Lake Bronson State Park



Beautiful and historic
Lake Bronson State Park



Visiting the Water and Observation
Tower with some of my brothers and
sisters,(from left to right: 
Brenna, Brielle, Brynn, me, Brooke,
 Bralynne and Brigham)



Lake Bronson State Park is founded in 1937 in the community of Bronson, Minnesota.  Given the town was renamed Lake Bronson underscores the signficance of this park to the history of this town. Here's why:  Back in the 30s, due to drought, this region was mostly without lakes.  The Great Depression with its hot dry weather also caused wells to dry up leaving the residents difficulty in finding water.  They were unable to dig deeper wells because the glaciers of the past had left a large layer of salt below the surface.  Many thought the only solution for the getting water in the region was to dam the South Fork of the Two River and create a sizeable artificial lake. The dam was built in 1936 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA was the government's answer to the high unemployment of the Great Depression, giving unemployed people construction jobs working on public projects.  Next they built a combination water and observation tower, and later, a beach and bathhouse. The dam and facilities were then turned over to the state of Minnesota and in 1937, the area became known as Two Rivers State Park. The park was renamed Lake Bronson State Park in 1945.  It tells a story of geological forces thousands of years ago teamed up to create a scenario that, combined with the draught of the 30s, created a local need for a man-made solution to a natural problem. In fact the landscape of the park is a direct result of the movement of glacial Lake Aggasiz, as the various ridges through out the park were formed by the retreating glacial lake.  Further, it was on one of these very ridge line erosions that the dam was built. 



Lake Aggasiz's retreat left a gorgeous sandy
beach at Lake Bronson State Park



There are lots of fun things to do at this park.  Visitors can readily witness wildlife with viewings of sandpipers and sharptail grouse, deer, moose, and the American elk.  The park also boasts a large body of water for great fishing and a beautiful beach.  The scenary promotes canoeing and boating, too.  Visitors can even rent boats at the park!  This park continues to provide activities year round.  In the winter, snowmobiling can be done on the many trails while chared with skiers and snowshoers. Don't forget to find this park'd hidden gem-  the World's Largest Jack Pine!



79 degrees in October allowed for fun on the beach!