This is fast becoming one of my favorite state parks. There are few mosquitos. We don't have raccoons rampage in the site at night. It is close to home; seriously, probably the closest weekend getaways we've had each of the last two summers. It has a decent size beach to take Ava to for swimming and playing in the sand. Lastly, the hiking trails. I love the hiking trails at this park. It is some rougher terrain, and in the flatland of southern Minnesota, it has some great views since it is tucked down in the bluffs.
****
Whitewater State Park
Picturesque limestone bluffs and deep ravines make Whitewater a very popular southeastern state park. The 2,700 acre park is an angler's paradise with brown, brook, and rainbow trout swimming in the spring-fed Whitewater River and Trout Run Creek. Visitors enjoy a sandy swimming beach, a year-round visitor center, easy-to-challenging hiking trails, camping, a group camp, and a modern group center. Come in the winter to enjoy cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and stay at the group center in rustic, winterized cabins. All through the year, discover the natural and human history of the area at one of the many interpretive programs, visitor center exhibits or self-guided trails.
****
We got there around 12:00 or 12:30 on Friday, but had to go hang out at the beach since our site wasn't open yet. When we finally got set up, we just laid back and relaxed. We also made a late lunch. Around 5:00, I headed out for my run and climb to the base of the Elba Fire Tower, and Chad took Ava swimming. We made a later supper of chicken and salad, took showers, started the campfire, ate Smores, and went to bed!
 |
| Max was so excited to be coming along! |
 |
| He is huge, but such a pretty dog! |
 |
| Fire tower! |
 |
| Supper! |
 |
| I was not completely thrilled with more steps. This was at the top, thankfully. |
 |
| I don't know if the picture does it justice, but it is a rocky terrain! |
 |
| Chimney Rock |
 |
| more trail |
 |
| this was at the end of our hike; we have a similar picture, in a slightly different spot from last year! The rest of these are from Chimney Rock overlook. |
Beach time:
We went back to the campsite for lunch, and I gave Chad some time to relax. While I love the hiking and beach and busyness of the day while camping, he likes to get up early for a walk or hike (mainly to look for deer) and then take a nap and relax during the day. It didn't help he had a migraine brewing most of the day.
Finally, I headed out for my own hike (though Ava could have done this trail if she wanted to). It is one of the two marked difficult, but the rocky terrain we did earlier was just as hard, if not harder, than anything I encountered on this trail. Here's some views and stupid selfies I took!
To end the day, we went to a spot you can wade in the river, let Max get a bit muddy, and had a campfire. We got some color packs at the Nature Store that you throw in the fire, that was kind of fun! It rained a lot overnight Saturday night, and Sunday morning was quite cool. We took our time packing up, I took some pictures of our campsite, and we headed home! Another successful camping trip!
 |
| I thought it's be a good spot for a family picture, but there was not where to really set the camera. Oh well! |
 |
| Do you see the green? |
 |
| We had extra wood, so we started a fire Sunday morning. I couldn't get it to do anything but smoke. Of course after I took the picture, it finally started to burn, and we had a nice fire while we ate breakfast and packed up!
If you're still reading, thank you! :) It was a great weekend.
What last summer fling have you done, or do you have planned?
|
No comments:
Post a Comment