North American Prairie Conference

Field Trip Information Summary


Wednesday, August 6, 2008




• Picturesque limestone bluffs and deep ravines make Whitewater State Park a very popular southeastern Minnesota park.
• The 2,700 acre park is an angler's paradise with brown, brook, and rainbow trout swimming in the spring-fed Whitewater River and Trout Run Creek.
• Visitors enjoy a sandy swimming beach, a year-round visitor center, easy-to-challenging hiking trails, camping, a group camp, and a modern group center.
• Come winter, enjoy cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or stay at the group center in rustic, winterized cabins.
• All through the year, discover the natural and human history of the area at one of the many interpretive programs, visitor center exhibits or self-guided trails.
• Naturalist programs are year-round. See our WWW-site Seasonal Sampler for a listing of upcoming programs
• Nearly 50 kinds of mammals and 250 kinds of birds use the Whitewater River Valley during the course of a year.
• Wild turkeys are in the valley and bald eagles can be found year-around. In the spring, listen and look for the rare bird, the Louisiana waterthrush.
• Of Minnesota's rare animals and plants, 43 percent live in the Blufflands.

• Round trip walking distance from bus: A few hundred feet for interpretive center and picnic area.  A few miles if you follow all of the trails.
• Rigor of field trip: rigorous to very rigorous if we walk up the bluff, which is recommended.
• Potential hazards at site: Steep rough terrain, high temps in the valley, poison ivy, ticks