Father Hennepin State Park

Welcome to Father Hennepin State Park located on the shores of Mille Lacs Lake near Isle, Minnesota.

Park History: This park is named after a 17th Century priest who visited the region on a French Exhibition, Father Louis Hennepin. Hennepin wrote extensively about the Mille Lacs region and named it, Louisiana, after Louis XIV, King of France. The park's landscape was carved out by movement of a glacier known as "the Rainy Lobe" over 20,000 years ago. As the Rainy Lobe moved from the Ontario region westward, it picked up, crushed, and deposited the underlying bedrock. When it melted, it created "outwashes" of sand and gravel. About 15,000 years ago, another glacier known as the Superior Lobe moved through the region, and caused the outwashes left by Rainy Lobe to turn into hills known as Moraines. A very large moraine helped to trap some of the glacial waters in this region and thus formed Lake Mille Lacs and the Rum River.

Flora and Fauna: Father Hennepin State Park's bogs, swamps, and hardwood forests help protect habitat for numerous species of plants and animals. Some of the park's plants include aspens and pines. Some of the park's animals include squirrels, chipmunks, hawks, ospreys, beaver, raccoons, minks, deer, beavers, and many others. Please treat their home with respect.

For the lover of the outdoors this park boasts over five miles of trails, two picnic areas, and over 100 campsites (half of them have electrical hookups). Come on out and explore!

To contact the office please call 320-676-8763. This was RecPlanet place of the day on May 30, 2015.