Hilly Hike — Afton State Park, MN | Minnesota Rovers Outdoors Club

Hilly Hike — Afton State Park, MN

Category: Hiking

Sat, 9:45amApr 262025

Description:

Let’s work on our endurance by hiking up and down the bluff along the St. Croix River at Afton State Park on Saturday, April 26. We’ll aim for 7-7.5 miles with endurance as our goal rather than speed.

If you’re like me, you’re still ramping up your activity level after what maybe was a less-active winter. This hike will be good if are ready to start challenging yourself or need to up your fitness for other activities you have planned for 2025. Many shorter loops are possible, so you can adjust your plan as you go if you’d like to turn back early.

Timeline:

9:45 a.m. — Meet at the visitor center (not the park office that you first see when you enter the park). Drive maybe 1.5 miles and until you see several parking lots on your right and park there. The visitor center is over a slight hill near the parking lot.
10:00 a.m. — Start hiking.
1:30 p.m. (est.)— Finish hiking.
2 p.m. (est.) – Stop in nearby Afton for food, drink, and/or ice cream at The Lumberyard Pub and Selma’s Ice Cream Parlour. Afton is a few miles north of the park. If it’s warm enough, we may be able to sit outside.

Distance: 7-7.5-miles hike. We’ll go up the bluff four times, so be prepared for steep inclines and declines. We’ll go up a few stairs for the final uphill climb at the very end (my favorite – not!) to get back to the visitor center.

I mapped out the following route if you’d like to view it on the park map: Visitor Center > AO > AN > AM > AK > AL > AH > AI > AJ > AK > R > AJ > Y > X > (toilet break in campground) > R > S > X > W > V > U > T > S (snack toilet break by beach) > R > P > O > M > L > AO > Visitor Center.

Duration: ~3-3.5 hours (est.).

Difficulty: Difficult

Speed: 2.5 mph (est.)

Bring: Hiking poles, sturdy shoes/boots, hat, water, snacks.

I will be taking 494 from Eden Prairie. If you would like to carpool, let me know. We could meet up somewhere along that route.

Send me an email to sign up. Non-Minnesota Rovers members are welcome. If you are not a member, please fill out the online waiver form below. Or you can join our club at any time.

Coordinator(s):

Ron H.

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Last Revised: October 2024