Great River Bluffs State Park

Location

43605 Kipp Drive
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Policies

Max stay

14 nights

About

This is beautiful bluff country! The park contains two Scientific and Natural Areas (SNAs), King's and Queen's Bluff. The King's Bluff trail offers a breathtaking view of the Mississippi River Valley. Bring your binoculars; the river valley is a major flyway for waterfowl, eagles, and hawks. Explore the diversity in this park: oak-hickory and maple-basswood forests, pine plantations, fields, and goat prairies offer visitors excellent hiking and a diversity of wildlife. Look for ruffed grouse, wild turkeys, coyotes, and many species of songbirds. Geology Glaciers made what Minnesota is today. These ice sheets, up to two miles thick, made lakes, filled in valleys, created hills, and moved millions of tons of rock and soil. Most of the bluffland area of southeastern Minnesota displays little glacial drift from any of the four major glaciers. History The park was originally named O.L. Kipp State Park, after Orin Lansing Kipp. Kipp had a 41-year career with Minnesota's Highway Department and was instrumental in shaping the development of the state highway system. The Minnesota State Legislature established the park in 1963 as a narrow strip of land along the highway one mile north of LaCrescent, in response to public demand for parkland along the Mississippi River. In 1971, when no lands had become available for purchase as a park, the park was re-authorized and relocated to its present location, where approximately 1,000 acres were owned and managed by the DNR Forestry Division. These lands form the core of the present-day park, which officially opened to the public in 1976 and is now managed by the Parks and Trails Division. In 1997, through an act of the Minnesota State Legislature, the park was renamed Great River Bluffs State Park to better reflect the resources found within the park. Landscape Great River Bluffs State Park is located in the Blufflands Landscape Region. This landscape features half-dome bluffs with sheer rock cliffs, steep valley walls, and rolling uplands. The park includes a diversity of plant communities including maple-basswood forests, old hickory, pines, goat prairies, and old fields. Wildlife The park attracts more than 35 species of mammals, 17 species of reptiles and amphibians, and well over 100 species of birds. Rabbits, mice, and ground squirrels are common in the patches of prairie in the park. Predators of these mammals include red-tailed hawks, great horned owls, and red foxes. The hardwood forest provides habitat for opossums, skunks, Indigo buntings, ruffed grouse, and wild turkeys. In the winter, visitors report seeing bald eagles. The prairie draws uncommon species of wildlife: a lizard, the six-lined racer; and a prairie bird, the bobolink. Naturalist There is no naturalist on staff at this park.