Sakatah-Singing Hills State Trail runs through Sakatah
Lake State Park and stretches 39 miles from Mankato to Faribault. The paved
trail offers hikers, bikers, skiers, and snowmobilers beautiful scenery through
Minnesota's hardwoods. Sakatah Lake, a natural widening of the Cannon River,
lures canoeists to paddle the calm waters, and anglers to catch walleye, large
mouth and white bass, northern pike, and panfish. Whatever the season, visitors
enjoy camping and picnicking.Quick stats:
842 acres
98,001 annual visits
Naturalist:
Wildlife
Open fields, wetlands, upland forests, lakes, and forest edges provide the
perfect habitat for many southern Minnesota wildlife species. Deer, muskrat,
raccoon, mink, rabbit, and red fox are animals commonly seen in the park. Listen
for songbirds, woodpeckers, hawks, and owls in the park.
History
Members of the Dakota Nation, the Wahpekita (Wapacoota) tribe inhabited the
area that is now the park. They named the area Sakatah, which translates to
"Singing Hills," hence the name for the state trail. The Cannon and other area
rivers served as an important Indian water route between south central Minnesota
and Wisconsin. The Big Woods made land travel difficult and a water route
allowed larger loads. Numerous trading posts and Indian villages existed along
the route. A village site is believed to have existed in the area of the point
separating Sakatah and Lower Sakatah Lakes. In 1862 a trader by the name of
Alexander Faribault established a post on the northeast shore of Cannon Lake --
one of the first white settlements in the area. He eventually opened at least
five other trading posts along the Cannon River.
Geology
Glacial activity 14,000 years ago shaped this landscape. The park sits on a
moraine, a large mound of rock and mineral debris deposits. In some areas of the
park, these moraine deposits are up to 400 feet deep. Glacial ice blocks left by
receding glaciers formed depressions which filled with water creating lakes such
as Sakatah Lake.
Landscape
Original notes from surveyors in the late 1800's described the area as low,
rolling land with second rate timber and prairieland with bur oak, basswood,
aspen, butternut, elm, ash, and ironwood. This area is an example of a
transition zone, or ecotome, between the Southern Oak Barrens and the Big Woods
Landscape Regions.
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