Our favorite places to get outdoors
Check out where our staff love to spend time outdoors! Where are your favorite places to get outside? GO EXPLORE!
Carrie Danner: My favorite outdoor destination is the bank of the Chippewa River on which my uncles cabin sits in Ojibwa, Wisconsin. It’s my favorite place because it’s the perfect place for fishing, tubing, canoeing, and every time I go I see at least 3 bald eagles and approximately one gazillion stars.
Brian Hubbard: Minnesota has world class parks and trails! My favorite place to hike with Monty and Vahti is Split Rock River Trail, Two Harbors, Minn. We love the trail, access to the river and awesome views!
Dorian Hasselmann: Bryant Lake Regional Park has a recycling container at all the tee-pads for my excessive “soda” consumption! It is also well marked, and has a good mix of open and wooded holes. Also, some of the views almost make up for the number of extra throws I need to finish a round of disc golf.
Megan Zeiher: Butterwort Cliffs Scientific and Natural Area: During my service term with the SNA Program of the MN DNR I got to visit several SNAs across the state and see so many of Minnesota’s most wild places, but this was the most enchanting of them all. The crayon box of colors certainly added to its charm, but the peaceful crashing of waves and solitude of the space is what makes it one of my favorite places to get outside.
Eric Antonson: My favorite place to get outside is the back 40 acres at my parents’ house. I grew up playing and exploring in those woods. Much of my sense of where I came from and who I am is rooted there. It is good for my soul to get back there and wander around. As John Burroughs said, “I come here often to find myself. It is so easy to get lost in the world.”
Jerry Buker: BWCA – Peace and quiet, and great scenery and fishing.
Hollis Emery: Lots of places I love, but one of my favorites is still Banning State Park. One of the first parks I really explored in Minnesota when I moved to Moose Lake to be part of the Corps. And also one of the first times I hung out with my husband. Of course, I really really love Lake Superior. However, it’s hard to beat some of my favorite places back home in California – especially the ocean and mountains! – and Southeast Alaska, which is a place I got to live because of working for another Corps!
Andrew Dale: Superior Hiking Trail! Challenging, rewarding, rugged and mostly remote, yet not too far from creature comforts (great restaurants and breweries) in Grand Marais, Two Harbors and Duluth. I spend every spare weekend that I can up there. In the photo my dog Sam and I are overlooking Bean Lake, a couple trail miles into Tettegouche State Park. Sam is looking the wrong way as usual.
Kellie Lager: I love living in Minneapolis, because there are so many great places to get outdoors right in my backyard! Lake of the Isles is one of my favorite places. That rainbow was captured perfectly over the shoreline, and the flowers and rushes are beautiful this year. But of course, I can’t get out of here without a single picture of northern Minnesota! The sunset in the last picture looks like fire over the snow.
Bailey Erickson: I love going to the North Shore! My favorite thing is hiking up creeks and rivers to find waterfalls. Being by the water makes me feel more content, creative, relaxed and happy. I also love picking wild blueberries on Palisade Head, having bonfires on the beach and kayaking on Lake Superior. Photo taken by my favorite travel partner, Paul!
Nicole Zyvoloski: One of my favorite outdoor places is Eagle Mountain, near Grand Marais. It’s the highest point in Minnesota, and I love the view! Another spot near and dear to my heart is Cascade River State Park – the river, Lookout Mountain, and Lake Superior all in one 🙂