MILLE LACS KATHIO STATE PARK

FACILITIES AND FEATURES Please . • 20 electric campsites. 41 • 2 accessible electric campsites. Special fishing king r

• 19 semi-modern campsites. ail Junctions ail Center

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M259 Information/Office Picnic Area Interpretive Center Swimming Area Tr Campground Group Camp Primitive Campsite Backpack Pa Observation Tower Boat Access Equestrian Camping Historic/Interpretive Site Playground Council Ring Camper Cabins Fish Cleaning Building Dam Hiking Hiking Club Horseback/Hiking Interpretive Tr

• 26 rustic campsites (showers ail section closed in Tr CILITIES Black Bass Lake is a designated Bass Lake Black Heritage Lake. regulations apply Office. inquire at the Park available, 1.5 mile drive). 00 .9 mi.

54 FA SUMMER TRAILS NOTE: conditions. summer due to wet • 3 semi-modern walk-in 42 BB campsites. 40

• 4 backpack sites. 14 1.1 mi.

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• 5 camper cabins w/electricity Entrance 1.1 mi. rk Miles

and heat. Pa Kilometers 35 • 10 rustic horse campsites (no 169

51 TRAILS Landmark Trail Trail Hiking Club showers). M262

24 • Primitive group camp 26

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16 w/hand pump and vault 19

57 toilets (60 capacity, no NORTH .0.7 mi.

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20 showers) 38 • Bundled firewood, ice, pop. 1.0 mi. ille Lacs Kathio State Park holds historic sites KT

• Picnic grounds. 5 OGECHIE

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43 0.511.5 0.51 • Modern playground. CAMPGROUND

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• Swimming beach. 2 St. Cloud State University Cultural and Cultural Cloud State University St. Landscapes Lab Environmental Ogechie Lake Ogechie 4

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3 Wilford

8 Indian Point

9 • Canoe, kayak, and rowboat 7

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rental. 13

70 Site Cooper

• Cross-country ski and of ’s Past Please Don’t Erase Traces

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snowshoe rental. RIVER

14 • 2 boat/canoe water accesses RUM CAMP GROUP 1.5 mi.

15 G2 G1 (, Shakopee Lake). 169 35 see For more information about Mille Lacs Kathio State Park, Minnesota State Parks information about Mille Lacs Kathio State Park, Minnesota For more site at: access our web and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, www.dnr.state.mn.us Archeological and historical sites hold clues to understanding Minnesota’s past. If disturbed, M a part of our heritage will be lost forever. • 35 miles of hiking trail. If you discover such remains, laws. and artifacts that are protected by state and federal please leave them undisturbed. Report your discoveries to state park personnel.

32 inset map

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• 1 mile of self-guided trail. 35 2.2 mi. ?

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19 • 22 miles of horseback trail. 23

16 PETAGA

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17 • 30 kilometers of cross-country 21

20 ski trail. CAMPGROUND 2.0 mi.

• 19 miles of snowmobile trail. Trail Landmark

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18 may be hunted annually may OGECHIE

• Modern trail center/winter CAMPGROUND

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T Earth Trail Earth chalet. 69 • Year-round visitor center, interpretive center.

64 Private PropertyPrivate Use Prohibited Public trails) on designated (except

• 100-foot observation tower Indian Tribal Lands

M263 ✸ 1.9 mi.

(available in summer only). Check it out - you'll be glad you did. OOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION OOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION gional offices, Minnesota state parks and major gional offices, L The DNR has mapped the state showing federal, state and county lands with their recreational facilities. Information Maps (PRIM) are Public Recreation DNR the DNR gift shop, from available for purchase re sporting and map stores. UM RIVER STATE FOREST UM RIVER STATE from July 1 through January 31. from July CAUTION: CAUTION: Because lands exist within the boundaries of this park Because lands exist within the of the D.N.R., check that are not under the jurisdiction to use facilities such with the park manager if you plan as trails and roads other than those shown. © 2/2008 by State of Minnesota, R Department of Natural Resources Hundreds of years before Europeans entered the Parking Walk-in Sites Toilets PETAGA CAMPGROUND means “1,000 lakes,” and originally referred to the region, people established permanent villages along e Electical Sites region. The word Kathio has a more curious pedigree. the shores of Mille Lacs and the Rum River outlet Restrooms/Showers Camper Cabins 68 French explorer Daniel Greysolon, Sieur duLhut lakes. The people of the greater Dakota nation who Trash Dumpster (known today as Duluth), referred to the settlements lived in this vicinity were known by the band name Fish Cleaning Bldg. Hiking Trail 69 here as “Izatys,” his phoneticism of a Dakota word. Mdewakanon, a reference to their living near Water 67 Overlook To Interp Center, 64 This word has also been recorded as Issatis, Isanti, and Mdewakan, the Spiritual, or Sacred, Lake. (Mille Lacs) Picnic Grounds 70 Duluth Santee. An error in transcribing Duluth’s journal for 65 C5 • the publication of a major history book resulted in the The forests, lakes and streams of the area provided OGECHIE CAMPGROUND C4 C3 C2 C1 MILLE LACS ffice word “Kathio,” apparently through the reading of the a variety of food sources, and the river offered To Park O KATHIO iles letters Iz as K, and ys as hio. Regardless, Izatys, or 3 M 66 STATE PARK transportation to the nearby prairies for additional to Parking & Kathio, is the oldest village name preserved in the dietary staples. Historical Sites / history of the state of Minnesota. St. Paul • Self-registration The first European to accurately record a visit to the Station Self-registration To Park , on the northern border of the park, 18 Station Office region was Daniel Greysolon, Sieur duLhut (known 26 22 20 Miles is the source of the Rum River, which flows through 24 47e 2.5 today as Duluth). On July 2, 1679 Duluth planted the 42e 44e 45e the park and eventually joins the Mississippi 146 miles 1 flag of at the Rum River outlet of Mille Lacs, 16 39e 40e downstream at Anoka. Within the park are two lakes, 2 41e on the northern boundary of the park. In 1680 Father 19 17 43e 46e 48e Ogechie and Shakopee, and the rolling hills support 23 21 Louis Hennepin also visited the region on behalf of 25 15 27e 11 37e 29e abundant wildlife. 38e 35e 33e 31e France’s King Louis XIV. His book, Description of 3 5 7 9 MILLE LACS Louisiana, was published in 1683 and included his 13 For over 9,000 years people have lived in this area. 49 description of a six-month stay at Dakota villages in 36e 28e The Dakota () and later the (Chippewa) 4 12 50 34e 32e 30e 63 the area of the park. 10 61 KATHIO Indians recognized its natural wealth and made it one 6 8 60 53 of their important settlements. Noted as the ancient 51 55 58 The 18th century increasingly became a time of 62 STATE PARK homeland of the Dakota, the historic Underlined site numbers homeland of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, and as a change. By now many bands of Dakota had relocated 59 NORTH are RESERVABLE 52 57 FOR MORE INFORMATION place of early European-American Indian contact, the on the prairies, lakes and rivers of what is now To River Access 54 56 park is a National Historic Landmark District. southern Minnesota. At the same time, Ojibwe people Mille Lacs Kathio State Park were entering the region from the east. Ojibwe oral 15066 Kathio State Park Road GEOLOGY: The park’s geological history is a story wildlife. Hawks, osprey, owls and eagles are common. •Pets must be restrained on a leash no longer than tradition, recorded by historian William Warren, tells Over 200 species of birds have been observed in the six feet. Pets are not allowed in park buildings. Onamia, MN 56359-9534 of immense natural forces at work over thousands of of a massive, three-day “Battle of Kathio” in which years. park. A bird checklist is available at the Park Office •Park in designated areas only. (320) 532-3523 the victorious Ojibwe forever drove the Dakota from or Interpretive Center. White-tailed deer are often •Motor bikes and other licensed vehicles are allowed ♦ the area. Archaeologists have not found evidence to The rolling hills were formed approximately 12,000 seen browsing at the forest edge. Tracks of raccoon, only on park roads, not on trails. Department of Natural Resources years ago when a lobe of the Wisconsin glacial advance support this, and suggest that although many small porcupine, otter, pine marten and fisher can be seen • Enjoy park wildlife and plants but please respect Information Center stopped here. skirmishes may have occurred, Dakota migration was in the snow or soft earth. them. Do not pick or dig up plants, disturb or feed well under way when the Ojibwe entered the area. 500 Lafayette Road animals, or scavenge dead wood. FISHING: • Build fires only in designated locations—fire rings St. Paul, MN 55155-4040 As the glacier melted, it deposited gravel, rocks and Fishing opportunities are available in the boulders that it had accumulated in its grinding passage The Ojibwe brought their own rich cultural tradition Rum River and in Ogechie, Shakopee, Black Bass and or fireplaces. Wood is available for purchase from (651) 296-6157 (Metro Area) over the land from the north and east. The resulting with them from the east and settled along the shore Mille Lacs lakes. In these waters you will find northern park staff. Portable stoves or grills are permitted. of Mille Lacs. Ogechie Lake and other natural areas 1-888-646-6367 (MN Toll Free) land form is referred to as a terminal moraine. pike, , bass and panfish. Black Bass Lake is a •Daily or annual permits are required for all thus continued to supply the needs of yet another designated Heritage Lake. Special fishing regulations vehicles entering a state park. They may be TDD (Telecommunications The glacial debris partially blocked the land’s natural group of people, providing wild rice, fish, waterfowl apply. Please inquire at the Park Office. purchased at the park headquarters or the Device for Deaf) drainage pattern and in effect became a huge dam, and other foods. The Ojibwe continue to live in the Information Center in St. Paul (see “FOR MORE creating an extensive lake of meltwater—a lake even Mille Lacs region today. (651) 296-5484 (Metro Area) INTERPRETIVE PROGRAM: Visitors should check INFORMATION” to left). larger than present-day Mille Lacs. This ancient lake bulletin boards at park headquarters, interpretive 1-800-657-3929 (MN Toll Free) had a shoreline 15 feet higher than the present lake. In the 1850s, loggers came to the area. Within 50 years, center, campgrounds and picnic grounds for DNR Web Site: www.dnr.state.mn.us the vast forest of white and red (Norway) pine had scheduled activities, film, and slide programs. A ♦ A long period of geological and vegetational succession been cut and floated down the Rum or across Lake naturalist conducts organized walks and other State Parks page: www.mnstateparks.info followed. The Rum River cut its present channel. Ponds Mille Lacs to sawmills. Today the park is primarily activities. School groups and others are encouraged This information is available in and small lakes drained away. Wave and ice action a second-growth forest of aspen, birch, maple, oak, to arrange special visits and programs with the park built up beach ridges. Drainage patterns and the shapes alternative format upon request. and other northern hardwoods. A few isolated naturalist. MILLE LACS KATHIO STATE PARK is of lakes altered. Silt and vegetation filled many of the remnant stands of conifers provide diversity to the approximately 80 miles north of the Minneapolis/St. depressions. The present park—its soil, vegetation and landscape and a hint of what the forest looked like a SO EVERYONE CAN ENJOY THE PARK. . . “Equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from programs of the Paul metropolitan area. The main park entrance is one wildlife—is the result of these thousands of years of century ago. • The park belongs to all Minnesotans. Please treat Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is available to all individuals constant natural progression. regardless of race, color, creed or religion, national origin, sex, marital mile off U.S. Highway 169 on County Road 26. it with respect and help us to protect it by following Highway map index: 1-12. (Note: The map index for Much of the park’s natural and cultural history is status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation, age the rules. or disability. Discrimination inquires should be sent to the Minnesota the Mille Lacs Wildlife Area is 1-13). HISTORY: Mille Lacs Kathio has a long history of presented at the Interpretive Center in the picnic area. • The park is open year-round. On a daily basis, the Department of Natural Resources, 500 Lafayette Road, Minnesota human occupation and is one of the most Further information on Ojibwe history and culture park gate is closed from 10:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M. the St. Paul, MN 55155-4031; or the Equal Opportunity Mille Lacs Kathio‚ over 10‚000 acres in size‚ is the archaeologically significant places in Minnesota. So is provided at the Mille Lacs Indian Museum north following morning except to registered campers. Office, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. fourth largest state park in Minnesota. far, 30 sites have been identified, covering over 9,000 of the park on U.S. Highway 169. •Camp only in designated locations. 20240 • The use of firearms, explosives, air guns, slingshots, years of habitation. One site, dating from 3,500 years DEPARTMENT OF What’s in a name? In this case, plenty of history. Mille NATURAL RESOURCES ago, shows evidence of copper tool manufacture WILDLIFE: The varied habitats of Mille Lacs Kathio traps, seines, nets, bows and arrows, and all other © 2/2008 by State of Minnesota, Lacs, a French term used by early explorers and traders, associated with the “Old Copper Tradition.” provide homes and food sources for a variety of weapons is prohibited in state parks. Department of Natural Resources DNR Maps