List of Minnesota state parks
Wayside name County Date established Remarks
Caribou Falls State Wayside Lake 1947 Includes a waterfall on the Caribou River . Formerly Caribou Falls State Park
Devils Track Falls State Wayside Cook 1961 A nearly inaccessible gorge on the Devil Track River within Superior National Forest . Formerly Devils Track Falls State Park
Flood Bay State Wayside Lake 1965 A rocky Lake Superior beach just outside Two Harbors
Inspiration Peak State Wayside Otter Tail 1931 The highest point of the Leaf Hills Moraines
Joseph R. Brown State Wayside Renville 1937 The ruins of Joseph R. Brown 's three-story mansion , destroyed during the Dakota War of 1862 . The ruins are on the NRHP
Kadunce River State Wayside Cook 1947 Lake Superior shoreline around the mouth of the variably spelled Kadunce River . Formerly Kodonce River State Park
Ray Berglund State Wayside Cook 1951 A memorial at the mouth of the Onion River to a St. Paul businessman and conservationist , on land donated by his friends
St. Croix Boom Site State Wayside Washington 2016 Commemorates the site of a log boom where timber was sorted . Became a state wayside in 2016 following a facelift of facilities formerly owned by the Minnesota Department of Transportation
Sam Brown Memorial State Wayside Traverse 1929 Created to honor Joseph R. Brown 's son Samuel J . Brown , the Paul Revere of the West , who rode 120 miles ( 190 km ) through a storm on April 19 , 1866 to warn of an expected Dakota attack . Formerly Sam Brown State Park
State waysides
There are 67 state parks, nine state recreation areas, nine state waysides, and 23 state trails in the Minnesota state park system, totaling approximately 267,000 acres (1,080 km2). A Minnesota state park is an area of land in the U.S. state of Minnesota preserved by the state for its natural, historic, or other resources. Each was created by an act of the Minnesota Legislature and is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The Minnesota Historical Society operates sites within some of them. The park system began in 1891 with Itasca State Park when a state law was adopted to maintain intact, forever, a limited quantity of the domain of this commonwealth.in a state of nature. Minnesota's state park system is the second oldest in the United States, after New York's. :2
 Minnesota's state parks are spread across the state in such a way that there is a state park within 50 miles (80 km) of every Minnesotan. The most recent park created is Lake Vermilion State Park, created in 2010. The parks range in size from Franz Jevne State Park with 118 acres (48 ha) to Saint Croix State Park with 34,037 acres (13,774 ha). Two parks include resources listed as National Natural Landmarks (Big Bog State Recreation Area and Itasca State Park) and six parks encompass National Historic Landmarks (Charles A. Lindbergh, Fort Snelling, Mille Lacs Kathio, St. Croix, Soudan Underground Mine, and Split Rock Lighthouse State Parks). 52 sites or districts across 34 Minnesota state parks are on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), including 22 parks with developments constructed by New Deal-era job creation programs in the 1930s.