banning state park

happykellyk

Best way to see the park and the Kettle River is on the water. Our family took a guided tour with Hard Water Sports and had a blast. The guide was awesome stopping for to checkout the rock formations and letting us take time to swim.

natzelim2014

I've never seen anything as beautiful as this park. The river, the rapids, the wildlife, the trees, the quarry and the waterfall were all absolutely breathtaking. So in love with this place

6554321

We've been coming here for thirty years. If you just walked the trails without reading the interpretive materials you might not know there was once a town and a business here that employed more than 500 men. We think Banning is the most beautiful park in Minnesota, especially on a fall weekday when there are only a few people. It's a jewel that's missed by too many passing by on the freeway.

JenniferMor8

We just got home from a night in the camper cabin at Banning State Park. The cabin is clean, nicely arranged, and on a great site in the campground. The bugs and caterpillers are plentiful so long sleeves and pants with strong bug repellent is recommended. We hiked to Wolf Creek Falls and along the river. It was gorgeous and not a difficult path for kids. The river is high and flowing nicely. The whole park is peaceful. Enjoy!

amigolucy

We've hiked all over the world - yet often remark "Banning ranks as one of the best". The trail along the Kettle River is thrilling with views, sounds, and nature. If you happen to see a kayaker coming down those turbulent waters you have a most special treat. This is one of the finest parks in the north part of US.

68JustinB

I was so impressed by this park. I hiked out here to do a hike from a hiking book that I had gotten. I started out the day by hiking at Moose lake state park and was rather unimpressed by that hike. So I was hoping this place would be better. The hike that I took followed a pamphlet guided tour with information about the area. The park was once a huge mill area and much of the material was used on buildings including the police department building in downtown Minneapolis. The huge chunks of rock that has been removed from all over the area made for great scenery. There were the remanants of many old buildings as well. Some of the highlights were the falls. They were quite colorful and a nice surprise to come upon in the woods. Also the river flowing through the area cut into the surrounding rocks and made some great natural formations including many large potholes and some devils face in the Hell's gate area. One of the greatest parks I have ever been too for natural beauty and awesome hiking. I have plans to come back to this park in the spring and really experience all it has to offer.

robbs224

I love seeing all the positive experiences from people in Banning State Park. I was born and raised in Sandstone and spent many hours exploring the woods and river and believe the scenery and natural beauty of this park are on par with any in the state. For a real adventure, you can drive south to Sandstone and park in Robinson Park down by the river and hike from Robinson Park all the way up to Banning State Park. Keeping the river on your right you can't get lost, and there are so many things to see, from the bat cave, to Wolf Ridge Falls, to the kettles, exploring is only limited by your time, weather or want-to.I now live in the Twin Cities, but it's great to see people enjoying the great outdoors in my "back yard" as much as I did! I'm getting nostalgic, I think I'm going to head up there soon.P.S. Stop by Jan and Gary's when in Sandstone and order a chocolate malt, you'll be glad you did!

232wendyn

Moved here recently from St. Louis so used to hiking in the rugged Ozarks along rocky, naturalistic trails. Also have extensively hiked GSMNP. This is one of the few parks I can find similar rocky, rugged and natural trials like the Ozarks, though much shorter in length. So many of the MN trails are wide, grassy and obviously mowed for winter CX ski use. It is so nice to enjoy a walk in a more natural setting. The Kettle River is very pretty, Wolf Ridge Falls is also a lovely spot and the hikes aren't really very challenging to get to beautiful views. Guessing in the summer the mosquitos are bad, but that's MN for you! Hiked this at end of September .... no bugs. If you love rugged, rocky, naturalized trails with beautiful river and waterfall scenery then this park is for you.

NatureLover99_11

We camped here in a 32' trailer & had plenty of room to park. Each site is separated from the next with thick bushes & many trees making it very private. The roads are tree lined & many maples were turning red. Attendants were pleasant & helpful with directions. Even though it had rained & humidity was 100%, there were not many mosquitoes or flies for this time of year. We would camp here again & highly recommend this site to everyone! Very peaceful& quiet!!!

TryppAdams

I arrived around 8:30am in the morning and despite seeing the ranger and asking for some input on the trails and I would assume him seeing me pay at the self pay box, he followed me to where I parked and double checked my permit and the car next to mine. No freebies here. As soon as I got out of my car it was obvious I needed to load up on bug spray. And while this 40% DEET concoction worked on fending off the mosquito's (they just buzzed at a semi safe distance) the flies didn't seem to mind and may have been attracted to it. I must of swatted a hundred flies on my trip from the parking lot to wolf creek falls and that is no exaggeration. This is a fairly long hike and I took the scenic route along the river. Unfortunately the bugs were so thick, I kept a quick pace and didn't want to stop to take in some of the scenic beauty of the bluffs. If I were hiking just to Wolf Creek falls again, I would probably park in the campground and hike from there as this shaves a few miles off the trip.

AtanuR

Banning state park is a nice little state park nestled on the bank of Kettle river. For all you avid "kayak"ers this might be your ultimate fantasy. The river has the most "dangerous" rapids suited for kayaking in the whole of Minnesota. There are a few trails worth visiting. But the best part of the park is probably Wolf creek falls. Take the wolf creek trail to this falls and you sure will not be disappointed.

heatherj189

What a lovely park- wonderful rock formations- a lot like Jay Cooke only less crowded. The waterfall was going strong and the paths were good. I would strongly recommend this park. They do not sell ice is the only down side- eerything else was good. Went to the Hinkley Fire Museum while we were in the area.

hockeystud74

This state park is easy to get to, just off highway 35. Great hiking trails, even for small children. we had a 5, 9, 10 year old with and they loved this state park. Had a nice area to picnic by a waterfall.Good fishing in the spring/early summerNot much for Biking trails was the only draw back.

Burrs1983

Go to kayak or watch the kayaks. Be careful because the Kettle river (runs through the park) is a totally different beast depending on the water height. Also has a nice campground and lots of great hiking trails and is easy to get to from Interstate 35.

Ayan_Dhara

I visited this state park at last weekend of September. I got lot of fantastic autumn color. The small wolf creek falls was so picturesque. It was 3.5 miles hike on a hilly trail, we enjoyed every step.