SAKATAH LAKE STATE PARK

FACILITIES AND FEATURES • 62 semi-modern campsites Because lands exist within the boundaries of this park • Showers (seasonal) that are not under the jurisdiction of the D.N.R., check LGC with the park manager if you plan to use facilities such • Trailer sanitation station as trails and roads other than those shown. (seasonal) • Boat ramp • Picnic grounds 131 99 to Faribault, • Access to 39 miles of hiking, Timber Doodle Trail 14 miles biking, skiing and 0.3 k UGC snowmobiling trails Wahpekute Trail 0.6 k 0.8 k 0.2 mi 0.2 mi i 0.4 k • 14 electrical sites k 1.0 0.2 mi 0.2 m • Bicycle touring camp 0.3 k 0.5 mi • Primitive group camps ail 0.2 mi e Tr k Tre ame Oa ota n • Camper Cabin Dak an — 0.4 k hu C 1050 Uta

VISITOR FAVORITES 0.4 k 1050 1100 • Shaded campsites 0.6 k 0.4 mi 0.2 k • Fishing and boating on 0.1 k Hidden 1050 0.5 mi Pond k Sakatah Lake .4 Trail 0 to Faribault, 0.2 k •Hiking/biking/snowmobiling 1.0 k Sumac Trail 14 miles Big Woods Loop 1.2 k i 0 the State Trail Tanka Canwitc— .1 k 60 0.5 m Dakota name 0 Avenue Leroy • Picnicking at the lake .6 k • Canoeing 13 Park Entrance i 1050 to Mankato, 0.3 m 1100 22 miles • Horseshoes 0.1.2.3.4.5 Miles 1100 0.1.2.3.4.5 Kilometers NORTH

WATERVILLE

TRAILS FACILITIES Bicycle Touring Camp 60 to Mankato, 25 miles Hiking Only Information Trailer Sanitation Station Hiking/Ski Park Office Camper Cabin Hiking Club Trail Picnic Area Restrooms/Showers Snowmobile Fishing Pier Restrooms LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION?

The DNR has mapped the state showing federal, state and county lands with their recreational Sakatah Singing Hills Trail Boat Ramp Toilets facilities. Public Recreation Information Maps (PRIM) are Hiking/Bicycling/Snowmobiling available for purchase from the DNR gift shop, DNR Campground Private Property regional offices, state parks and major sporting and map stores. 13 Campground Access to Public Use Prohibited Check it out - you'll be glad you did. to W Primitive Group Camp (except on designated trails) 10 m aseca, iles State Trail © 7/2008 by State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources The rolling topography of the park features rich, see examples of the moraine deposits. In some SAKATAH LAKE STATE PARK CAMPGROUND mixed hardwood forest. The area places these deposits are up to 400 feet deep. 54 26 formed the boundary between the “Big Woods” of Along the Cannon River Valley, glacial ice blocks 53 25 the Minnesota and Mississippi River Valleys, and left by receding glaciers formed depressions which 56 27 NORTH the southern oak barrens south of the park. Sakatah filled with water creating lakes such as Sakatah. 52 28 24 Lake, a natural widening of the Cannon River, 58 55 Hiking Trail 23 to provides visitors with opportunities for many forms HISTORY: During early historic times, members 57 51 Campground Access to Picnic Grounds, Duluth of outdoor recreation and nature study. of the Dakota Nation, Wahpekute (Wapacoote) 29e State Trail Boat Ramp, • 60 59 22 Bike Trail band, inhabited the area that today is the park. 50 21 Running through the park is the Sakatah Singing These people lived by hunting, gathering and 30e 62 Hills State Trail, a 39-mile, multiple-use state trail trapping. They named the place Sakatah, which 61 19e 31e 20e Minneapolis/ which has been developed on an abandoned rail- translates to “Singing Hills”, hence the name for 49 St. Paul • road grade. The trail provides a paved surface for the state trail. 32e 17e 18e bicyclists, hikers, skiers and snowmobilers. The 16e park serves as a convenient base camp for those The Cannon and other area rivers served as an 48 33e SAKATAH LAKE 63 Visitor STATE PARK wishing to travel the state trail. important Indian water route between south-central 2 Parking 1 Minnesota and Wisconsin. The “Big Woods” made 35e 47 46 34e WILDLIFE: The combination of open fields, upland land travel difficult and a water route allowed Recycling 15 36e 45 3 forests, wetlands, open water and forest edge pro- larger loads. Numerous trading posts and Indian Center 14 Hiking Club SAKATAH LAKE vides excellent habitat for many of southern Min- villages existed along the route. Several burial 37e Trailhead 43 nesota’s wildlife species. Deer, muskrat, , mounds were discovered in the late 1800’s and can 44 4 13 39 STATE PARK mink, rabbit, and red fox are animals commonly still be seen in the park. A village site is believed 38 42 5 to seen in the park. Many bird varieties including to have existed in the area of the point separating 12 Park FOR MORE INFORMATION Entrance song birds, woodpeckers, hawks and owls can also Upper Sakatah and Lower Sakatah lakes. 6 Sakatah Lake State Park be seen. 7 50499 Sakatah Lake State Park Road In 1826 the trader Alexander Faribault established 40 11 Waterville, MN 56096 FLORA: When the last glaciers retreated from this a trading post on the northeast shore of Cannon 8 area over 10,000 years ago, it is theorized that the 41 (507) 362-4438 Lake, near present day Faribault. This is thought Underlined site numbers 10 forests which developed in Minnesota and Wiscon- to be the fist permanent white settlement in the ♦ are RESERVABLE 9 sin consisted largely of oak and other hardwoods. area. He eventually established at least five other Department of Natural Resources Note: During the years that passed, small climate changes trading posts at various points along the Cannon For severe weather updates, tune your Information Center saw occasional invasions of prairie into the park River. One of these is likely to have been in the e Electrical Sites Parking Camper Cabin radios to these local stations: 500 Lafayette Road area. With the moister climate of recent times, the park, along Sakatah Lake. Water 99.1 FM, Mankato Restrooms/Showers Park Office 1420 AM, Mankato St. Paul, MN 55155-4040 deciduous forest you see today has reestablished 100.9 FM, Waseca Toilets 95.9 FM, Faribault itself in areas invaded by the prairie. Remnants of The railroad played an important role in opening Trailer Sanitation Station Information Trash Dumpster 162.40 MHz–Weather Radio (651) 296-6157 (Metro Area) the invading prairie are still visible in the park. up the country to settlement. Although the route Horseshoe Pit Fish Cleaning House Park procedures for severe weather are 1-888-646-6367 (MN Toll Free) was surveyed in the late 1870’s, none of the actual posted in the campground kiosk south work was done until the spring of 1882. The railroad of the restrooms/showers facility. TDD (Telecommunications The first written notes of the area were done in the mid to late 1800’s by the original surveyors of was completed from Faribault to Waterville that Device for Deaf) Minnesota. They describe the area as low, rolling, same year by the Cannon Valley Company, and campers. • Daily or annual permits are required for all (651) 296-5484 (Metro Area) land with second-rate timber and prairie land with four years later the tracks reached Mankato. Electric • Campfollowing only morningin designated except locations.to registered vehicles entering a state park. They may be 1-800-657-3929 (MN Toll Free) bur oak, basswood, aspen, butternut, elm, ash and passenger trains and steam freight trains both used •Alcoholic beverages are prohibited. purchased at the park headquarters or the In- ironwood. the Mankato to Faribault segment, stopping at • The use of firearms, explosives, air guns, sling- formation Center in St. Paul (see “FOR MORE DNR Web Site: www.dnr.state.mn.us various points including Waterville and Elysian. shots, traps, seines, nets, bows and arrows, and INFORMATION” to left). State Parks page: www.mnstateparks.info Today you can see examples of the large bur and all other weapons is prohibited in state parks. ♦ white oak that have covered this area since glacial The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad aban- • Pets must be restrained on a leash no longer times. These, along with the elm, walnut and other doned the line in the early 1970’s because of than six feet. Pets are not allowed in park build- This information is available in SAKATAH LAKE STATE PARK is located on the hardwood trees, greet the modern visitor just as competition with other forms of transportation. ings. Pet waste must be disposed of properly. alternative format upon request. border of LeSueur and Rice Counties, 14 miles they did the settlers more than a century ago. The state purchased the right-of-way, and • Park in designated areas only. “Equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from programs west of Faribault. The park entrance is off of Min- established the state trail that you see running • Motor bikes and other licensed vehicles are of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is available nesota Highway 60, one mile east of Waterville. TOPOGRAPHY/GEOLOGY: The land forms of through the park today. allowed only on park roads, not on trails. to all individuals regardless of race, color, creed or religion, national Sakatah Lake State Park were formed as a result • Enjoy park wildlife and plants but please respect origin, sex, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, Highway map index: J-9. sexual orientation, age or disability. Discrimination inquires should of glacial activity some 14,000 years ago. The park SO EVERYONE CAN ENJOY THE PARK... them. Do not pick or dig up plants, disturb or be sent to the Minnesota Department of Natural GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The park was estab- sits on an altamont moraine that was formed • The park belongs to all Minnesotans. Please treat feed animals, or scavenge dead wood. Resources, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155- Minnesota 4031; or the Equal Opportunity Office, Department lished in 1963 by an act of the Minnesota Legisla- during the last glacial period. A moraine is a large it with respect and help us to protect it by following • Build fires only in designated locations—fire of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240.” ture, with a statutory boundary of 842 acres. The mound of rock and mineral debris deposited at the rules. rings or fireplaces. Wood is available for pur- • The park is open year-round. On a daily basis, the parklands include 3.5 miles of shoreline along the end of a glacier, where the ice melted as fast chase from park staff. Portable stoves or grills DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES Sakatah Lake. as it advanced. In many areas of the park you will park gate is closed from 10 P.M. to 8 A.M. the are permitted. © 7/2008 by State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources DNR Maps