Pike Island Loop, Fort Snelling State Park, Minnesota

Most of my hikes are around my home base in Southern Utah but the family and I went to Minnesota to go to a Vikings game and I had a half day to do some hiking.

Fort Snelling State Park is located just north of I494, off of hwy 5 in St Paul. There are 18 miles of hiking trails, 5 miles of paved biking trails, and 10 miles of "mountain biking trails" as they are are called by the park service although, from where I'm from in Utah, I would hardly think of them "mountain bike" trails since they are wide flat very well kept dirt trails. In 2016 there was a nominal fee of $5 per vehicle to enter the park.

I decided to try a simple 3 mile loop on Pike Island that would take me to the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. Pike Island is a litteral island because it is surrounded by both the before mentioned rivers. There are 1, 2 and 3 mile loops that can be undertaken but the 3 mile loop is the only one that takes you all the way to the confluence, so that's the one I decided to do.

The trail is well defined and easy to follow, but finding it among all the trails can be a little tricky. From the Visitor's Center, I headed west until I came to a 3 way fork in the trail. Left takes you to Fort Snelling, the middle trail is the Minnehaha Trail which follows the Mississippi River for as long as you want to take it, and left takes you to a small bridge that crosses a little break-off of the Mississippi River to reach Pike Island.

At the 3-way fork in the trail, you'll see this information stand. Head past it to get to Pike Island.

Here's the small bridge you cross to get to Pike Island.

I hiked the loop in a clock-wise direction which means on the way out I had the Mississippi River to my Left and on the way in I had the Minnesota River to my left.It would be a pretty hike in either direction.

Here's the hike in Pictures:

Standing on the small bridge looking south down a little break-off of the Mississippi River toward the large traffic bridge. 

Here's a look from the same bridge looking north.

Once across the bridge, there is a sign detailing the Dakota Indians who once lived in this area.

And here's another sign taking a little more about the area's history.

Here's the trail as it's just getting started. I imagine the hike would have even been prettier in the summer when the trees still had their leaves.

I tried to capture the eerie look of the fog rising from a meadow but didn't do it justice.

After about a half mile, the Mississippi River is seen to the left (north) of the trail. I guess this was an advantage of hiking the trail after the trees had lost their leaves - I had a better view of the river.

The Mississippi River.

At this point in the trail, two hikers had stopped and were looking at something ahead. As I came up on them I noticed a Buck standing about 30 yards away on the right side of the trail. Just moments earlier, I had heard a crashing noise, like a branch breaking or something. However, when I reached the hikers, they informed me that there was another Buck present and that they had just butted heads, their antlers making a loud crashing noise. If you zoom in really close on this picture you can vaguely make out one of the bucks on the right side of the trail. I later saw them both run through the brush off to the right as I continued on the hike. 

Another look at the trail as it approaches the confluence.

Here's a look at the confluence. The Mississippi River is the river that flows from under the bridge in the distance to the left of this picture. The Minnesota River comes in from the right.

Here's a better look at the Minnesota River that flows in from the right.

A boater enjoying the Mississippi River.

Here's the trail as it leaves the confluence an heads back along the south side of Pike Island.

Soon the Minnesota River comes into view...

Here's one final look at the trail before it crosses the small bridge to complete the 3 mile loop.

This is one of the many trail signs along the hike that show you where you are in relation to the trail. 

I've always enjoyed river hikes, weather it is the Colorado River or the Virgin River closer to where I live. I'll now add the Mississippi River to my list of enjoyable river hikes. It was also informative to learn about the previous inhabitants of the area and the way they survived. There wasn't any elevation gain of loss to speak of and the hike took me just over an hour to complete. If solitude is what you are looking for, you won't find it on this hike as it is a very popular trail with runners and locals who like to get some exercise while enjoying the beauty of the area. Calling this a hike though is really overstating what it really was - a very enjoyable walk.