Lake Bemidji State Park | State Park | 1,614 | Open |
| Lake Bronson State Park | State Park | 2,555 | Open |
| Lake Carlos State Park | State Park | 1,154 | Open |
| Lake Louise State Park | State Park | 851 | Open |
| Lake Maria State Park | State Park | 1,590 | Open |
| Lake Shetek State Park | State Park | 820 | Open |
| Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park | State Park | 4,094 | Open |
| Maplewood State Park | State Park | 8,088 | Open |
| McCarthy Beach State Park | State Park | 1,909 | Open |
| Mille Lacs Kathio State Park | State Park | 9,682 | Open |
| Minneopa State Park | State Park | 1,606 | Open |
| Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area | State Recreation Area | 4,327 | Open |
| Monson Lake State Park | State Park | 176 | Open |
| Moose Lake State Park | State Park | 815 | Open |
| Myre-Big Island State Park | State Park | 1,615 | Open |
| Nerstrand Big Woods State Park | State Park | 1,630 | Open |
| Old Mill State Park | State Park | 285 | Open |
| Red River State Recreation Area | State Recreation Area | 175 | Open |
| Rice Lake State Park | State Park | 781 | Open |
| Saint Croix Islands State Recreation Area | State Recreation Area | 12 | Open |
| Sakatah Lake State Park | State Park | 733 | Open |
| Savanna Portage State Park | State Park | 15,186 | Open |
| Scenic State Park | State Park | 2,357 | Open |
| Schoolcraft State Park | State Park | 137 | Open |
| Sibley State Park | State Park | 2,744 | Open |
| Split Rock Creek State Park | State Park | 952 | Open |
| Split Rock Lighthouse State Park | State Park | 2,055 | Open |
| St. Croix State Park | State Park | 31,795 | Open |
| Temperance River State Park | State Park | 1,117 | Open |
| Tettegouche State Park | State Park | 8,958 | Open |
| Whitewater State Park | State Park | 2,044 | Open |
| Wild River State Park | State Park | 6,596 | Open |
| William O'Brien State Park | State Park | 1,723 | Open |
| Zippel Bay State Park | State Park | 2,720 | Open |
Where the rows come from
PAD-US 4.1, Public Domain. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gap Analysis Project (GAP), 2024, Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US) 4.1.
Parks Manager is not affiliated with this agency and is not an official list.
How many Minnesota state parks are there?
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources publishes 64 state parks and 9 state recreation areas, as of 6 September 2026.
Where do I reserve a campsite in a Minnesota state park?
On US eDirect. Parks Manager names the desk and does not check whether a site is open.
Why is Upper Sioux Agency State Park missing?
Upper Sioux Agency State Park closed permanently on 2024-02-16; the land was returned to the Upper Sioux Community under Minnesota Laws 2023 ch. 60 and ch. 72.