Afton State Park - South River Loop

After 70 Hiking Tip:  Afton is hilly. Steps and/or a steep climb are required to reach the river. To avoid, try the trails between the parking lots and the group camp that follow the oak savanna (end of the trail described in this post).

Hike Description: Afton State Park is on the St Croix River just east and a bit south of St. Paul, Minnesota.  It is a lovely park with a varied terrain of hills, ravines and flat riverside for hiking.  Oak woodland and restored oak savanna and an old farmstead provide a variety of landscape. We hiked the South River Trail on October 7, 2022, -  3.8 miles according to All Trails.  The trail starts at the parking lot and goes pretty much straight down to the river on a sloping path with steps.  This is the least pretty part of the park to me, deep shade from trees and not much to look at, though there is one nice overlook of the St Croix River and surrounding Hills.

At the bottom of the hill a small creek runs into the St Croix River and there is a pretty beach.  The river reminded Gordon of the years when he was quite young and he and his friends camped along that creek all on their own.  That was long before the state park existed.

 Make a sharp right to follow the south river trail along a former rail corridor, nice and flat.  In the summer, this might be a bit boring, but with the leaves changing, the trail is bathed in yellows.  On our left was the river and on our right moss covered rocky stream beds and stone cliffs peeked through a mixed woods that was sometimes quite colorful with oranges and yellows.

After 1.2 miles, the flat trail ends at the souther edge of the park.  Here you can turn right and climb the ravine by a 0.4 mile trail.  If you have limited mobility, this will be hard.   The trail is heavily rutted with loose rocks in the ruts.  However on a dry day, the soil on each side of the trail is hard packed and easy to walk on, though somewhat steep. At the top of the ravine, the trail goes another 0.2 miles to the group camp and camping cabin area.   There are even a couple of yurts here.  Most importantly, there is a toilet - first one in 2 miles. The trail then meanders through some pine woods and out onto the restored savanna prairie where there were some beautiful views out across the brown grasses to spots of brilliant yellow and reds in some large trees and sumac.

 

We ended our walk at the parking lots where the trail center is located.  There was a fire burning in the wood stove and we stopped inside for a quick look at the small displays they have there regarding topography, flora and fauna of the park.

All in all this was an enjoyable walk on our first really cool day of the fall.  The woods provided protection from the slight cold breeze and the fall colors were a joy to behold.

Map of Afton Trails