Frontenac State Park

January: Frontenac State Park looks ahead

Jan 3, 2024

The Frontenac State Park Association is excited for the coming year, with a full schedule of programs from talks to walks to volunteer work days, which we’ll keep you apprised of in our monthly newsletters. (You can find them, along with more about our group and the park, at...

Frontenac one of 12 state parks hosting First Day Hikes on Jan. 1

Dec 27, 2023

First Day Hikes will take place at 12 Minnesota state parks, including Frontenac State Park, on Monday, Jan. 1, as part of a nationwide effort to connect people with the outdoors, according to a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) news release. In an initiative spearheaded by the...

‘Tis the season for... wild mushrooms?

Dec 6, 2023

For obvious reasons, December in Minnesota is not a field month for students of wild mushrooms. But we can’t resist writing about this one, which you may recognize as a major motif in European Christmas tableaus – the spotted bright red fly agaric (Amanita muscaria). They’re usually found well...

December at Frontenac State Park: The wonders of winter

Dec 6, 2023

Who doesn’t love December in rural Minnesota? (Well, snowbirds aside.) It’s a beautiful month in the country, especially when holiday lights, or better yet, the moon and piercing stars illuminate fresh snow. But at the risk of sounding Grinch-like, may we say that sometimes, December is too much...

State park closed Nov. 18-19 for special deer hunt

Nov 8, 2023

Frontenac State Park will be closed to all visitors on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 18-19, for a special deer hunt. The purpose for the hunt is to prevent overpopulation of deer and to protect resources, according to a news release from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Hunts...

Buckthorn removal lesson is Nov. 4

Nov 1, 2023

The Friends of Frontenac State Park Association is holding a hands-on lesson on removing buckthorn at the park on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 10 a.m. “Invasive Species Management: Buckthorn Removal is a free, family friendly event on how to deep-six that darned buckthorn from the wild, and from your yard...

October is state park’s peak people month

Oct 4, 2023

October is “by far” the most popular month to visit Frontenac State Park, head ranger Jake Gaster tells us. It’s easy to see why. Fall colors are at their peak, with sumac, maples and other deciduous trees ablaze with beauty. Now that the oppressive summer heat has eased and there’s been a bit of...

Track chairs available at Frontenac State Park

Sep 20, 2023

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources now offers battery-powered, all-terrain track chairs at 13 state parks, including Frontenac State Park. “These chairs help visitors with limited mobility explore designated trails and other areas within state parks that can’t be accessed using a...

September: The light shifts, and so do we

Aug 30, 2023

How swiftly it happens, this late summer turning of the year. The State Fair ends, our squirrely kids go back to school (ah … the peace, the quiet!), our garden zucchini and tomatoes wind down, our cornfields turn from green to golden, the heat and humidity ease, and gradually, mornings and...

The prairie is waving at Frontenac State Park

Aug 9, 2023

For lovers of prairie, August is an exhilarating month at Frontenac State Park. In the prairie landscapes that grace much of the lower park and part of the upper, native grasses top 6 feet in late summer. On a breezy day, they and robust wildflowers sway in the warm wind, their graceful waves...