- Estimated Cost: $22
- Deposit: $22
- Max Trip Size: 25 people
Let’s visit Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park over Labor Day weekend 2021! I have reserved both of the park’s 2 group camps from Friday to Monday, Sept. 3-6.
The group sites are located in a wooded area near the Root River, and share a shelter with lights and electric outlets. Each has terraced campsites, water spigots, vault toilets, and fire ring.
Sounds good so far, but what is there to do?
- Tour an Old Village: Tours of Historic Forestville (within the park), by the Minnesota Historical Society, will start on July 1, 2021. Tours are available on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays from 11 am to 6 pm, and Sundays 9am to 1pm from July 1, 2021 through September 6, 2021. See https://www.mnhs.org/forestville .
- Explore historic Lanesboro: See https://www.lanesboro.com/list/category/tours-landmarks-26
- Hike: 20 miles of hiking is available within the park.
- Bike: The closest paved bike trail is located about 12 miles from the park in the town of Preston or Fountain. This trail provides access to the 60-mile long Root River State Trail system. See https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_trails/root_river/index.html
- Paddle: The Root River. A paddling coordinator would be helpful for me. See https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/watertrails/rootriver/index.html
- Fish: Trout angling – Several parking lots are available for angler parking.
- Socialize 1: Have a beer at https://www.troutcitybrewing.com/ in Preston. Or Google for bars and restaurants in the small towns nearby.
- Socialize 2: Visit a winery in nearby Spring Valley: See https://fourdaughtersvineyard.com/
- Learn: Naturalist Programs and Park Tours – Traditional campfire programs and naturalist-led walks and field trips are offered from Memorial Weekend through Labor Day weekend.
Meals: Meals on your own, but we can plan to a potluck one night if there is interest (might be challenging with 30 folks).
Gear/Dishwashing/Garbage/Hand Sanitizer: I plan to bring garbage bags, water jugs, and dishwashing station equipment. I’ll try to remember two big jugs of hand sanitizer for the restrooms. I might bring the Rovers’ camp stoves for all to share, TBD, so maybe plan on your own stove for now until I figure this out.
Cost: $22/person (covers 3 nights camping and firewood)
I will provide everyone access to a Google spreadsheet for listing participant emails and phone numbers for arranging carpooling.
You must be a member of Minnesota Rovers to go on this trip (see https://mnrovers.org/sign-up/ ).
I plan to reserve 5 spots for newer members (joined within the past year). I’ll hold 5 spots until July 1 then open them up to longer-term members.
Covid vaccination strongly recommended but not required.
If you need gear, you can loan it from our club’s gear locker.