Minnesota Seasons - Frontenac State Park


Frontenac State Park

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			Goodhue County




Size	2,276 acres

Maps	Minnesota DNR Summer Map

Park Office	N44 31.425 W92 20.532 Sand Point N44 30.407 W92 19.440

Hiking Trails	13 miles 2.5 miles interpretive trail 1 mile handicapped accessible

Ecological Classification	Province	Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province
	Section	Paleozoic Plateau
	Subsection(s)	The Blufflands
	Land Type Association(s)	Altura Ridgetops Elba Slopes Mississippi River Valley

Native Plant Communities¹	Black Oak - White Oak Woodland (Sand) Dry Bedrock Bluff Prairie (Southern) Dry Sand - Gravel Prairie (Southern) Oak - Shagbark Hickory Woodland Red Oak - White Oak Forest Sand Beach/Sandbar (River): Permanent Stream Subtype Silver Maple - Green Ash - Cottonwood Terrace Forest Silver Maple - (Virginia Creeper) Floodplain Forest Sugar Maple - Basswood - Red Oak - (Blue Beech) Forest

Ownership	Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Links	Minnesota DNR

Comments

Images


Sand Point

Birds	One of the best parts of this park to find birds is also the one of the easiest to miss. The park entrance is on Goodhue County Road 2 one mile from US 61. Bypass the entrance and follow CR 2 for 0.7 mile through Old Frontenac then south 1.5 miles to a parking area and historic site. A trail leads from this parking area to a trail shelter near Sand Point. The road near Villa Maria and the trail are good places to look for migrating warblers. Sand Point is a good spot for viewing gulls, terns, and shorebirds. The trail may be muddy and waterproof footwear is recommended in the spring. Minnesota DNR Bird Checklist

	American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) American robin (Turdus migratorius) American tree sparrow (Spizella arborea) American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) Baltimore oriole (Icterus galbula) black-and-white warbler (Mniotilta varia) black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) Canada goose (Branta canadensis) dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus) northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) red-bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) yellow-rumped warbler (Dendroica coronata) yellow warbler (Dendroica petechia)

Insects and Arachnids

	red admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

Mammals

	eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Plants

	black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa ssp. interior) common blue violet (Viola sororia) common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale) Deptford pink (Dianthus armeria) gray-headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium ssp. angulata) hoary vervain (Verbena stricta) kidney-leaved buttercup (Ranunculus abortivus) oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera) purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea var. purpurea) silvergreen bryum moss (Bryum argenteum) smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) staghorn sumac (Rhus hirta) starry false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum) Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum) western marbleseed (Onosmodium molle ssp. occidentale) western poison ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii) white sweet clover (Melilotus albus) wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) winter vetch (Vicia villosa ssp. villosa) yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis)

Source: Minnesota County Biological Survey
Visits	7/19/1999 6/24/2001 5/16/2005