Cannon River Wilderness Area — Attraction in Minnesota

On a whim, I decided to venture down the trail after having received permissions to survey the land and see how we as volunteers can attempt to clear Cannon River Wilderness Area of tree debris and open the pathways up again.

This hike isn't for the faint of heart, to say the least, but it is a very doable one if you'd like to contribute to the cleanup efforts this park has been going through since the September 2018 tornadoes went through this park. Many trees are still decomposing and will need another winter before they become soft enough to cut through.

I had the honor of greeting Henry Fiske's Cabin Site and learned a lot about the history basis. While I regret not taking a picture of the cabin site, I was impressed at how the foundation and fireplace remained albeit 2 tornadoes ripping through.

This place is definitely worth checking out and cleaning up if you have the time. Until the trails clear up, the park remains closed...

I did a 2-mile hike from the trailhead off Canyon City Blvd. It was a nice trail in the woods with one place to access the river. At the end of the trail, there was a nice bench with a view of the oak savanna. The is a grass opening here and I hiked up a bit for some views of the other side of the river. This would be a great place for birding. In retrospect, I should have looked at the area on Gaia Maps beforehand. I would have seen that most of the trails are on the other side of the river. Also I was in shorts and sandals so I definitely was sticking to the trails that had been mowed. Next time I will go to the other side and wear long pants. The next day I paddle up from Dundas to the wilderness area. That was fun too. In mid August, I didn't encounter...

True to its name. Wilderness -- relatively off the beaten path, with only a small parking lot at the trail head, and pretty wild. I came for trail running, but was disappointed that some passable parts of the trail are impeded by dense plant invasion (poison ivy seen) and the boardwalk (meant to get over marshy parts) is broken in many places. As someone else wrote, the trail comes to a complete stop at one point. I turned back there.

By no means a bad place to explore, but I think I'll come back in winter for a...