Quarry Park SNA

 

 

     
 
About
 
 

Ownership

 
 

Stearns County logo

 
     
 

Links

 
 

Minnesota DNR

Quarry Park & Nature Preserve (Stearns County)

 
     
 

Overview

 
 

Quarry Park SNA is part of Quarry Park & Nature Preserve, a Stearns County park.

 
     
 

History

 
 

In August 2001, 263 acres of this site was designated Quarry Park Scientific and Natural Area. An additional 60 acres was added to the SNA on May 21, 2004.

 
     
 

Management

 
 

 

 
     
 

Comments

 
 

 

 
     
 
Location
 
 

Maps

 
 

Detail map (MN DNR)

Printed trail maps of the park, including the SNA, are available at the gate house and near the parking lot.

Quarry Winter Map (PDF)

Quarry Park Scientific and Natural Area (PDF)

Quarry Summer Map (PDF)

 
         
 

Printable Map(s) with GPS coordinates

 
  Printable map      
         
 

Size

 
 

323 acres

 
         
 

Parking

 
 

Quarry Park & Nature Preserve
1802 County Road 137
Waite Park, MN 56387

N45 32.148, W94 14.501

 
         
 

Hours

 
 

8 am - 1/2 hour after sunset

 
         
 

Fees

 
 
  • Annual Vehicle Parking Permit: $25.00
  • Daily Parking Permit:
    • $5.00 Labor Day thru Memorial Day
    • $10.00 Memorial Day thru Labor Day
 
         
 

Driving Directions

  Area and County  
 

Get driving directions from Google Maps to this destination from any address, and send those directions to your phone.

   
          Stearns County  
          Central Minnesota  
     
 
Activities
 
 

Hiking Trails

 
 

A wide mowed trail forms two loops mostly around the perimeter.

 
     
 

Hunting

 
 

No hunting

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Ecological Classification

  Ecological Classification  
  Ecological Province    

Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province

   
  Ecological Section    

Minnesota & NE Iowa Morainal

   
  Ecological Subsection    

Anoka Sand Plain

   
  Land Type Association    

Anoka Lake Plain

   
             
 

Native Plant Communities*

   
 

Alder - (Maple - Loosestrife) Swamp

Crystalline Bedrock Outcrop (Transition)

Oak - (Red Maple) Woodland

Pin Oak - Bur Oak Woodland

Sedge Meadow

Wet Prairie (Southern)

   
  * Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources      
         
 

Natural Features

     
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DEET

The trail is sheltered from the wind by dense vegetation. Mosquito protection is highly recommended.

 

 

 

 

           
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Entrance

 
    Quarry Park SNA      

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
 
     
     

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

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Other Videos
 
  Quarry Park Scientific and Natural Area Virtual Hike
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
 
   
 
About

Dec 7, 2020

Walk the trails through the Stearns County Park, which has been developed with swimming, picnicking areas and other amenities, to get to this Scientific and Natural Area. The SNA offers a less altered setting, preserving what has been described as central Minnesota's best example of a granite bedrock outcrop community.

mndnr.gov/snas/sna02020

 
  "The Devil Quarry" ® at Quarry Park & Nature Preserve Waite Park, Minnesota
Jim McAlister
 
   
 
About

Published on Jul 14, 2013

www.tellavision.net
www.CreativeProvenance.Wordpress.com

Here is the Devil at the crossroads of Quarry Park and Nature Preserve and me having a conversation. July 13th, 2:00 pm 2013 Jim McAlister

   

 

Camcorder

           
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

Visits

6/18/2005

  6/25/2017            
 
 

Birds

 
 

Two bird species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here:

Special Concern

Purple Martin (Progne subis)

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

 
 

Minnesota DNR Bird checklist

Quarry Park Bird Checklist (Stearns County)

eBird Field Checklist

 
 

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)

Eastern Wood-peewee (Contopus virens)

Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

Veery (Catharus fuscescens)

Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

 

Blue Jay

Wild Turkey

 
 

Fungi and Lichens

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Lichens List

 
 

Crown Rust (Puccinia coronata)

Gray Reindeer Lichen (Cladonia rangiferina)

Oak Leaf Blister (Taphrina caerulescens)

  Crown Rust  
 

Insects and Arachnids

 
 

goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis)

twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella)

white admiral (Limenitis arthemis arthemis)

  white admiral  
 

Mammals

 
  whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)   whitetail deer  
 

Plants

 
 

Three plant species with conservation status in Minnesota are found here:

Endangered

winter bentgrass (Agrostis hyemalis)

Threatened

pale green orchid (Platanthera flava var. herbiola)

Special Concern

Kinnickinnick dewberry (Rubus multifer)

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and Minnesota Biological Survey Vegetation Releves Plant List

 
 

Plants frequently found in:

Alder - (Maple - Loosestrife) Swamp FPn73a

Crystalline Bedrock Outcrop (Transition) ROs12b

Oak - (Red Maple) Woodland FDs37a

Pin Oak - Bur Oak Woodland FDs37b

Sedge Meadow WMn82b

Wet Prairie (Southern) WPs54b

     
 

 

Allegheny blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis)

American bugleweed (Lycopus americanus)

American elm (Ulmus americana)

American hazelnut (Corylus americana)

American red raspberry (Rubus idaeus ssp. strigosus)

American spikenard (Aralia racemosa ssp. racemosa)

American vetch (Vicia americana ssp. americana)

arrowleaf tearthumb (Persicaria sagittata)

bastard toadflax (Comandra umbellata ssp. umbellata)

bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)

Bicknell’s sedge (Carex bicknellii)

big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi)

bigleaf aster (Eurybia macrophylla)

bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata)

bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)

black cherry (Prunus serotina var. serotina)

black medick (Medicago lupulina)

black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima)

black-seeded plantain (Plantago rugelii var. rugelii)

bland sweet cicely (Osmorhiza claytonii)

blue vervain (Verbena hastata)

bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii)

boxelder (Acer negundo var. negundo)

bracted spiderwort (Tradescantia bracteata)

brittle prickly pear (Opuntia fragilis)

bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)

bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa)

Canada anemone (Anemonastrum canadense)

Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)

Canada wildrye (Elymus canadensis)

Canadian honewort (Cryptotaenia canadensis)

chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. virginiana)

common boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum var. perfoliatum)

common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)

common burdock (Arctium minus)

common cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex)

common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale)

common false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum var. racemosum)

common mullein (Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus)

common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)

common self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)

common sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella)

common strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

common woodrush (Luzula multiflora)

common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

crested wood fern (Dryopteris cristata)

downy arrowwood (Viburnum rafinesqueanum)

downy Parlin’s pussytoes (Antennaria parlinii ssp. fallax)

dry-spike sedge (Carex siccata)

dwarf bilberry (Vaccinium caespitosum)

eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana)

eastern star sedge (Carex radiata)

eastern swamp saxifrage (Micranthes pensylvanica)

eastern white pine (Pinus strobus)

field chickweed (Cerastium arvense)

fox sedge (Carex vulpinoidea)

fragrant bedstraw (Galium triflorum)

giant goldenrod (Solidago gigantea)

graceful sedge (Carex gracillima)

grass-leaved goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia)

gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa)

great water dock (Rumex britannica)

greater bladder sedge (Carex intumescens)

green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

hairy panic grass (Dichanthelium acuminatum)

harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)

hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium)

hoary alyssum (Berteroa incana)

hoary frostweed (Crocanthemum bicknellii)

hooked buttercup (Ranunculus recurvatus var. recurvatus)

Indian hemp (Apocynum cannabinum)

Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans)

interrupted fern (Claytosmunda claytoniana)

jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

June grass (Koeleria macrantha)

lake sedge (Carex lacustris)

large-leaved avens (Geum macrophyllum var. perincisum)

leadplant (Amorpha canescens)

Leiberg’s panic grass (Dichanthelium leibergii)

lily-leaved twayblade (Liparis liliifolia)

linear-leaved panic grass (Dichanthelium linearifolium)

long-leaved bluet (Houstonia longifolia)

lowland hog peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata var. comosa)

marsh hedge nettle (Stachys palustris)

Maryland black snakeroot (Sanicula marilandica)

meadow horsetail (Equisetum pratense)

Morrow’s honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii)

narrow-leaved cattail (Typha angustifolia)

narrow-leaved hawkweed (Hieracium umbellatum)

narrow-leaved meadowsweet (Spiraea alba var. alba)

New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

northern bedstraw (Galium boreale)

northern blue flag (Iris versicolor)

northern bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera)

northern lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum)

northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis)

northern prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum)

northern red oak (Quercus rubra)

northern starflower (Lysimachia borealis)

ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica)

oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)

pale corydalis (Capnoides sempervirens)

pale green orchid (Platanthera flava var. herbiola)

paper birch (Betula papyrifera var. papyrifera)

Pennsylvania buttercup (Ranunculus pensylvanicus)

Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica)

pineapple-weed (Matricaria discoidea)

pointed-leaved tick-trefoil (Hylodesmum glutinosum)

poke milkweed (Asclepias exaltata)

prairie alumroot (Heuchera richardsonii)

prairie dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)

prairie fleabane (Erigeron strigosus)

prairie onion (Allium stellatum)

prairie rose (Rosa arkansana)

purple meadow-rue (Thalictrum dasycarpum)

quackgrass (Elymus repens)

quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)

red clover (Trifolium pratense)

red maple (Acer rubrum var. rubrum)

reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea)

rigid sedge (Carex tetanica)

roadside agrimony (Agrimonia striata)

rock spikemoss (Selaginella rupestris)

rough cinquefoil (Potentilla norvegica)

rough false pennyroyal (Hedeoma hispida)

round-headed bush clover (Lespedeza capitata)

round-leaved dogwood (Cornus rugosa)

rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)

rusty woodsia (Woodsia ilvensis)

scarlet Indian paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea)

sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis)

serviceberry (Amelanchier sp.)

shinleaf (Pyrola elliptica)

silvery cinquefoil (Potentilla argentea)

sleepy catchfly (Silene antirrhina)

slender willow (Salix petiolaris)

smooth Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum)

smooth sumac (Rhus glabra)

spikeoat (Avenula hookeri)

spotted Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum)

spotted touch-me-not (Impatiens capensis)

spotted water hemlock (Cicuta maculata)

spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium)

stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida ssp. rigida)

sulphur cinquefoil (Potentilla recta)

sunbright (Phemeranthus parviflorus)

swamp betony (Pedicularis lanceolata)

swamp thistle (Cirsium muticum)

timothy (Phleum pratense ssp. pratense)

tussock sedge (Carex stricta)

upright carrionflower (Smilax ecirrhata)

veiny pea (Lathyrus venosus var. intonsus)

violet wood sorrel (Oxalis violacea)

Virginia stickseed (Hackelia virginiana)

western bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum)

western poison ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii)

white avens (Geum canadense)

white clover (Trifolium repens ssp. repens)

white rattlesnake root (Nabalus albus)

white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima var. altissima)

wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)

wild grape (Vitis riparia)

wild oats (Uvularia sessilifolia)

wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis)

wood betony (Pedicularis canadensis ssp. canadensis)

woodbine (Parthenocissus vitacea)

yellow marsh marigold (Caltha palustris var. palustris)

yellow star grass (Hypoxis hirsuta)

yellow wood sorrel (Oxalis stricta)

 

Acer negundo var. negundo (boxelder)

Acer rubrum var. rubrum (red maple)

Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)

Ageratina altissima var. altissima (white snakeroot)

Agrimonia striata (roadside agrimony)

Allium stellatum (prairie onion)

Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)

Amelanchier sp. (serviceberry)

Amorpha canescens (leadplant)

Amphicarpaea bracteata var. comosa (lowland hog peanut)

Andropogon gerardi (big bluestem)

Anemonastrum canadense (Canada anemone)

Antennaria parlinii ssp. fallax (downy Parlin’s pussytoes)

Apocynum androsaemifolium (spreading dogbane)

Apocynum cannabinum (Indian hemp)

Aquilegia canadensis (wild columbine)

Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla)

Aralia racemosa ssp. racemosa (American spikenard)

Arctium minus (common burdock)

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (bearberry)

Arisaema triphyllum (jack-in-the-pulpit)

Asclepias exaltata (poke milkweed)

Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum (northern lady fern)

Avenula hookeri (spikeoat)

Berteroa incana (hoary alyssum)

Betula papyrifera var. papyrifera (paper birch)

Caltha palustris var. palustris (yellow marsh marigold)

Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed)

Campanula rotundifolia (harebell)

(Capnoides sempervirens) (pale corydalis)

Carex bicknellii (Bicknell’s sedge)

Carex gracillima (graceful sedge)

Carex intumescens (greater bladder sedge)

Carex lacustris (lake sedge)

Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)

Carex radiata (eastern star sedge)

Carex siccata (dry-spike sedge)

Carex stricta (tussock sedge)

Carex tetanica (rigid sedge)

Carex vulpinoidea (fox sedge)

Castilleja coccinea (scarlet Indian paintbrush)

Cerastium arvense (field chickweed)

Cicuta maculata (spotted water hemlock)

Cirsium muticum (swamp thistle)

Comandra umbellata ssp. umbellata (bastard toadflax)

Cornus canadensis (bunchberry)

Cornus racemosa (gray dogwood)

Cornus rugosa (round-leaved dogwood)

Corylus americana (American hazelnut)

Crocanthemum bicknellii (hoary frostweed)

Cryptotaenia canadensis (Canadian honewort)

Dichanthelium acuminatum (hairy panic grass)

Dichanthelium leibergii (Leiberg’s panic grass)

Dichanthelium linearifolium (linear-leaved panic grass)

Diervilla lonicera (northern bush honeysuckle)

Dryopteris cristata (crested wood fern)

Elymus canadensis (Canada wildrye)

Elymus repens (quackgrass)

Equisetum pratense (meadow horsetail)

Erigeron strigosus (prairie fleabane)

Eupatorium perfoliatum var. perfoliatum (common boneset)

Eurybia macrophylla (bigleaf aster)

Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod)

Eutrochium maculatum (spotted Joe Pye weed)

Fragaria virginiana (common strawberry)

Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash)

Galium boreale (northern bedstraw)

Galium triflorum (fragrant bedstraw)

Gentiana andrewsii (bottle gentian)

Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)

Geum canadense (white avens)

Geum macrophyllum var. perincisum (large-leaved avens)

Hackelia virginiana (Virginia stickseed)

Hedeoma hispida (rough false pennyroyal)

Heuchera richardsonii (prairie alumroot)

Hieracium umbellatum (narrow-leaved hawkweed)

Houstonia longifolia (long-leaved bluet)

Hylodesmum glutinosum (pointed-leaved tick-trefoil)

Hypoxis hirsuta (yellow star grass)

Impatiens capensis (spotted touch-me-not)

Iris versicolor (northern blue flag)

Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana (eastern redcedar)

Koeleria macrantha (June grass)

Lathyrus venosus var. intonsus) (veiny pea)

Lespedeza capitata (round-headed bush clover)

Leucanthemum vulgare (oxeye daisy)

Liparis liliifolia (lily-leaved twayblade)

Lonicera morrowii (Morrow’s honeysuckle)

Luzula multiflora (common woodrush)

Lycopus americanus (American bugleweed)

Lysimachia borealis (northern starflower)

Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)

Maianthemum racemosum var. racemosum (common false Solomon’s seal)

Matricaria discoidea (pineapple-weed)

Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica (ostrich fern)

Medicago lupulina (black medick)

Micranthes pensylvanica (eastern swamp saxifrage)

Nabalus albus (white rattlesnake root)

Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)

Opuntia fragilis (brittle prickly pear)

Osmorhiza claytonii (bland sweet cicely)

Claytosmunda claytoniana (interrupted fern)

Oxalis stricta (yellow wood sorrel)

Oxalis violacea (violet wood sorrel)

Parthenocissus vitacea (woodbine)

Pedicularis canadensis ssp. canadensis (wood betony)

Pedicularis lanceolata (swamp betony)

Persicaria sagittata (arrowleaf tearthumb)

Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass)

Phemeranthus parviflorus (sunbright)

Phleum pratense ssp. pratense (timothy)

Pinus strobus (eastern white pine)

Plantago rugelii var. rugelii (black-seeded plantain)

Platanthera flava var. herbiola (pale green orchid)

Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum (smooth Solomon’s seal)

Populus grandidentata (bigtooth aspen)

Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)

Potentilla argentea (silvery cinquefoil)

Potentilla norvegica (rough cinquefoil)

Potentilla recta (sulphur cinquefoil)

Potentilla simplex (common cinquefoil)

Prunella vulgaris (common self-heal)

Prunus serotina var. serotina (black cherry)

Prunus virginiana var. virginiana (chokecherry)

Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum (western bracken fern)

Pyrola elliptica (shinleaf)

Quercus ellipsoidalis (northern pin oak)

Quercus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa (bur oak)

Quercus rubra (northern red oak)

Ranunculus pensylvanicus (Pennsylvania buttercup)

Ranunculus recurvatus var. recurvatus (hooked buttercup)

Rhamnus cathartica (common buckthorn)

Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)

Rosa arkansana (prairie rose)

Rubus allegheniensis (Allegheny blackberry)

Rubus idaeus ssp. strigosus (American red raspberry)

Rudbeckia hirta var. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan)

Rumex acetosella (common sheep sorrel)

Rumex britannica (great water dock)

Salix petiolaris (slender willow)

Sanicula marilandica (Maryland black snakeroot)

Selaginella rupestris (rock spikemoss)

Silene antirrhina (sleepy catchfly)

Smilax ecirrhata (upright carrionflower)

Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade)

Solidago gigantea (giant goldenrod)

Solidago rigida ssp. rigida (stiff goldenrod)

Sorghastrum nutans (Indiangrass)

Spiraea alba var. alba (narrow-leaved meadowsweet)

Sporobolus heterolepis (prairie dropseed)

Stachys palustris (marsh hedge nettle)

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England aster)

Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale (common dandelion)

Thalictrum dasycarpum (purple meadow-rue)

Thalictrum thalictroides (rue anemone)

Toxicodendron rydbergii (western poison ivy)

Tradescantia bracteata (bracted spiderwort)

Trifolium pratense (red clover)

Trifolium repens ssp. repens (white clover)

Typha angustifolia (narrow-leaved cattail)

Ulmus americana (American elm)

Uvularia sessilifolia (wild oats)

Vaccinium caespitosum (dwarf bilberry)

Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus (common mullein)

Verbena hastata (blue vervain)

Viburnum rafinesqueanum (downy arrowwood)

Vicia americana ssp. americana (American vetch)

Vitis riparia (wild grape)

Woodsia ilvensis (rusty woodsia)

Zanthoxylum americanum (northern prickly ash)

 

Allegheny blackberry

American spikenard

American vetch

bittersweet nightshade

black-eyed susan

bottle gentian

bracted spiderwort

bunchberry

Canada anemone

chokecherry

common mullein

common strawberry

common yarrow

eastern redcedar

eastern white pine

fragrant bedstraw

harebell

common self-heal (ssp. vulgaris)

hedge bindweed

hoary alyssum

leadplant

Maryland black snakeroot

Morrow’s honeysuckle

New England aster

northern bedstraw

northern pin oak

northern starflower

oxeye daisy

pineapple-weed

poke milkweed

prairie fleabane (var. strigosus)

prairie onion

prairie rose

rough cinquefoil

sulphur cinquefoil

round-headed bush clover

scarlet Indian paintbrush (f. coccinea)

silvery cinquefoil

spotted touch-me-not

swamp thistle

violet wood sorrel

white clover

white snakeroot

wild columbine

wood betony

yellow marsh marigold

 

 

 

 

Binoculars

 

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