Nerstrand Big Woods State Park

After three days of uncharacteristically cold August weather, the kids and I wanted to get outside and do something.  We ended up at Nerstrand Big Woods State Park on Thursday morning where we spent the morning and early afternoon hiking and exploring.  It is one of the largest areas of the pre-European settlement 'Big Woods' remaining, plus has a waterfall to explore.

There is a deep valley that cuts through the park that has a glacial origin.  The park exists just east of the lateral margin of the Des Moines Lobe's last glacial advance 10-20,000 years ago.  Meltwater (remember, even during ice ages, glaciers melt some during the summer months) from the glacier created channels that flowed to the east towards the ancestral Mississippi River.  The Cannon River occupies one just to the north flowing through Northfields.  At the park here, Prairie Creek occupies a meltwater channel.  The creek has cut down through 150+ feet of glacial till down to bedrock, the Platteville Limestone (the water forming rock of the Minneapolis/St. Paul area).  As it flows over the limestone, the creek erodes softer shale underneath forming Hidden Falls.

Hidden Falls is a little more than a mile (round trip) from the parking area, pretty easy walk for everyone...

Just upstream from the falls, the trail continues on and there are miles of hiking trails through the woods...

The boys really enjoyed exploring downstream from Hidden Falls...

What they did not like was me staging multiple pictures in front of the waterfall...

You can access above and below the waterfall...

Luke has an interest in taking pictures (he wants an iPhone for his birthday so he can take pictures and play games) so this week we took Sarah's old digital camera and put batteries so Luke could use it.  He loves it!

And...

And...

Of course we remembered to bring our passport to get a stamp too!