Monthly Archives: January 2023

Park Rapids, MN Sunday January 22

Going to Itasca State Park in winter is one of Chris’ favorite ways to celebrate her January birthday. This year we went for three nights over a weekend when the Park had both their Twinkle Light hike and a Trailside Lantern hike.

The ride up Friday was uneventful, other than having to find a new restaurant for lunch on the way up. One old favorite had closed and a second was just doing take out. We stopped at Boondocks in Wadena for the first time. It has an extensive menu with scratch made meals. It was quite good, we may be returning in the future.

Once we found these Four Season Suites at the park, we have made them our standard. Two pods of 6 attached units. Each has a separate bedroom with two queen beds, a sitting area, kitchen, full bath, and a screened in porch that does not get much use in winter. For just $105 a night, it is a real bargain. Internet and cable TV although we have not watched the TV.

The visitor center at Itasca is one of the best in the state park system. We know, we have been to all of the state parks, many of them multiple times. Two fireplaces, numerous comfortable sitting areas, exhibits about the Mississippi and the northern forests plus bathrooms and a gift shop. Bird feeders entice one to sit by the fireplaces and watch the birds swoop in to eat at the feeders.

We alternate between reading and hiking, usually a morning and an evening hike. We have been quite fortunate this year, the weather has been sunny and mild. Temps have been mid teens to mid twenties with vey little wind. This morning all the trees had a nice coating of hoarfrost to increase the picturesque quotient.

No trip up here could be complete without the requisite hike to the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Even in winter, the river starts out flowing as the water leaves Lake Itasca from under the mantle of frozen ice. Our first hike continues through the woods along Lake Itasca until we have to turn around when the trail stops due to the partially completed extension of a bike trail.

The Saturday evening Trailside Lantern hike follows a road that in winter is half cross country ski trail and half snow shoe trail. A park ranger indicated this year’s turnout was quite good, over 300 people in the first hour or so. We hike on the snowshoe trail and do better than most of the people on snow shoes. The lanterns, stars and white snow provide plenty of light to see by. As night progresses, the clear sky highlights a mass of stars all around us.

Sunday morning we go to Mass at a small church in a small community nestled along a back road. Across the road is a country store serving Sunday brunch but when we stop by after church, all of the tables are occupied by groups who arrived by snowmobile. We go to our back up restaurant that we were planning for dinner, Lobos, a bar and grill not far from the park. We have eaten here before; it had burned down in a fire a few years back but re-opened in August 2019. We have lunch and take two pieces of pie back to our cabin for eating later.

Sunday night we will go on the Twinkle Light hike and depart for home late Monday morning.

Next trip: San Francisco Bay Area for 20 days starting in mid-February.

Ed and Chris, Itasca State Park, Jan .22, 2023