Big Stone Lake State Park
Things to Do at & Just Beyond It
The second park on this adventure was Big Stone Lake State Park. It’s in Western Minnesota, on the border of South Dakota, near Ortonville. Another phenomenal state park, with incredible sunset opportunities! One of my favorite things about this campground is it’s quaintness. Although, thinking back, we were here on weekdays and during the fall season; so…there were only a handful of other campers. I imagine it could feel a bit crowded if it was completely full during a busy summer season. Speaking of the campground, if you plan to camp here – we can help you choose your campsite with our video slideshow of each and every campsite on our YouTube Channel. Find that here:
Upon our arrival to Big Stone Lake State Park, we checked in and set up camp. Ok, well, we didn’t really finish setting up before exploring a bit, we leveled the camper and wandered across the road to check out the view of Big Stone Lake from the campground. The nonelectric sites border the lake. So, if you reserve one of those sites you can fish from your campsite. But, if you require electricity, maybe you’ll be lucky (like us this time!) that a nonelectric site won’t be reserved so you can fish from shore too.
We finished getting the camper set up and lit the campfire. When it comes to electric sites, our site (number 10e) has an incredible view of the lake (if no one is camping in site 11, that is). While relaxing by the campfire we enjoyed watching the sunset from our site and also ventured down to watch it along the shoreline.
Onto one of my favorite things about Minnesota State Parks is the history behind each and every park! Big Stone Lake State Park was established in 1961. It’s unique in that it currently consists of three different parts; all of which are not connected via a hiking trail. The Hiking Club Trail is located in the Bonanza Area, and on your drive to that part of the park (12 miles) you can visit the Overlook Area which offers an expansive view of Big Stone Lake. The campground is located in the Meadowbrook Area.
The next morning we brewed coffee and wandered over to the boat launch area to watch the sunrise. We discovered there is a swimming beach and checked that out too. Here’s a short video of the sunrise:
We then hiked back to the campsite to cook breakfast before heading out of the park to explore the area. Growing in the grassy area next to the campground was a stinkhorn mushroom. We joked that we’d found a morel! (Except it was fall…and this was most definitely a stinkhorn) Today’s breakfast consisted of an omelet. My Dad makes the best omelets so it’s always a fun experience to do our best to replicate them with whatever ingredients we have on hand.
Headwaters of the Minnesota River
After breakfast we headed out on an adventure to explore the area. This day was our wedding anniversary! Our first stop was discovering the Headwaters of the Minnesota River in Ortonville. And we couldn’t just “drive by” – we had to fish it, of course! The carp were jumping and extremely active right up against the dam. The number of snags overwhelmed Amanda so she focused on photographing and videoing a bit while Cole fished.
Our typical adventure North this time of year runs around 30-50 degree temperatures. This year was unexpectedly hot. Amanda forgot to pack shorts, so since we were on the border already, we wandered into Big Stone City, South Dakota and continued on west to find the nearest Dollar General. There was some debate about stopping by Sly’s Steakhouse R2, Bar and Casino for an anniversary beer or shot…there were so many funny signs about it, but ultimately we wanted to get back to enjoy exploring the state park and we already had one more stop planned.
Big Stone Lake National Wildlife Refuge
When we’d first arrived to Big Stone Lake State Park, along the way to the park, Amanda saw a sign along the road that said “auto tour” and began her “nerdy Just Beyond Parks research.” This is how we discovered the Big Stone Lake National Wildlife Refuge! And, what an amazing place!! A MUST DO when you’re in the area!
A paved road that takes you through a major waterway for migratory waterfowl. The number of birds we saw couldn’t be captured in photos without a telescopic lens…but despite the unexpected heat, it was an incredible experience.
Shortly after you pull in you can get out and hike a short hike to a board walk, which is also handicapped accessible. The boardwalk gets out into the wetlands a-ways and even has a tower binocular to give a closer glimpse at the birds. At this same parking spot, you can hike up the large “Big Stones” but there are signs to be extremely careful to not disturb any plants or foliage along the way. We were expecting to discover catci in this park, but did not find any…but I suspect we’ll be back to spend more time exploring here next time we camp in the area.
We got back in the truck and continued on admiring the beauty of the wetlands. It would be absolutely amazing to be here during spring or fall migration. When we visited, it was early October, so there were dozens and dozens of birds who’d made this their summer home, but visiting the refuge just a few weeks later would be pretty amazing. Our final pull-off, in the refuge, had a fishing pier that noted Northern Pike can be caught off the pier. It was so hot that we decided to hike the trail and fish the next time we visit. So we headed out of the Refuge to relax by the camper before cooking a very special supper. Here’s a video of our experience at Big Stone Lake National Wildlife Refuge. As always, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel if you enjoy our videos. Thank you so very much.
After a Step Two beverage back at the campground, we began prepping our Surf N Turf supper. We’d splurged and purchased a lobster tail from one of our favorite meat markets and grilled it for the first time ever. Here’s a helpful video of how to grill a lobster tail; it was absolutely delicious!!
We ended the evening enjoying every moment of the sunset from an unoccupied campsite across the road from us. And of course, we had a sunset campfire. It was the perfect ending to another wonderful wedding anniversary for us!
The final morning, of this adventure, in Big Stone Lake State Park consisted of coffee by the lake and a drive to the Hiking Club Trail. Along the way to the Hiking Club Trail you can pull into the second section of the state park, about seven miles up the road, which is considered a scenic overlook…and worth the stop. The view of the lake is a completely different perspective than what we see from our campsite!
Hiking Club Trail
We jumped back in the truck and headed up the highway to the third section of the state park, the Bonanza Area. This is the part of the park where the Hiking Club Trail is located. If you haven’t read our “About Us” page yet; one of the two challenges we give ourselves when visiting a MN State Park, is hiking the Hiking Club Trail in each park. You can join the Hiking Club by purchasing it in the state park gift shop/office when they’re open. I’ve also heard a rumor that an MN State Park online gift shop may be on the horizon. (Which is extra exciting to us because they’re often not open for us to shop at when we’re passing by. Staffing is always a challenge anymore…)
Anyway, back to the trail. This Hiking Club Trail is a shorter one, totaling 2.2 miles. The wooded hillsides take you along Big Stone Lake and we were quite surprised at the number of creeks within the forest. It made for a peaceful hike with flowing water in several areas of the forest. One of Minnesota’s least known waterfalls also exists here, Benkowski Falls. It was an unexpected and welcome surprise towards the end of the trail. We also saw an owl partway through the trail. Here’s our experience:
The woodland creeks were calming and relaxing while we hiked our way through the forest. If you’re in need of a moment of nature, enjoy this glimpse of an unnamed creek along the trails of Big Stone Lake State Park.
After returning to the camper to pack up, we headed out to the next place to explore… Maplewood State Park. The 3rd park on this Anniversary Adventure! Have you ever camped at Big Stone Lake State Park? If so, what did we miss and what should we do next time we adventure here? What was your favorite campsite and trail?