Minneopa State Park is Minnesota's third state park. In 1905 the State set aside this area near Mankato Minneopa for public use, thus establishing Minneopa State Park. The beauty and splendor of this area was well known and thousands of tourists came on the raiload to Minneopa. The small town had sprung up around a rail depot in 1870. More tourists came by steam powered paddle boat up the Minnesota River and then walked to the falls. Local people came from miles around by wagon to relax with their families. The word "minneopa" means "water falling twice" in the Dakota language and what all these tourists came to see was a beautiful series of water falls gently flowing through the town. Tradesmen also came for the Seppmann mill, which was completed in 1864 and could grind as much as 150 bushels of wheat into flour, daily. Droughts in the 1870s brought three consecutive grasshopper plagues which pretty much wiped out the area crops and brought about the end of the little town of Minneopa. The depot did continue for a while, to serve tourists that kept coming for the falls and family recreation, but soon ceased to exist. Today, you can still enjoy the picnic area next to the falls like the park's other visitors have for almost two hundred years. There are lots of hiking opportunities, which I enjoyed, and of course, a modern eco-tourism activity, Geo-caching, is tons of fun here, too! Get on the train or hitch your wagon up and head on out to Minneopa State Park!
Minneopa State Park is Minnesota's third state park. In 1905 the State set aside this area near Mankato Minneopa for public use, thus establishing Minneopa State Park. The beauty and splendor of this area was well known and thousands of tourists came on the raiload to Minneopa. The small town had sprung up around a rail depot in 1870. More tourists came by steam powered paddle boat up the Minnesota River and then walked to the falls. Local people came from miles around by wagon to relax with their families. The word "minneopa" means "water falling twice" in the Dakota language and what all these tourists came to see was a beautiful series of water falls gently flowing through the town. Tradesmen also came for the Seppmann mill, which was completed in 1864 and could grind as much as 150 bushels of wheat into flour, daily. Droughts in the 1870s brought three consecutive grasshopper plagues which pretty much wiped out the area crops and brought about the end of the little town of Minneopa. The depot did continue for a while, to serve tourists that kept coming for the falls and family recreation, but soon ceased to exist. Today, you can still enjoy the picnic area next to the falls like the park's other visitors have for almost two hundred years. There are lots of hiking opportunities, which I enjoyed, and of course, a modern eco-tourism activity, Geo-caching, is tons of fun here, too! Get on the train or hitch your wagon up and head on out to Minneopa State Park!
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