Minnesota’s National Park: Our Front Yard!

National Park’s Week is upon us, and Minnesota’s National Park is ready to celebrate. Here’s a quick look at what Voyageurs National Park is doing. On Friday, April 21, 2017 there will be a Native Foods Cooking Demonstration. Students from the Indus High School ProStart Foods Class will prepare a delectable meal using locally available native foods. Samples will be provided. Be at the Rainy Lake Visitor Center on Black Bay at 2:00 pm for the demonstration.

Take the Ethno-botanical garden tour on Saturday, April 22, 2017 and Ranger Lisa Maass will explain the importance of native plants to the Ojibwe culture. The tour will start at the Rainy lake visitor Center at 1:00 pm. At 2:00 pm, Park Biologist Bryce Olson will discuss the reasons behind a cattail invasion and the multi-year project to reduce the cattail problem and restore delicate wetlands. The “Invasion of the Cattails” talk will be at the theatre within the Rainy Lake Visitor Center.

Sunday April 23, 2017 is National Park Prescription Day, and the prescription is to get out and hike in our park, it’s good for you and it’s fun. Hike to health passports will be available at the Rainy Lake Visitor Center all day.

Voyageurs is a water-based park and is so named because of the French Canadian Voyageurs that plied these waterways carrying furs from the interior for export to Europe and trade goods for the natives. The Park was established because of the vibrant history, rich natural resources and spectacular scenery in this north American waterways crossroads.

Boat tours will start on Rainy Lake in June and will take in some of the scenery, wildlife and history including a stop at Little American Island, the site of the biggest and most successful Gold Mine of the late 1800’s. You can hike the handicap accessible trail for about a quarter mile and see how the mine operated as your Ranger guide explains the process and the geology that provided the gold that was mined.