Cascade River State Park — Hotel in West Cook

We recently camped at Cascade River SP. It is a nice park with some great hiking options and camping. To be fair, we have not been here since prior to covid. Maybe that is still causing issues in jobs like these, but I have some concerns. Over four days, not once was the park office open. We checked twice every day we were there. The main season is still open in early October, there were a lot of campers; it's not like there was reason to throw in the towel early. We wanted to buy park shirts for our family, and had to give up. There was no camp host either. And they expect you to use this weird third party app to pay for firewood in a place with barely any cell service and no wifi.

My other concerns... Concern the facilities. The bathroom facilities (which were pristine and new feeling the last time in 2017) are in a poor state. The only urinal was broken. One women's toilet was broken. One men's sink was dripping. One dishwashing sink was completely broken and the other barely worked. While I did not witness the lack of cleaning between 3:30 and 4:30pm that was supposed to occur, seeing the same dirty spots in the showers persist over the four days tells me it's likely they did not.

We spent an evening in the trail center, which is generally a nice building. Only then we got freaked out and departed because of worrisome noises that seemed like a decent sized, or many, animals trying to get in. Upon further inspection the next day, it became clear to me that it is infested with mice. There are piles of mouse droppings and insulation along the entire west wall. Enough to indicate that it hasn't been cleaned in months. Hopefully the wiring is all in conduit, or this could cause big problems.

I love MN State Parks. We even have the license plate, which is more expensive than the annual park pass, so we are effectively donating. I expect better, especially of MN, which has historically had...

This trail is amazing. We stopped on a whim between leaving Grand marais and headed to two harbors. We just stopped to explore something new as we had time before our check in. Wow, is all I can say. We have done gooseberry and baptism fall annually and this trail was way above for active water. It was July of 2025, there was a lot of water this year so it made for very active falls. The river was flowing through deep carved out rocks with no way to get near the river itself like you can at the other 2 trails. However the beauty and peace of this hike was amazing. I am not sure if this one has a s much traffic as others as it was Monday afternoon. We did a loop that was I think about 2 miles total. Kids stopped into the ranger station and got scavenger hunt sheets and at 9 and 12 were engaged the entire trail. We were there for over 2 hours walking and hiking and looking for scavenger hunt items. They even offer small prizes, posters and postcard of mn animal. The hike as we got away from the river was beautiful. The trail was fairly easy as ypu got away from the river it was a pretty steady incline and declines. The sad part for me was no lady slipper. I was told by park attendant that they were in bloom and had 4 off the trail. I have always wanted to see one in real life in its natural habitat as a orchid lover and living in MN all my life. The worker said someone dug them up in the last 24 hrs... this being super disappointing. To have the boldness and selfishness to dig up a beautiful flower that is protected by law in MN state grounds for yourself. People need to stop destroying the state parks and start repeating the environment around you. We do not want to see your initials on a tree or look at bark you peeled off that kills these beautiful trees. Sorry soap box moment. This is a great trail well worth the journey we will definitely make the trip to it next...

An amazing State Park. You will have to pay for parking. You can pay ahead of time or pay when you get there. Parking is VERY limited. So, expect a packed lot during peak hours/seasons. Still, very well worth coming here.

The trails are not paved but VERY well maintained. Make sure you have a map In case you decide to hike around. The map is extremely useful. Or, use the gps on your phone to pinpoint where your exact location is. The waterfalls are very nice. There are no guardrails at certain parts so be VERY careful. The only rest rooms are at the campground, where the campground parking is located. Park is dog friendly but we never saw any that were unleashed, for obvious reasons.

Overall, a very nice state park. Trails are easy for someone for. If someone has trouble walking, make sure to take breaks, it's not too hard doing the smaller trails. But if you are doing a longer hike, be prepped. Would highly recommend coming here. Pictures does not give this park justice. Definitely check it...