Minnesota State Park Visits, Overnight Stays Surge This Summer

(KNSI) – During 2020, many Minnesotans turned to outdoor activities amid the spread of COVID-19 and restrictions on indoor entertainment venues. The idea of taking road trips, visiting state parks and sleeping in the woods is sticking around for summer 2021 as well.

“In the beginning of the pandemic last year, a lot of [park] systems across the country weren’t quite sure what was going to happen — were we going to have a flood of visitors, or were people all going to just stay away?” said Rachel Hopper, visitor services and outreach manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource’s Parks and Trails Division. “It didn’t take very long before people started to understand and see that people were deciding to get out into nature, probably in part because there was a lot of other things that were closed down.”

Annual state park vehicle permit sales increased 37 percent between 2019 and 2020, Hopper said, and park visitation increased in kind last year. As 2021 rolled around, Hopper says she initially wasn’t sure how more Minnesotans getting vaccinated against COVID-19 would affect state park visitation — she predicted 2021’s state park statistics would fall between pre-pandemic averages and 2020’s numbers.

“What we’re seeing actually, however, is increases in some areas, and then some areas there’s been some moderation of visitation,” Hopper said.

Annual state park vehicle permit sales in the first six months of 2021 were 24 percent higher than 2020’s sales, Hopper said, and the parks’ lodging and campsite reservations have gotten more popular this summer.

“We have an increase of 23 percent for weekends and 36 percent overall, so that includes weekdays,” Hopper said of the increase in overnight occupancy at state parks from 2019 to 2021. (State park campgrounds were closed in 2020.)

This spike in outdoor adventuring in the North Star State isn’t limited to its 75 state parks.

“I think people are just getting outside,” said Alyssa Hayes, spokeswoman for Explore Minnesota. “They’re still kind of staying a little bit closer to home; we’ve had a wonderful summer, it’s been warm weather and people are just wanting to try things and stay outdoors as well.”

Though Hayes says she is noticing that Minnesota travelers are becoming more comfortable with indoor spaces, like museums and restaurants, she says visiting regional, state and national parks, camping and road-tripping are dominating Minnesotans’ summer plans.

With the outdoors on many families’ minds this summer, Hayes and Hopper are sharing their tips for avoiding crowds and making reservations at Minnesota’s state parks. Hayes says being flexible about when and where you go on your trip can be an asset.

“Mid-week trip,” Hayes said. “If you can be really flexible with your dates, I think that is key — you’re going to see some more openings. Then, also, go south instead of north. Maybe you’re always heading to northeastern Minnesota. Try something in the southern part of our state or even far northwest. If you can be flexible with not only your dates but your location, I think you could avoid crowds.”

Hopper offered similar advice: Be flexible on which state park you want to visit, and if you have a particular set of dates you want to take a camping trip on, reserve your campsite early.

“We do take reservations up to 120 days in advance,” Hopper said. “We do have a great new function, too, on our reservation website. If there is a particular park and a particular weekend you’re interested in getting a campsite or a lodging opportunity, if it’s all booked up, you can click a ‘notify me’ function so that the system will then notify you when something opens up.”

Some of the underappreciated state parks Hayes and Hopper mentioned: Glendalough, Zippel Bay and the various parks dotted along the Mississippi River in southeastern Minnesota that Hopper calls “our South Shore.”

Hayes adds that there are outdoor opportunities in Minnesota besides state parks.

“Outdoor nature and learning centers; [in] Fergus Falls, there’s Prairie Wetlands Learning Center, there’s a lot of nature centers in the Twin Cities metro area,” Hayes said. “I think there’s a lot of things that people don’t even realize that are outdoor experiences but you’re also learning along the way.”

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