This is one of numerous state parks and recreation areas along the St. Croix River, north and east of the Twin Cities. South of the more well-known Interstate State Park, you can get to William O'Brien in around an hour if you are not trying to fight rush hour traffic north on 35E, which we were. Though I think this particular slow-down was not due as much to rush hour as it was to human error: people slowing down unnecessarily to ogle a truck by the side of the road that seemed to have lost an entire wheel and part of its axle. Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.
We still made it in time for the intended event, even including a pizza stop in Scandia to stave off the hangries*. What, you ask, is the event? A beaver talk! (Let's keep it clean, people. This is a family show.) We gathered at the visitor center with Ranger Emily and a few other campers for a short amble out to an active beaver lodge in the park. Before we even hit the trail, though, Emily showed us her snakes! She has a fox snake and a hog-nosed snake (both native to Minnesota) that she keeps in terrariums in her office and also uses for educational programs. She told the kids a little bit about these snakes (named Karl and Walter) and also showed us her painted turtle, Charles (also native). She rescued him from a prairie where he was not supposed to be. Oh! And she also let the kids hold a tarantula exoskeleton (not native). Cool beans.
Have I mentioned that there are programs like this happening all over your Minnesota State Parks, and they are included in your day or annual pass? No foolin'.
A brief bio on our friend, the beaver: they are North America's largest rodents, weighing from 50 to 60 pounds, and they can live up to 25 years. After being driven extinct in Europe by fashion because people are
idiots, trappers started to deplete the North American population of
these yellow-toothed marsh creators. This particular lodge has been active for 20 years, with probably a single set of parents and their successive litters of kits, who move on after two years with their parents. The beaver is the only species outside of humans to specifically manipulate their environment to suit their needs, and they do it much more sustainably, creating wetlands that filter our water supply and host numerous other species.This event was well worth the trip. Ranger Emily was an engaged and knowledgeable guide who enjoyed sharing and teaching and interacted well with both grown-ups and kids.
After the talk, we explored the park a bit, checking out the two campgrounds and the four camper cabins, as we plan to return for a weekend this summer and also in the winter. We chose a number of sites we like, and of course they are all taken because you need to book your weekend state park plans well in advance. They do, however, keep a number of sites for first-come, first-serve campers, so Finn and I will try to get a site we want in that manner. It means I have to make phone calls and maneuver a new situation, which I don't care for, not being much of a dare devil (yes, phone calls and new situations are daring for me), but I'll do it.
For the family.
What you should know: Deerflies. They are mostly just annoying, but bug spray might be in order, especially for the kids. Oh, and ticks. Make sure you check yourself and your family thoroughly. Pete once caught Lyme Disease from a deer tick he most likely picked up in St. Croix State Park a few years ago, and it's sincerely not fun.
This park offers biking and hiking trails as well as canoeing and a small swimming beach. There are two campgrounds, and both are really nice, but the River one might be more crowded as it's closer to the action.
*The "hangries" are a pernicious condition that occurs in two members of my family, sometimes on a daily basis, resulting from lack of food. The whining and/or tense anger that manifest are both annoying and preventable, but the original hangry monster has not learned this in his over 40 years.
