This is beautiful bluff country! The park contains
two Scientific and Natural Areas (SNAs), King's and Queen's Bluff. The King's
Bluff trail offers a breathtaking view of the Mississippi River Valley. Bring
your binoculars; the river valley is a major flyway for waterfowl, eagles, and
hawks. Explore the diversity in this park: oak-hickory and maple-basswood
forests, pine plantations, fields, and goat prairies offer visitors excellent
hiking and a diversity of wildlife. Look for ruffed grouse, wild turkeys,
coyotes, and many species of songbirds.Quick stats:
3,067 acres
25,456 annual visits
5,001 overnight visits
Naturalist:
There is no naturalist on staff at this park.
Wildlife
The park attracts more than 35 species of mammals, 17 species of reptiles and
amphibians, and well over 100 species of birds. Rabbits, mice, and ground
squirrels are common in the patches of prairie in the park. Predators of these
mammals include red-tailed hawks, great horned owls, and red foxes. The hardwood
forest provides habitat for opossums, skunks, Indigo buntings, ruffed grouse,
and wild turkeys. In the winter, visitors report seeing bald eagles. The prairie
draws uncommon species of wildlife: a lizard, the six-lined racer; and a prairie
bird, the bobolink.
History
When the European settlers came to the area, much of the upland floodplain
was plowed for crops. The soil type and the slope of the upland caused soil
erosion. Check dams were installed, but even so, many fields had to be
abandoned. In the early 1960s, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR),
Division of Forestry purchased much of the land that now makes up the park. At
the time, plantations of red and white pine, green ash, and walnut were started.
The creation of Great River Bluffs State Park in 1976 on a bluff overlooking the
Mississippi River Valley grew from a public need for better access to the
bluffland area of southeastern Minnesota. The park's 2,835 acres lie within the
Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood Forest. Classified as a "Natural State Park,"
park staff are dedicated to the protection and restoration of natural resources.
Geology
Glaciers made what Minnesota is today. These ice sheets, up to two miles
thick, made lakes, filled in valleys, created hills, and moved millions of tons
of rock and soil. Most of the bluffland area of southeastern Minnesota displays
little glacial drift from any of the four major glaciers.
Landscape
Great River Bluffs State Park is located in the Blufflands Landscape Region.
This landscape features half-dome bluffs with sheer rock cliffs, steep valley
walls, and rolling uplands. The park includes a diversity of plant communities
including maple-basswood forests, old hickory, pines, goat prairies, and old
fields.
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