Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park
About • Location • Activities • Ecology
About |
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Overview |
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History |
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Management |
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Location |
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Size |
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3,583 acres statutory, 2,954 owned |
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Driving Directions |
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Parking |
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Forestville State Park Mystery Cave State Park |
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Hours |
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Daily from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. |
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Fees |
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Daily park permit: $7 Annual park permit: $35 |
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Maps |
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Activities |
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Hiking Biking Mountain biking Horseback riding Picnicking Camping Backpacking Rock climbing and bouldering Swimming Boating Canoeing Birding Nature photography Geocaching Cross country skiing Skate-skiing Winter hiking Snowshoeing Snowmobiling |
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Trails |
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Hunting and Fishing |
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Approximatyely 430 acres of the park is open to public hunting but closed to trapping. See Hunting and Trapping Regulations (MN DNR) for details. In most cases, Minnesota residents do not need a permit to fish in Minnesota State Parks. |
Ecology |
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Ecological Classification |
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| Ecological Province |  |
Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province |
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| Ecological Section |  |
Paleozoic Plateau |
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| Ecological Subsection |  |
The Blufflands Rochester Plateau |
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| Land Type Association | Alluvial Plain Chester Ridge Elba Slopes Stewartville Plain |
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Native Plant Communities* |
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Algific Talus: Limestone Subtype Black Ash - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Blue Beech) Seepage Swamp Dry Bedrock Bluff Prairie (Southern) Elm - Ash - Basswood Terrace Forest Elm - Basswood - Black Ash - (Blue Beech) Forest Maderate Cliff: Limestone Subtype Mesic Limestone - Dolomite Cliff (Southern) Oak - Shagbark Hickory Woodland Red Oak - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Bitternut Hickory) Forest Red Oak - White Oak - (Sugar Maple) Forest Seepage Meadow/Carr Southern Dry Cliff Southern Mesic Cliff Southern Wet-Mesic Hardwood Forest Sugar Maple - Basswood - Red Oak - (Blue Beech) Forest White Pine - Oak - Sugar Maple Forest White Pine - Sugar Maple - Basswood Forest (Cold Slope) |
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| * Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources | |||||
Natural Features |
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Visitor Photos |
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Martha Decker |
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Steel Truss Bridge built in 1899 |
Road near Meighen Store | |
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| Meighen Store built in 1856 |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Park entrance |
Historic Forestville | |
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Big Spring Trail |
Maple Ridge Trail | |
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River Bottoms Trail |
Sandbank Trail | |
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Other trail |
Canfield Creek | |
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Forestville Creek |
South Branch Root River | |
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Unnamed creek |
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Elm - Basswood - Black Ash - (Blue Beech) Forest – Spring |
Elm - Basswood - Black Ash - (Blue Beech) Forest – Summer | |
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Red Oak - White Oak - (Sugar Maple) Forest – Spring |
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Summer |
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Slideshows |
Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park |
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About
Visited April 28-29, 2018. Sunny and nice during the day, was cold at night. Morning was 25 degrees. Parts of the forested slopes had been prescribed burn last fall it appeared. Lots of things coming up but most had not started to bloom. Mid May this year would be very nice. |
Mystery Cave State Park |
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Forestville State Park |
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Forestville State Park |
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About
Forestville State Park |
Forestville Mystery Cave State Park, Minnesota |
About
Published on Oct 28, 2013 Favorite Sites: 2, 4, 10, 27, 29, 34, 53, 53, 59, 63 |
Visitor Videos |
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Other Videos |
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A Walk in the Park: Forestville/Mystery Cave |
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Jun 12, 2017 Visit Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park to see natural wonders above and below ground. In the summer, beat the heat with a visit below ground. Explore the world of Mystery Cave with its stalactites, stalagmites, and underground pools. https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00148#homepage Shot & Edited by Michael Uss |
Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park virtual tour |
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Uploaded on Dec 28, 2009 Take a virtual tour of Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park to see natural wonders above and below ground. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/virtual_tours.html |
KSMQ Video Squad - "National Parks" - Forestville Mystery Cave |
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Uploaded on Oct 1, 2009 No description available. |
Forestville State Park |
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Published on May 11, 2012 Pictorial of Forestville State Park |
Camping at Forestville Mystery Cave State Park MN |
About
Published on Aug 23, 2013 camping |
Visitor Sightings |
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George Petros |
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Comments |
7/16/2012 I took some nice pix this past May at good ol' Forestville (one of my favorite spots!). I have a good quality image of sweet cicely [osmorhiza claytonii] in bloom. I also found Robin Plantain [erigeron pulchellus] blooming. --New for me! Also, Star-of-Bethlehem [ornithogalum umbellatum] - a garden escapee? Unfortunately, no Showy Orchis this trip. |
Plants |
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Robin Plantain [erigeron pulchellus] Star-of-Bethlehem [ornithogalum umbellatum] |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
Visits |
6/24/2011 4/29/2015 |
Amphibians |
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| boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata) |  |
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Fishes |
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Fungi and Lichens |
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Insects and Arachnids |
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common green darner (Anax junius) goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis) |
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Mammals |
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American beaver (Castor canadensis) American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius)d |
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Plants |
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Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and Minnesota Biological Survey Vegetation Releves Plant List |
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Plants frequently found in: Algific Talus: Limestone Subtype CTs46a1 Black Ash - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Blue Beech) Seepage Swamp WFs57b Dry Bedrock Bluff Prairie (Southern) UPs13c Elm - Ash - Basswood Terrace Forest FFs59c Elm - Basswood - Black Ash - (Blue Beech) Forest MHs49b Maderate Cliff: Limestone Subtype CTs43a1 Mesic Limestone - Dolomite Cliff (Southern) CTs33b Oak - Shagbark Hickory Woodland FDs38a Red Oak - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Bitternut Hickory) Forest MHs38c Red Oak - White Oak - (Sugar Maple) Forest MHs37b Southern Wet-Mesic Hardwood Forest MHs49 Sugar Maple - Basswood - Red Oak - (Blue Beech) Forest MHs39b White Pine - Oak - Sugar Maple Forest MHs38a White Pine - Sugar Maple - Basswood Forest (Cold Slope) MHc38a |
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alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum) American basswood (Tilia americana var. americana) American cow parsnip (Heracleum maximum) American elm (Ulmus americana) American hazelnut (Corylus americana) American highbush cranberry (Viburnum opulus var. americanum) American hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana var. virginiana) American plum (Prunus americana) American red raspberry (Rubus idaeus ssp. strigosus) American stinging nettle (Urtica gracilis ssp. gracilis) black cherry (Prunus serotina var. serotina) black maple (Acer saccharum ssp. nigrum) black medick (Medicago lupulina) black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis) black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima) black-seeded plantain (Plantago rugelii var. rugelii) bland sweet cicely (Osmorhiza claytonii) bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) blue beech (Carpinus caroliniana ssp. virginiana) blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) Blue Ridge carrionflower (Smilax lasioneura) boxelder (Acer negundo var. negundo) bristly buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus var. caricetorum) bristly greenbrier (Smilax tamnoides) bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare) bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa) Canada anemone (Anemonastrum canadense) Canada moonseed (Menispermum canadense) Canadian wild ginger (Asarum canadense) Canadian woodnettle (Laportea canadensis) chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. virginiana) cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) common blue violet (Viola sororia) common burdock (Arctium minus) common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale) common false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum var. racemosum) common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) common motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca ssp. cardiaca) common mullein (Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus) common plantain (Plantago major) cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum var. perfoliatum) cut-leaved coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata var. laciniata) cut-leaved toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) dame’s rocket (Hesperis matronalis ssp. matronalis) downy phlox (Phlox pilosa ssp. fulgida) downy yellow violet (Viola pubescens) Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) early meadow-rue (Thalictrum dioicum) eastern bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix) eastern false rue anemone (Enemion biternatum) eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana) eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) fragrant bedstraw (Galium triflorum) field thistle (Cirsium discolor) garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida) gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa) green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium) Illinois carrion flower (Smilax illinoensis) interrupted fern (Claytosmunda claytoniana) jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) kidney-leaved buttercup (Ranunculus abortivus) large-flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora) large-flowered trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) lowland hog peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata var. comosa) marsh blue violet (Viola cucullata) marsh hedge nettle (Stachys palustris) May-apple (Podophyllum peltatum) Missouri gooseberry (Ribes missouriense) northern hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) northern lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum) northern maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum) northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis) northern prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum) northern red oak (Quercus rubra) Ohio buckeye (Aesculus glabra var. glabra) ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica) pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica) pointed-leaved tick-trefoil (Hylodesmum glutinosum) poke milkweed (Asclepias exaltata) prairie fleabane (Erigeron strigosus var. strigosus) purple meadow-rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum) quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium var. yuccifolium) red baneberry (Actaea rubra ssp. rubra) red clover (Trifolium pratense) sharp-lobed hepatica (Anemone acutiloba) shining bedstraw (Galium concinnum) spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium) squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis) starry false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum) sugar maple (Acer saccharum ssp. saccharum) tall thimbleweed (Anemone virginiana) upright carrionflower (Smilax ecirrhata) Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) Virginia spring beauty (Claytonia virginica var. virginica) Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum) white campion (Silene latifolia ssp. alba) white clover (Trifolium repens ssp. repens) white prairie clover (Dalea candida) white trout lily (Erythronium albidum) white wild indigo (Baptisia alba var. macrophylla) white-flowered leafcup (Polymnia canadensis) wild geranium (Geranium maculatum) wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) winter cress (Barbarea vulgaris) Wood’s sedge (Carex woodii) woodbine (Parthenocissus vitacea) yellow marsh marigold (Caltha palustris var. palustris)
Acer negundo var. negundo (boxelder) Acer saccharum ssp. nigrum (black maple) Acer saccharum ssp. saccharum (sugar maple) Actaea rubra ssp. rubra (red baneberry) Adiantum pedatum (northern maidenhair) Aesculus glabra var. glabra (Ohio buckeye) Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) Ambrosia trifida (giant ragweed) Amphicarpaea bracteata var. comosa (lowland hog peanut) Anemone acutiloba (sharp-lobed hepatica) Anemonastrum canadense (Canada anemone) Anemone virginiana (tall thimbleweed) Apocynum androsaemifolium (spreading dogbane) Arctium minus (common burdock) Arisaema triphyllum (jack-in-the-pulpit) Asarum canadense (Canadian wild ginger) Asclepias exaltata (poke milkweed) Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed) Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum (northern lady fern) Baptisia alba var. macrophylla (white wild indigo) Barbarea vulgaris (winter cress) Caltha palustris var. palustris (yellow marsh marigold) Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed) Cardamine concatenata (cut-leaved toothwort) Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge) Carex woodii (Wood’s sedge) Carpinus caroliniana ssp. virginiana (blue beech) Caulophyllum thalictroides (blue cohosh) Celtis occidentalis (northern hackberry) Cirsium discolor (field thistle) Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle) Claytonia virginica var. virginica (Virginia spring beauty) Cornus alternifolia (pagoda dogwood) Cornus racemosa (gray dogwood) Corylus americana (American hazelnut) Dalea candida (white prairie clover) Dicentra canadensis (squirrel corn) Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s breeches) Elymus hystrix (eastern bottlebrush grass) Enemion biternatum (eastern false rue anemone) Erigeron strigosus var. strigosus (prairie fleabane) Eryngium yuccifolium var. yuccifolium (rattlesnake master) Erythronium albidum (white trout lily) Erythronium americanum ssp. americanum (yellow trout lily) Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash) Galium concinnum (shining bedstraw) Galium triflorum (fragrant bedstraw) Geranium maculatum (wild geranium) Glechoma hederacea (ground ivy) Heracleum maximum (American cow parsnip) Hesperis matronalis ssp. matronalis (dame’s rocket) Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum (Virginia waterleaf) Hylodesmum glutinosum (pointed-leaved tick-trefoil) Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana (eastern redcedar) Laportea canadensis (Canadian woodnettle) Leonurus cardiaca ssp. cardiaca (common motherwort) Maianthemum racemosum var. racemosum (common false Solomon’s seal) Maianthemum stellatum (starry false Solomon’s seal) Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica (ostrich fern) Medicago lupulina (black medick) Menispermum canadense (Canada moonseed) Mertensia virginica (Virginia bluebells) Osmorhiza claytonii (bland sweet cicely) Claytosmunda claytoniana (interrupted fern) Osmundastrum cinnamomeum (cinnamon fern) Ostrya virginiana var. virginiana (American hophornbeam) Oxalis stricta (yellow wood sorrel) Parthenocissus vitacea (woodbine) Pastinaca sativa (wild parsnip) Phlox pilosa ssp. fulgida (downy phlox) Pinus strobus (eastern white pine) Plantago major (common plantain) Plantago rugelii var. rugelii (black-seeded plantain) Podophyllum peltatum (May-apple) Polymnia canadensis (white-flowered leafcup) Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen) Prunus americana (American plum) Prunus serotina var. serotina (black cherry) Prunus virginiana var. virginiana (chokecherry) Quercus ellipsoidalis (northern pin oak) Quercus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa (bur oak) Quercus rubra (northern red oak) Ranunculus abortivus (kidney-leaved buttercup) Ranunculus hispidus var. caricetorum (bristly buttercup) Ribes missouriense (Missouri gooseberry) Rubus idaeus ssp. strigosus (American red raspberry) Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry) Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan) Rudbeckia laciniata var. laciniata (cut-leaved coneflower) Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot) Silene latifolia ssp. alba (white campion) Silphium perfoliatum var. perfoliatum (cup plant) Smilax ecirrhata (upright carrionflower) Smilax illinoensis (Illinois carrion flower) Smilax lasioneura (Blue Ridge carrionflower) Smilax tamnoides (bristly greenbrier) Stachys palustris (marsh hedge nettle) Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale (common dandelion) Thalictrum dasycarpum (purple meadow-rue) Thalictrum dioicum (early meadow-rue) Tilia americana var. americana (American basswood) Trifolium hybridum (alsike clover) Trifolium pratense (red clover) Trifolium repens ssp. repens (white clover) Trillium grandiflorum (large-flowered trillium) Ulmus americana (American elm) Urtica gracilis ssp. gracilis (American stinging nettle) Uvularia grandiflora (large-flowered bellwort) Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus (common mullein) Viburnum opulus var. americanum (American highbush cranberry) Viola cucullata (marsh blue violet) Viola pubescens (downy yellow violet) |
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_02.jpg "bur oak (var. macrocarpa)")
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Created: Last Updated: © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved. |