Jay Cooke State Park

Minnesota’s seventh biggest park, at 8,818 acres, is Jay Cooke State Park. It is positioned 23 miles southwest of Duluth and hugs the St. Louis River from Fond Du Lac to Carlton, Minnesota. This park registers over 250,000 traffic and campers per year. Jay Cooke’s campground has over a hundred campsites and five condominium cabins. Two spacious picnic areas are available, one at Oldenberg Point and the other at the historical River Inn, which now serves as the Visitor Center. The latter was once constructed by way of the Civilian Conservation Corps and has withstood decades of harsh Minnesota winters. Both have fireplaces and electricity for your convenience. The park has miles and miles of hiking trails that emerge as cross-country ski trails in the winter; they truely connect to each the Willard Munger State Trail and the Superior Hiking Trail.

Seismic undertaking alongside the St. Louis River in Jay Cooke has uncovered layers of slate, greywacke and native brownstone. Brownstone used to be quarried along the river and in Fond Du Lac; it was then used to construct structures which can be considered in many areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The park comes alive in autumn, thanks in section to an awful lot of the forest being maple trees. There have been 46 kinds of animals noticed in the park and roughly 176 species of birds. Black bear, trees wolf and coyote are the biggest of the animals seen. The uncommon Pileated woodpecker, gorgeous blue heron and marsh hawks make the park their home.

The drive to Jay Cooke State Park starts offevolved as you power south along Highway 23 from Duluth. Driving through Fond Du Lac, the oldest city in Minnesota, you’ll then veer to the right onto State Highway 210. You’ll be heading west and it will take you on a picturesque and winding pressure through the entire park, which ends in Thompson, Minnesota. There are many places to quit along the way and you may want to actually make this an complete daylong trip!

You can’t visit this scenic park except seeing the famous suspension bridge acknowledged as the “Swinging Bridge”. It, too, used to be constructed with the aid of the CCC in 1933. It is over 200 feet long, 126 of which are immediately over the rapids of the St. Louis River. Steel cables now aid the timber and metal structure, but when it used to be first built it without a doubt lived up to it’s name. At that time, the wood bridge swayed when walked on and was once a massive drawing card to the park for journey seekers. The bridge as it is these days was once rebuilt in 1953 for greater protection and longevity.

Jay Cooke State Park and its rugged splendor draw visitors from a long way and wide, with many being repeat traffic year after year. Bring a camera, hiking footwear and binoculars. And be sure now not to forget about your curiosity earlier than you enter the park.