lake maria state park

Nice place to get away from the city for an afternoon. My wife and I enjoyed the hiking trails on the northside of the park better than the southside, A lot of the trials are shared by hikers and horseback riders so you have to watch your step. Would like to try the rustic cabins some weekend.

If you live in the Twin Cities or St. Cloud it is literally 1/2 hour drive to some very nice trails. You can rent 1 of 3 cabins that can hold about 6 people. All the cabins are private with a view of ponds, rolling hills and mature forests. You can even take your horses there to walk the trails. Only $5 for a day pass and $25 for a year. Worth the walk!

Have visited twice with my two sons, both under 10. We have stayed in B1 each time. Pro's: easy hills, distance is about 1 mile, you are right on the lake and fairly secluded for being so close to the cities. Toilet is somewhat close (bring your own toilet paper!!!), you share it with one other site. Awesome views of the lake, you'll hear coyotes at night. Day trails are easy, you are close to a large hill for views of the trees and changing colors in the Fall. Con's: you have to pack in firewood, although you are allowed to salvage dead trees no bigger than the diameter of your wrist--there is plenty. Also, horses share some trails--watch out for horse poop. Neither pro/con: solar powered well is located by the parking lot if you want water, but we bring filtration pumps and use the lake water. They do sell fire-starters at the ranger station and I have to admit they work rather well. Our site has a wooden 'bear box' for storing food which is actually a plus. Also, the fire pit/ring is well made and there is a nice long bench to sit on too (bring plastic bags to sit on in case it rains). Price is cheap. Why not go and have fun? Rated it only a 4 instead of 5 because of the horse doo-doo.

been thru this area many times and never knew there was a state park here. there is a huge trail system here. many are shared by hikers and horses. looks like they have cross-country skiing for winter. we hiked starting at the picnic/boat launch area. went out the interpretive trail first. there's some nice info about wildlife and plants. then went on the northern part of the Big Woods Loop that lead to many camper cabins and camping sites . there were several of those on Putnam Lake that looked quite appealing. we hiked up Anderson Hill too. nice overlying view. followed the road back to the parking area, and stopped at the little wildlife viewing area and were lucky enough to see a pair of trumpeter swans before they migrate. I was impressed with the park and will go back to explore the southern tails some day. I see that horses aren't allowed after Nov. 2.Commenting on some of the other reviews:, we did not have issues with piles of horse manure. that could be because of our trail choices, we did not go on any of the southern trails. and the person that complained about registration and a $5 fee. the solution is simple. buy a yearlong pass, then you don't have to do any of that.

Pretty park not to far away from the cities. Lots of trails for everyone and pretty campsites as well :) if you go a little further in and get to the lake it is very peaceful and serene, great place for a picnic.

I grew up in northern Wisconsin and am used to woods. I'm a little surprised that the metro and surrounding areas don't have more woods to explore and camp in, but was happy to discover this little (not so little) gem of a park less than an hour from the cities. After checking in with the friendly staff (checked out a birder kit for free), the drive into the park led us into a dark, heavy canopy of deciduous forest. We got to the parking lot, threw on our backpacks, and hiked a relatively easy mile or so to our remote campsite and set it all up. We saw a few cars of people arriving the same time we did, but once we entered the forest everyone dispersed and we had a quiet, isolated hike. The campsites are separated from each other so unlike almost all car camping, we had space to ourselves without risk of obnoxious people next to us, and without risk of being the obnoxious people next to our neighbors. Our day hikes were wonderful - we saw GBHs, ospreys, egrets, a wild turkey, and a large fox hanging out on the hiking trail. The mosquitoes sucked, but if you've ever actually been out of your car in Minnesota, you know how to deal with them. Overall, very happy with the park.

While the park certainly isn't among the most spectacular of Minnesota's State Parks, it does provide for some nice easy family hiking through a small part of what remains of the former "Big Woods". In many cases there are multiple routes you can take to and from a certain parts of the park. For example, we were able to hike a route to Bjorklund Lake that took only about an hour round-trip from the trail center with five elementary-age children, but could have taken longer routes as well. The hiking is pretty easy with only minor hills. The shared horse/hiking paths we took were about 4-5 feet wide and bit muddy after some rainfall but not at all overgrown. We did need to dodge horse droppings multiple times along the way. In early August, the mosquitoes were still numerous in the evening.The park was relatively empty when we visited on a Sunday evening. The numerous backpacking campsites we passed while hiking can be easily reached from the trail center and were set back far enough from the hiking trail as to provide some privacy. Less than half were occupied when we passed by but this could've been due to the recent rain.It appeared that there were canoes that could be rented on Bjorklund lake. We saw what appeared to be a few swans on the opposite side of the lake, but due to their distance from us I may have wrongly identified them. In any case, the lake was isolated and there were no other people on it when we went to it near sunset. At that particular point of day it was beautiful and quiet.If you're looking for a spur-of-the-moment escape from the cities during an off time (weekday or evening), I'd recommend this park as it is within an hour of the west side of the Twin Cities and wasn't overcrowded. However, if you're looking for grander views and planning to spend more time, you probably will want to look elsewhere.

No idea where it was from, but a live band was playing into midnight. It was pretty loud and did not make for a quiet relaxing night. Being exhausted from hiking a few parks the past few days and not being able to sleep because of this music almost made me just drive back home to the cities.

I wouldn't consider this one of Minnesota's best state parks, but it is nice. There are some great trees out here and a lot of bluebirds. What I thought was the nicest was the cabins they had out here for rental. There was a decent amount of cabins but they all seemed pretty private and situated on really nice tracks of land. The few times I have been out here there haven't been a lot of people, so that was really nice. There were a couple of good views from hill tops and shorelines. Overall it was nice but kind of mediocre compared to some of the great parks in MN.

5pm 1/31/14. First time at the park to Cross country ski and I was disappointed. Made it 2.7k around the Lake Bjorkland trail and I was stopped cold to find the groomed trail ended in the middle of the woods. 0.8k up hill without a groomed track :(. Why??? The map is littered with trails and only a few are groomed. 48 hours since the last snow flake fell. Lake Maria advertises the trails and owns the equipment to groom and it is not done.

My husband and I have been to most of the major parks all over the state, so we were looking for somewhere new to visit. Lo-and-behold, we found an add for Maria State Park, which is only about an hour from our place advertising nice hiking trails, beautiful scenery, etc. Too good to be true so close to home, right? Definitely.First thing you'll want to know if you go to this park: Don't you dare try to self-register. When you drive in to the main station there are two advertised options: (a) self register (there's a HUGE sign advertising self registration with a drop box to place your $5 check/cash), or (b) go inside the crowded office and pay the lady behind the desk. Since we go to state parks to enjoy nature and "get away" from the business of our lives, and not to chit-chat, we usually opt for self registration whenever possible. OH NO. Big mistake. As I was filling out the self-registration pamphlet, the lady working in the office came outside and nearly bit my head off...why would I fill out the self-registration when she was clearly open for business? I'm just like all the others who try to "get away" with not following the rules, etc, etc. Really? If you don't want folks to self register when the office is open, then maybe (a) take down the huge self registration sign, (b) add a sign that indicates when folks are NOT allowed to self register, or (c) add a sign that says you're open. My gosh. After hearing a piece of her mind, we nearly left right then....we came to enjoy nature, not to feel the wrath of some overly cranky park lady who has to take out her life's frustrations on poor visitors. In the end, we decided to not let her ruin our day. We parked and got out to go on a nice hike. A word to the wise: The park advertises that it has trails for hiking and horseback riding and 4-wheelers. It doesn't clarify that these are NOT separate trails....they are all the same. We started off on what was about a 3 mils hike. However, due to all the massive piles of horse poop every few feet that we had to constantly navigate around, this was likely closer to a 4 mile hike. Looking back, I'm not sure why we took the trouble of walking around it....since there is so much of it and it never appears to be cleaned up, its likely that what we thought were dirt paths are actually paths MADE of decomposed horse poop. We walked in the direction of what was advertised as a scenic overlook. After walking about a mile, you will come to the base of the overlook, climb a decently steep hill, and get to the top for a breathtaking view......of County Road 111 directly below and a factory steam stack just to the east. Both my husband and I said "really?" at the same time. The couple who had walked up just before was equally confused. None of us decided to sit on the benches at the top to enjoy the "view".paths are clear, but where they go to is not. there are signs at MAYBE half of the path intersections. We came to one point where 5 paths met....no signs....we literally just had to pick a direction (wrong of course) walk until we found the next sign, take a picture of that map, walk back and then follow the correct path. I could go on, but its not really worth it.Take it from someone who loves a good state park...unless you really can't afford the extra $3.50 for gas, drive the extra 45 minutes to a better park with friendly, professional staff, more family friendly trails, and better scenery.

This park has great forest camping with very private sites with small lakes/wetland views. You must backpack in all of your food, water, firewood & gear to your site. The trails are hilly, but not too long, so a reasonable amount of fitness is required. Our site overlooked at wetland, but surprisingly, the mosquitos were no worse than our own back yard in the cities. Because it is only 30- 40 minutes outside the city, it's great for out of town travelers with limited time who want to experience backpack camping in an old growth, North American hardwood forest. We brought our canoe, tried fishing and only caught bullheads, but were able to paddle into adjacent Silver Lake to swim. The flora & fauna are the main attractions here, with trumpeter swans, wetland birds, eagles, hawks, deer, turtles, small snakes visible each day. We visited over Labor Day weekend, and there was none of the business that one experiences in other MN State Parks on holiday weekends. We plan to visit again and try one of the other backpack sites or camper cabins that are available.

It's nothing special. Poor campsites, algae covered lakes, poor fishing. Nothing to do... Luckily we just went there for a day trip to fish... Nothing even nibbled.

I've been cross country skiing at this park but never camping. It was a nice visit in the early summer. We went kayaking, (they have kayaks and canoes to rent but we had our own.) Saw lots of birds including Bald Eagles and their nest! Very cool! We also went fishing and then we hiked to our campsite. Nice 3/4 mile hike and very secluded. Seemed like we had a lake to ourselves. Will be back to this park for sure.

Trails are well marked and wide. Interesting things to see along the way. If you are a trail runner, this is a wonderful park to train at because there are so many rolling hills. It is a state park, so there is a $5 fee if you don't have an annual state park sticker.