Great River Bluffs State Park

Overview
Photos
Slideshows
Videos
Sightings


	About

	Ownership


	Links
	Minnesota DNR

	Overview


	History
	Formerly called O.L. Kipp State Park.

	Management


	Comments


	Location

	Maps
	all season map

	Size
	2,786 acres statutory, 2,147 owned

	Parking
	43605 Kipp Drive Winona, MN 55987 The entrance to the park is on Winona County Road 3, part of Apple Blossom Scenic Drive. N43 56.287, W91 24.364

	Hours
	Daily from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m.

	Fees
	Daily park permit: $7 Annual park permit: $35


	Driving Directions
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					Winona County
					Southeast Minnesota


	Activities

	Hiking Trails
	6.5 miles 2.5 mile interpretive trail

	Hunting
	No hunting


	Ecology

	Ecological Classification
	Ecological Province			Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province
	Ecological Section			Paleozoic Plateau
	Ecological Subsection			The Blufflands
	Land Type Associations			Alluvial Plain Brownsville Slopes Caledonia Ridgetops

	Native Plant Communities*
	Black Ash - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Blue Beech) Seepage Swamp Dry Bedrock Bluff Prairie (Southern) Dry Limestone - Dolomite Cliff (Southern) Mesic Limestone - Dolomite Cliff (Southern) Mesic Sandstone Cliff (Southern) Oak - Shagbark Hickory Woodland Red Oak - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Bitternut Hickory) Forest Red Oak - White Oak Forest Southern Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Southern Mesic Cliff Sugar Maple - Basswood - Red Oak - (Blue Beech) Forest
	* Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources

	Natural Features
	King’s and Queen’s Bluff SNA lies within the park. The park lies within the borders of the Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood Forest. This part of the state is the “driftless” area of Minnesota, untouched by the last series of glaciers over the last 12,000 years.


	Visitor Photos

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	Greg Watson

	Trail within the King’s Bluff State Park.


	North Overlook




	South Overlook The person in the image is placing her cell phone on the Selfie station at the overlook.

	Near the South Overlook.




	MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos

	Park Entrance


	Trails




	Oak - Shagbark Hickory Woodland


	Sugar Maple - Basswood - Red Oak - (Blue Beech) Forest


	White Pine Plantation

Camera


	Slideshows


	Great River Bluffs Richard Sanders

	About No description



	Great River bluffs state park Minnesota 2012 Chris Kratzke

	About Published on Feb 10, 2014 I created this video with the YouTube Slideshow Creator

slideshow


	Visitor Videos

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	Other Videos


	Great River Bluffs State Park (north overlook) knapstersky

	About Published on Aug 18, 2013 Great River Bluffs State Park (north overlook). on a noon break.



	Great River Bluffs State Park (south overlook) knapstersky

	About Published on Aug 18, 2013 Great River Bluffs State Park (south overlook).



	Great River Bluffs State Park, September 2013 Rick Lund

	About Published on Sep 30, 2013 Camping weekend, the color was unexpectedly late this year but the views were none the less, great. Eight miles of hiking over the two days and a steady heavy rain on Saturday didn't stop a very good weekend.



	Great River Bluffs MN State Park 630jes

	About Published on Jul 2, 2012 Hiking the Minnesota State Park just outside of Winona with the children in tow. Boys imagined lots of great adventures along the way. Teenagers connected with the earth instead of the t.v. And us parents enjoyed the beauty, exercise, and watching the kids play with sticks like they were the best toy on the planet.

Camcorder

Visitor Sightings

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Greg Watson

Insects and Arachnids

black firefly (Lucidota atra)

brown blister beetle (Zonitis vittigera)

common oak moth (Phoberia atomaris)

large lace-border (Scopula limboundata)

longlegged fly (Condylostylus patibulatus)

maple-basswood leafroller moth (Cenopis pettitana)

northern pearly eye (Lethe anthedon)

Plants

grooved yellow flax (Linum sulcatum var. sulcatum)

white-flowered leafcup (Polymnia canadensis)

MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings


Visits
3/31/2000	6/15/2001	4/1/2006	6/3/2013

Amphibians

green frog (Rana clamitans)

Birds

Henslow’s Sparrow and Bell's Vireo have both been spotted near the park entrance.


Twelve bird species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here:
Endangered	Henslow’s Sparrow (Centronyx henslowii) Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
Threatened	Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Special Concern	Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii) Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri) Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan) Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) Purple Martin (Progne subis) Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Birds List

Minnesota DNR Bird checklist

eBird Field Checklist

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)

Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Wood-peewee (Contopus virens)

Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla)

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)

Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)

Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)

Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)

Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

Fungi and Lichens

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Fungi List

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Lichens List

Black Knot (Apiosporina morbosa)

Crown Rust (Puccinia coronata)

Oak Anthracnose (Apiognomonia errabunda)

Insects and Arachnids


Three insect and arachnid species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here:
Endangered	Ottoe skipper (Hesperia ottoe)
Special Concern	abbreviated underwing (Catocala abbreviatella) leadplant flower moth (Schinia lucens) Leonard’s skipper (Hesperia leonardus)

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Insects List

black cherry finger gall mite (Eriophyes cerasicrumena)

blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis)

goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis)

mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)

plum finger gall mite (Eriophyes emarginatae)

Mammals


One mammal species with conservation status in Minnesota has been seen here:
Special Concern	little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus)

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Mammals List

black squirrel (melanistic eastern gray squirrel) (Sciurus carolinensis)

eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus)

eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

Plants


Twenty plant species with conservation status in Minnesota are found here:
Endangered	roundstem false foxglove (Agalinis gattingeri) water miner’s lettuce (Montia chamissoi)
Threatened	American witchhazel (Hamamelis virginiana) blunt-lobed grapefern (Botrychium oneidense) edible valerian (Valeriana edulis var. ciliata) one-flowered broomrape (Orobanche uniflora) silverleaf grape (Vitis aestivalis var. bicolor) smooth-sheathed sedge (Carex laevivaginata) Sullivant’s coolwort (Sullivantia sullivantii)
Special Concern	American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) Goldie’s woodfern (Dryopteris goldiana) green dragon (Arisaema dracontium) large-fruited black snakeroot (Sanicula trifoliata) cream wild indigo (Baptisia bracteata var. leucophaea) prairie moonwort (Botrychium campestre) silver false spleenwort (Deparia acrostichoides) small white lady’s slipper (Cypripedium candidum) squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis) yellow pimpernel (Taenidia integerrima)