SAKATAH LAKE STATE PARK

FACILITIES AND FEATURES • 62 semi-modern campsites Because lands exist within the boundaries of this park that are not under the jurisdiction of the D.N.R., LGC • Showers (seasonal) check with the park manager if you plan to use facilities such as trails and roads other than those • Trailer sanitation station shown. (seasonal) • Boat ramp 131 • Picnic grounds 99 to Faribault, • Access to 39 miles of hiking, Timber Doodle Trail 14 miles 0.3 k biking, skiing and UGC 0.6 k 0.8 k 0.2 mi 0.2 mi snowmobiling trails Wahpekute Trail 0.4 k • 14 electrical sites 1.0 k 0.2 mi 0.2 mi

• Bicycle touring camp 0.3 k 0.5 mi • Primitive group camps 0.2 mi Tree Trail Oak kota name • Camper Cabin 0.4 k 1050 Utahu Can — Da

0.4 k 1050 VISITOR FAVORITES 1100 0.6 k • Shaded campsites 0.4 mi 0.2 k 0.1 k Hidden • Fishing and boating on 1050 0.5 mi Pond Trail Faribault, 0.4 k to Sakatah Lake 0.2 k 4 miles 1.0 k Sumac Trail 1 Big Woods Loop 1.2 k •Hiking/biking/snowmobiling Tanka Canwitc— 0.1 k 60 0.5 mi Dakota name the State Trail 0.6 k Avenue Leroy • Picnicking at the lake 13 Park Entrance 1050 1100 • Canoeing to Mankato, 0.3 mi 22 miles 0 .1 .2 .3 .4 .5 • Horseshoes 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 Sakatah Singing Hills Trail Boat Ramp Toilets Hiking/Bicycling/Snowmobiling Campground Private Property 13 Campground Access to Public Use Prohibited to Wasec Primitive Group Camp (except on designated trails) 10 miles a, State Trail © 7/2014 by State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources moraine deposits. In some places these deposits SAKATAH LAKE STATE PARK CAMPGROUND mixed hardwood forest. The Cannon River area are up to 400 feet deep. 54 26 formed the boundary between the “Big Woods” Along the Cannon River Valley, glacial ice 53 25 of the Minnesota and Mississippi River Valleys, blocks left by receding glaciers formed 56 27 NORTH and the southern oak barrens south of the park. depressions which filled with water creating 52 28 24 Sakatah Lake, a natural widening of the Cannon lakes such as Sakatah. 58 55 Hiking Trail River, provides visitors with opportunities for 23 to 57 51 Campground Access Picnic Grounds, Duluth many forms of outdoor recreation and nature HISTORY: During early historic times, members 29e to State Trail Boat Ramp, • 60 Bike Trail study. of the Dakota Nation, Wahpekute (Wapacoote) 59 50 22 Running through the park is the Sakatah band, inhabited the area that today is the park. 21 Singing Hills State Trail, a 39-mile, multiple-use These people lived by hunting, gathering and 30e 62 state trail which has been developed on an trapping. They named the place Sakatah, which 61 19e 31e 20e Minneapolis/ abandoned railroad grade. The trail provides a translates to “Singing Hills”, hence the name 49 St. Paul • paved surface for bicyclists, hikers, skiers and for the state trail. 32e 17e 18e snowmobilers. The park serves as a convenient 16e base camp for those wishing to travel the state The Cannon and other area rivers served as an 48 33e SAKATAH LAKE 63 trail. important Indian water route between south- Visitor STATE PARK 2 Parking 1 central Minnesota and Wisconsin. The “Big 35e 47 46 WILDLIFE: The combination of open fields, Woods” made land travel difficult and a water 34e Recycling 15 36e 45 3 upland forests, wetlands, open water and forest route allowed larger loads. Numerous trading Center 14 Hiking Club edge provides excellent habitat for many of posts and Indian villages existed along the 37e Trailhead 43 southern Minnesota’s wildlife species. Deer, route. Several burial mounds were discovered 44 4 13 SAKATAH LAKE muskrat, raccoon, mink, rabbit, and red fox are in the late 1800’s and can still be seen in the 39 38 animals commonly seen in the park. Many bird park. A village site is believed to have existed in 42 5 to 12 Park STATE PARK varieties including song birds, woodpeckers, the area of the point separating Upper Sakatah Entrance hawks and owls can also be seen. and Lower Sakatah lakes 6 7 FLORA: When the last glaciers retreated from In 1826 the trader Alexander Faribault FOR MORE INFORMATION 40 11 this area over 10,000 years ago, it is theorized established a trading post on the northeast 8 Sakatah Lake State Park that the forests which developed in Minnesota 41 shore of Cannon Lake, near present day All sites in Sakatah Lake 10 50499 Sakatah Lake State Park Road and Wisconsin consisted largely of oak and Faribault. This is thought to be the fist perma- are RESERVABLE 9 Waterville, MN 56096 other hardwoods. During the years that passed, nent white settlement in the area. He eventually small climate changes saw occasional invasions Note: (507) 362-4438 established at least five other trading posts at For severe weather updates, tune of prairie into the park area. With the moister various points along the Cannon River. One of e Electrical Sites Parking Camper Cabin your radios to these local stations:  climate of recent times, the deciduous forest you these is likely to have been in the park, along Water 99.1 FM, Mankato Department of Natural Resources see today has reestablished itself in areas Sakatah Lake. Restrooms/Showers Park Office 1420 AM, Mankato Toilets 100.9 FM, Waseca Information Center invaded by the prairie. Remnants of the 95.9 FM, Faribault invading prairie are still visible in the park. Trailer Sanitation Station Information 162.40 MHz–Weather Radio 500 Lafayette Road The railroad played an important role in Trash Dumpster opening up the country to settlement. Although Park procedures for severe weather St. Paul, MN 55155-4040 Horseshoe Pit Fish Cleaning House are posted in the campground kiosk The first written notes of the area were done in the route was surveyed in the late 1870’s, none south of the restrooms/showers (651) 296-6157 (Metro Area) the mid to late 1800’s by the original surveyors of the actual work was done until the spring of facility. 1882. The railroad was completed from Faribault 1-888-646-6367 (MN Toll Free) of Minnesota. They describe the area as low, rolling, land with second-rate timber and to Waterville that same year by the Cannon • Build fires only in designated locations—fire prairie land with bur oak, basswood, aspen, Valley Company, and four years later the tracks campers.the following morning except to registered rings or fireplaces. Wood is available for butternut, elm, ash and ironwood. reached Mankato. Electric passenger trains and • Camp only in designated locations. purchase from park staff. Portable stoves or mndnr.gov/stateparks steam freight trains both used the Mankato to • Alcoholic beverages are prohibited. grills are permitted. Today you can see examples of the large bur Faribault segment, stopping at various points • The use of firearms, explosives, air guns, • Daily or annual permits are required for all and white oak that have covered this area since including Waterville and Elysian. slingshots, traps, seines, nets, bows and vehicles entering a state park. They may be glacial times. These, along with the elm, walnut arrows, and all other weapons is prohibited purchased at the park headquarters or the and other hardwood trees, greet the modern The Chicago and Northwestern Railroad aban- in state parks. Information Center in St. Paul (see “FOR visitor just as they did the settlers more than a doned the line in the early 1970’s because of • Pets must be restrained on a leash no longer MORE INFORMATION” to left). SAKATAH LAKE STATE PARK is located on century ago. competition with other forms of transportation. than six feet. Pets are not allowed in park the border of LeSueur and Rice Counties, 14 The state purchased the right-of-way, and buildings. Pet waste must be disposed of This information is available in miles west of Faribault. The park entrance is off TOPOGRAPHY/GEOLOGY: The land forms of established the state trail that you see running properly. alternative format upon request. of Minnesota Highway 60, one mile east of Sakatah Lake State Park were formed as a through the park today. • Park in designated areas only. Waterville. Highway map index: J-9. result of glacial activity some 14,000 years ago. • Motor bikes and other licensed vehicles are The park sits on an altamont moraine that was SO EVERYONE CAN ENJOY THE PARK... allowed only on park roads, not on trails. “The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is an GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The park was formed during the last glacial period. A • The park belongs to all Minnesotans. Please • Enjoy park wildlife and plants but please Equal Opportunity Employer” established in 1963 by an act of the Minnesota moraine is a large mound of rock and mineral treat it with respect and help us to protect it by respect them. Do not pick or dig up plants, Minnesota Legislature, with a statutory boundary of 842 debris deposited at the end of a glacier, where following the rules. disturb or feed animals, or scavenge dead acres. The parklands include 3.5 miles of the ice melted as fast as it advanced. In many • The park is open year-round. On a daily basis, wood. shoreline along Sakatah Lake. areas of the park you will see examples of the the park gate is closed from 10 P.M. to 8 A.M. © 7/2014 by State of Minnesota, The rolling topography of the park features rich, DEPARTMENT OF Department of Natural Resources NATURAL RESOURCES