Lake Louise lures hikers, horseback riders, skiers, and snowmobilers to its
trails, which wind through open landscapes and lush hardwoods. The confluence of
the Little Iowa and Upper Iowa Rivers that occurs in the park provides water
recreation. In addition, visitors swim, boat, or fish in Lake Louise. Hiking and
horseback riding are also popular sports at this park. The lakeside picnic
grounds and beach area draws visitors in the summer.Quick stats:
1,168 acres
38,596 annual visits
Naturalist:
Occasional basis throughout the year.
Wildlife
The diversity of wetlands, rivers, lake, old fields, and wooded areas provide
ideal habitat for many species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians,
including the prairie skink. Look for fox squirrel, raccoon, beaver, red fox,
and white-tailed deer, which is in abundance. This park is a great place to
birdwatch, with over 141 species reported, including 19 species of warblers and
5 species of vireos.
History
Lake Louise State Park is the site of Minnesota's oldest, continuous
recreation area. Shortly after the area was surveyed in 1853, the town of LeRoy
was platted, and the Upper Iowa River dam was constructed to provide power for a
grist mill. Soon after, the railroad came through, but it passed south of the
original townsite. Out of economic necessity, the town of LeRoy was moved south
to its present location for access to the rails. When the grist mill was
abandoned, the Hambrecht family who owned the land along the mill pond gave
several acres to the village as a recreation area. At that time the site was
known as Wildwood Park. The mill pond was named after a member of the Hambrecht
family and still bears her name, "Louise." In 1962, the city of LeRoy donated
Wildwood Park -- about 70 acres -- to the state of Minnesota to form the nucleus
of Lake Louise State Park. Today, the statutory boundary totals 1,168 acres.
Geology
This area was lightly glaciated by the first two of four ice ages about
400,000 years ago. As a result, the limestone bedrock is close to the surface
and only a thin layer of glacial soil covers the bedrock. In some places, the
soft, porous limestone has dissolved, creating a depression in the landscape.
Despite these few rather interesting depressions, the park's terrain is
relatively level and ideal for the novice cross-country skier and horseback
rider.
Landscape
Lake Louise State Park offers visual relief from the vast pastureland
cropland that surrounds the park. Within its boundaries, Lake Louise contains
serene oak savanna, a mixture of grasslands and bur oaks, and scattered stands
of hardwoods. Two spring fed streams join to form the Iowa River. A colony of
Allium cernuum, commonly known as nodding wild onion, can be found in the park.
This is a Minnesota threatened species. The nodding wild onion blooms in the
spring, along with the purple-fringed orchid, woodland prairie flowers.
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