City: Marine On St. Croix, MN

Category: Parks & Recreation

Telephone: (651) 433-0500

Address: 16821 O’Brien Trail North

Description: A great “getaway” park only 45 minutes from the Twin Cities, the 1,520 acres of William O’Brien State Park provide a beautiful setting along the banks of the St. Croix River. The park is named for a pioneer lumberman in the St. Croix River Valley, and its human-made lake is named for O’Brien’s daughter, Alice, who donated an additional 180 acres to the park in 1945.O’Brien is an extremely popular camping spot, and in the summer the first-come, first-served campsites fill up quickly, especially on weekends; campsite reservations are strongly encouraged. Hiking/skiing trails offer quiet exploration of the park’s rolling, wooded hills. For anglers, the channels of the St. Croix have northerns, walleye, bass, and trout. Ideal for canoeing, the river is also a migratory pathway that offers visitors an exciting diversity of sights and sounds. Canoes can be rented from the park for an outing on the St. Croix or on Lake Alice. Swimming in the river isn’t allowed, but Lake Alice has a sandy beach and shallow water close to shore. On clear days you can see Taylors Falls from one overlook, and, although the park is heavily used, the 12 miles of hiking/skiing trails are rarely crowded. Snowshoeing is permitted anywhere in the park except on groomed ski trails. The park also has a warming house for huddling in after playing in the snow.