Forestville/Mystery Cave SP, MN

[AustinBoston]

Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park is in far southeastern Minnesota near the Iowa border.  

Follow either US 52 or US 63 to state route 16.  It would be east from 63 or west from 52.  Right now (Oct 2005) US 52 is under heavy construction with many sections closed or detoured.  From State Route 16, turn south onto county road 5 for 4 miles, then follow the signs.  Even if you are only visiting the historic site, you will need a permit for your vehicle.  We have the annual pass, so you'll have to check the web site for the fee.

We have been there twice, both times in October.

It features an important piece of Minnesota history, known as Historic Forestville.  The last business in Forestville, the general store, closed in 1910.  The town (or what's left of it) has hardly changed since.  It became a state park in 1963, and the historic site is operated by the Minnesota Historical Society.

Five miles away, another small section of the park (no camping there) contains Mystery Cave, one of the largest caves in Minnesota.

The camping is in three sections.  There is a remote horsecamp (only access by horse or foot), a primitive camping loop, and a two-loop developed campground.  There is also a group camp, but I'm not sure if that is part of the primitive campground or a separate facility.  I only saw the developed campground.

The developed campground has a mix of electric (20 & 30 amp) and non-electric sites (web site is down so I can't tell you how many) arranged in two loops.  Both loops have a center grassy area large enough for children to run and play, or a game of frisbee (see attachment 1).  Restrooms, which were reasonably clean, are located between the two loops.

Campsites are mostly treed (see attachment 2), fairly private, have a gravel parking area with a curbstone, a fire ring, and a picnic table.  Most are reasonably level, others slope away from the road or to one side.  Bring the Lynx or the Bal Leveler and wheel chocks.

Seasonal notes: Water was turned off on October 1, and the bath house closes mid-Cctober.  There are vault toilets on one end of one of the developed loops and in the primitive loop.  The web site says they keep 4-12 sites open and available all winter, so if you are inclined to camp when it's fifteen degrees below zero (F) and there's two feet of snow on the ground, there will be a site plowed out and available.  Don't laugh - snowmobiles and ice fishing are big sport in Minnesota.

There is no camp store.  There is a small camp store where you could get ice, milk, and bread at a commercial campground about a mile outside the park.  There is a tiny convenience store attached to a gas station about six miles north in Wycoff.  The nearest real grocery stores are many miles away in Preston or Spring Valley.  

Like all Minnesota State Park campgrounds, you can get reservations through the state's reservation site.  It is one of the best, allowing you to select by site number (and will even tell you when the earliest date is you can reserve for a particular date).  The state's policy is to leave 30% of the sites unreserved for first-come, first-serve, so if you are too late for a reservation, you still have a chance.  But I strongly reccomend reservations at Minnesota state parks, they fill up fast.

Other attractions in the area (I use the term "area" loosely, this is very rural country) include the very strict, old-order Amish community in Harmony and Niagara Cave with it's 60-foot waterfall, one of the tallest in Minnesota, and it's underground.  There is also a Laura Ingals Wilder site just across the border in Burr Oak, Iowa.

Austin

[Kelly]

Hey!  I've been there, too.    Last weekend with AB and his family, as a matter of fact ....

This is the third year in a row we've camped the same weekend at this park.  October is the best time to visit, especially when the fall colors are turning.  We were a little early for good color this year ~ you can see that in AB's pics.  I have some pics from last year here ~ the colors along the bluffs were a little more vivid last year.

I agree with the reasonably clean bathrooms.  I really like that each shower is its own room with real locking doors, benches and hooks!  I really don't like that the showers are the ones that you push a button, get some water, push the button, get some water .... it was way too cold for that last weekend!

A little tip about water late in the season ~ there is a spigot on the end of the bath house that stays on.  And the water is warm!!    

The hiking trail right of the campground is a fairly easy 2.2 mile loop ... only 2 hills, IIRC.  I carried my 45 pound daughter the whole time (don't ask!) and lived to tell the tale!  Most of the trail goes through a hardwood forest ~ very nice in the fall.

We'll go back ~ the first weekend in October, if anyone wants to plan that far in advance!  [/FONT]