Frontenac State Park
About • Location • Activities • Ecology
About |
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Ownership |
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Overview |
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Frontenac State Park has a number of features to attract the amateur naturalist. In late July and early August a prairie between the park entrance and the main parking area has hundreds of rattlesnake masters with white blooms. A long, narrow boardwalk leads from the south parking area, through a floodplain forest, to Sand point, a good place to see gulls, terns, and shorebirds. The blufftop trail at the north end of the park passes under the heavy canopy of a sugar maple - basswood forest. It is not to be missed. Many woodland species seen here are found nowhere else in the park. |
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History |
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Management |
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Comments |
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Location |
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Maps |
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Printable Map(s) with GPS coordinates |
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Size |
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2,961 acres statutory, 2,276 owned |
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Parking |
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29223 County 28 Boulevard Sand Point parking |
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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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Driving Directions |
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| Goodhue County | ||||||
| Southeast Minnesota | ||||||
Activities |
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Hiking Trails |
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13 miles |
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Hunting |
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No hunting |
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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 |
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| Land Type Association | Altura Ridgetops Elba Slopes Mississippi River Valley |
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Native Plant Communities* |
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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 |
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| * Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources | |||||||
Natural Features |
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Sand Point
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.
Waterproof footwear recommended
Waterproof footwear is recommended when visiting Sand Point in the spring.
Visitor Photos |
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Share your photo of this destination. |
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Wayne Rasmussen |
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Fall |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Park Entrance |
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Overlook |
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Trails |
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Sugar Maple - Basswood - Red Oak - (Blue Beech) Forest |
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Other Prairie |
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Sand Point |
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Slideshows |
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| Frontenac State Park Sharon Somero |
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| Hiking Club: Frontenac State Park, October 2012 Carey |
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About
06 OCT 2012; Park #13, 2.6 miles |
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| Frontenac State Park Richard Sanders |
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About
Frontenac State Park - Minnesota |
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| Frontenac State Park, Minnesota campsitephotosdotcom |
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About
Published on Oct 29, 2013 Favorite Sites: 5, 11, 12, 17, 20, 22, 28, 29, 42, 50, 53, 57 |
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| Fronteac State Park MN Chris Kratzke |
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About
Published on Feb 10, 2014 I created this video with the YouTube Slideshow Creator |
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Visitor Videos |
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Share your video of this destination. |
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| This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link. |
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Other Videos |
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| Sand Point Trail Frontenac, MN State Park amantastic |
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About
Uploaded on Jul 31, 2011 hiking the flooded trail. |
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| Mississippi River At Frontenac RationalCraft |
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About
Published on Nov 8, 2013 Frontenac State Park in Minnesota along the Mississippi River. Scene for Winscape. Original is 1080p. Filmed by Adam Gulkis on Canon 5D2. See www.rationalcraft.com/Winscape.html for more details. |
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| Grendel on Frontenac platform jalostangel |
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About
Uploaded on Jun 4, 2008 Overlook onto Mississippi River from Frontenac State Park, MN. |
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| Group Campsite at Frontenac State Park, Minnesota CampsiteReports |
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About
Published on Jul 12, 2012 Group Campsite at Frontenac State Park, Minnesota |
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_02.jpg "bur oak (var. macrocarpa)")
Birders
Sand Point is a good spot for viewing gulls, terns, and shorebirds.
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