A Day Trip to Itasca State Park... It's Worth it, Yo!

This past summer I went on very cheap semi vacations. I kept them close to home and made sure that every day would be filled with something new. And even though I would have loved to go somewhere far far away, it just wasn't going to happen this past summer, due to graduating college, having student loans that I want to pay back early, having a car that is getting older, wanting to move from up north to the Twin Cities. In other words, no spending money as much as possible and SAVE EVERYTHING.

So I went on trips in Minnesota. The first was Itasca State Park. My family lives around 1-2 hours away from Itasca, so I never had to pay for hotels or too much traveling expenses. I had originally decided to go here this summer because my boyfriend had never been, and since he lives in Minnesota, I couldn't allow him to continue living without seeing it. At least I think it is crazy that he hasn't been there because of all my memories with day trips there in school. I mean that was one of the only places we were allowed to go for trips in school. Back then I resented the fact that we didn't get to go to all those cool things down in the cities, but now I realize what I a gift I was given by being let to go to Itasca and learn all about nature and the history behind it.
So we made plans to go on a day visit.

Here's the thing about Itasca, it has the headwaters of the Mississippi River. That is what it is most known for, but it has a rich history concerning the logging industry and the Native American culture and much more. There is even a Native American burial mound area that people can visit, but please be super respectful because it is a cemetery.

So my trip with my boyfriend was fast, and we didn't get to do everything that we wanted to do which happens when there is only so much time. We were on a deadline since we had to get back for a family function. So my advice, plan the Itasca trip before going unlike us. I assumed that my previous goings would help me to remember and guide us to where we needed to go. I had forgotten that I was kid or very young when I went and I always was in a passenger seat or on a bus, so I never paid any attention on where things were in the park. I just remember to cool sites and things we did. My boyfriend and I only planned around the timeline of when we had to leave and the weather.

The main tourist and park attractions that I would say are a must if you are on a time crunch are these:  visitor center, headwaters, Native American Burial ground, Wegmann Store Ruins, museum, pioneer cemetery, peace pipe vista, preacher's grove,  and Old Timer's Cabin.
The peace pipe vista, preacher's grove, and pioneer cemetery will only take ten minutes tops for each, and visit them on your way out of the park, it makes life a lot simpler if you're driving out.

Visiting during the summer means that there will always be a lot of people especially during the weekends. The weather is always something to plan for. If you like hiking or biking there are amazing trail for that too. There is a rental place right in the park where people can rent bikes, canoes, paddle boats, even the bikes that are electric so you don't have to work as hard. However, this past summer almost all of the bike trails were closed to construction and maintenance, so be aware of what is closed and what isn't before going.

Overall, after trying to rush and do everything because I wanted my boyfriend to have a great experience like I have always had since I was a kid, we realized that we had more than enough time to go explore things we didn't notice on the map. We both agree that we want to come back during the winter for another day trip to go snowshoeing and cross country skiing. I'll stick to the snow shoes though.