lake shetek state park

This is really a gem of a state park located in Southwest Minnesota. The entire areas scenery is picture perfect. The park itself is located on the edge of Lake Shetek also encompassing Loon Island. Let me tell you Loon Island is worth the trip and it's easy to get to thanks to the causeway connecting it to the land. It's a nice little mile hike around the island thats filled with deer. There is a lot of great information along the path in the form of informational stands scattered thruout the island. Really great park worth spending some time at.

Another great Minnesota state park. We stayed at one of the walk-in campgrounds, and they were awesome. They were right on the lake which provided for a scenic spot. We also brought our bikes and used the 6-mile bike loop to ride into the nearby town of Currie. It was a nice trail that takes you right pass the dam at the start of the headwaters of The Des Moines River. One of the neatest features is Loon Island, which you can either hike or bike. A neat interpretive center also describes the history of the area, and there's more than you'd expect!As always, the state of Minnesota does an amazing job with their state parks, and Lake Shetek is no exception.

The walk-in camping sites are some of the best in MN state parks. The sites are right above the lake it an oak forest. Between swimming, boating, biking, hiking, and fishing there is a lot to do at this beautiful spot along Lake Shetek.

As far as the hiking went the path was pretty short and I was done quickly. It was a nice well maintained path and the surrounding area had plenty of wildlife. I saw a TON of birds (no pelicans though) (Shetek means "pelican"), and a lot of chipmunks. On the way to and from the hiking trail I saw something that looked like a woodchuck but smaller. I didn't see any deer but I heard them running around. On the way out of the park I saw a mother duck leading her babies across the road. It was adorable. I'm not a fisher but I hear that the fishing is great here. There are a lot of interesting historical sights around the park and in the surrounding area. In Currie there is a train museum which is extremely interesting and you can also visit Slaughter Slough.

We have stayed there 3 times and loved them all. Great walking trails and historic sites. The beach area is very nice and pretty. The old campground is better than the new one. The new one is lacking shade, which will be solved in a few years when the trees grow, but it also does not have a restroom because it has full hookups but sometimes a separate restroom would be nice.