For a quiet, relaxing time, hike the cool woodland
trail which meanders along the tranquil Des Moines River, or enjoy the view
of the river valley from Dinosaur Ridge Overlook. You'll find pleasant surprises
as you explore small creeks, prairie grasslands, and oak savannas. Visitors
enjoy camping, canoeing, fishing, picnicking and hiking. In the winter, enjoy
tubing down the long, steep hill.Quick stats:
228 acres
13,349 annual visits
Naturalist:
The best way to learn more about Kilen Woods State Park is to stop in at the
park office for a map and information about what to see in the park. Although
the park does not have a naturalist on staff, activities are offered
occasionally.
Wildlife
The Des Moines River provides aquatic habitat for beaver and muskrat.
Resourceful anglers catch walleyes, northerns, catfish, and bullheads from the
river's pools and numerous snags. Woodducks nest in tree cavities along the
river's edge while herons quietly stalk the shallows and back waters. Deer,
squirrels and woodpeckers are abundant in the park. Red admiral butterflies are
seen all summer long while the swallowtail butterflies are around during late
summer.
History
Long ago a nomadic people hunted and lived in the Des Moines River area. It
is thought they were here over 6,000 years ago and may have been the authors of
the drawings and symbols etched in rock at the Jeffers Petroglyphs, 30 miles to
the north. The Dakota people were the last known indigenous people of this area.
For hundreds of years they hunted bison, elk and waterfowl in addition to
collecting roots and herbs growing wild on the prairie. In the 1830s Joseph
Nicollet led an expedition that traversed the Des Moines River Valley. He
provided one of the most accurate descriptions and maps of southwestern
Minnesota. Nicollet noted an area slowly rising to several hundred feet above
the surrounding open plains. This Coteau des Prairie, "highland of the prairie"
held grand views of prairies, rivers and lakes surrounding the area. Kilen Woods
lies on the eastern edge of this region he called the "Coteau des Prairies." The
treaty of Traverse de Sioux of 1851 opened this hilly prairie country to the
first pioneers and settlers. Settlers and Dakota Indians were involved in the
U.S.-Dakota Conflict of 1862. Settlers turned the prairie wilderness into farms
and communities. The advent of railroads hastened the influx of immigrants into
the county, and with them, the destruction of the prairie. Blizzards, droughts,
grasshoppers and windstorms plagued early settlers of the river valley
throughout the years.
Geology
Over 15,000 years ago glacial ice which was several thousand feet thick
(known as the Des Moines Lobe) covered what is now southern Minnesota and Iowa.
When the ice retreated, gently rolling hills, shallow prairie lakes, and
countless wetlands remained. Many of the small lakes and wetlands have been
drained for agricultural purposes. The Des Moines River begins at Lake Shetek in
Murray County. It flows southeasterly through Minnesota and Iowa on its way to
the Mississippi River. At Kilen Woods State Park, the river cuts through a
hundred feet of rock, sand gravel known as glacial drift.
Landscape
At Kilen Woods State Park, trails wind through the park's oak forest, sunny
river bottom meadows, flood plain forest, oak savanna and prairie. Oak trees
grow on the steep river valley slopes. Scattered bur oak trees, wild plums and
hawthorns occur among prairie grasses and wildflowers at the edge of the Des
Moines River Valley. Look for big bluestem, Indian grass, blazing-star, and
purple coneflowers along the grassy ravines. Seven-foot tall prairie grasses,
butterfly milkweed, and grey-headed coneflowers dominate the late summer river
bottom prairie.
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