nerstrand big woods state park

there are plenty of trails for hiking, nothing difficult at all. there is a nice picnic area that was very busy even late on a Sunday in October. trails seemed well maintained, and we found the signage fairly easy to follow. most of the people just took the trail to the falls. we went for two of the loops beyond that and had the whole place to ourselves. was very peaceful, just rather redundant.

This is a wonderful state park to take a family. It is small with good shorter trails that children can manage. The bathrooms and showers are nicely maintained and are some of the best I have seen at MN state parks.

We saw many different wildflowers on the trail from the visitor's center to the falls. This is a beautiful park for those new to state park-ing like us. The trails are all manageable for families and very peaceful. I also recommend a visit to nearby Northfield for lunch and/or ice cream on your way home.

The trails at this park are very easy to navigate and they are not difficult for the less experienced hiker. But, if you are looking for a workout you will need to go for distance on the trails instead of expecting the hills to push your stamina.

Wonderful rolling hills and fragrant wild flowers greet you at Nerstrand Big woods park. There seemed to be no insects here when we hiked in August, which was nice. The hiking loop I went on was a little over 4.5 miles. Nothing too strenuous just gentle rolling hills and lots of great woods hiking. The jewel of the park is of course the hidden falls. The area around them and the falls themselves are all quite beautiful. I look forward to coming back to experience this great park again and again.

We enjoyed this park on a lovely fall weekend. Leaves had mostly passed but it was still a beautiful place. Not one of the most exciting state parks and the waterfall was rather dried up but rolling hills in the middle of the woods made it worth it. Trails seemed well marked and we plan on heading back for some snowshoeing in the winter.

This was our first time visit to Nerstrand Woods State Park. We went specifically for bird watching. But the spring flowers are incredible. Lovely spreads of trout lilies, Jack-in-a pulpit, trillium, blood-root, and dutchman's breeches. The spring blooms distracted us from the bird watching! We saw wild turkeys on our drive into the park, and a hummingbird at the bushes at the check-in building. The campground host has many bird feeders that attact a variety of birds including orioles. A road goes thru the park, with most folks staying on the side that has the campground, and hiking trails to the small but nice waterfall. We hiked across the road on the park trails and saw very few people. Our special moment was when we spotted two scarlet tanangers. We showed our digital photos to the ranger at the check-in building and were told that another special bird to watch for is the red headed woodpecker. We didn't spot any of the red headed variety, but we did see a pileated woodpecker. We look forward to returning to this wonderful gem of a park.

I go to Nerstrand Big Woods when I want somewhere peaceful and pretty. It doesn't scream "GORGEOUS" at you, but it's just nice and quiet and peaceful and pretty. The hidden little falls down in the woods are a secret you will keep coming back for.

Nice park with potentially nice trails. IF YOU MARK THEM. I was able to make it through, but just to enter the Hidden Falls Trail was a to do.. The campground seemed and adorned with restrooms and showers. The falls are neat, but definitely should not qualify as a highlight.

Although we camped here and it was in the 90's the shady trees made it seem much cooler and it was perfect. Nice quiet camp ground, some great tent sights. Camper sites... no comment since I only camp in a tent, no air-conditioning for this gal when I am camping. Nice hiking to the waterfall as well. We will go back to this campground. Also the main campground has some really nice newer bathrooms and showers. VERY clean too.

This st. park is loaded with maple trees! It has a nice little "falls" and a family of red headed woodpeckers!

This is an overlooked state park with some of the best spring ephemeral flowers in the state. The time to go is when the leaves are just starting to grow in the trees. It is home to the very rare Dwarf Trout Lilly, which grows almost no where else. Standard Trout Lilies grow in abundance and Hepatica, Bloodroot, Marsh Marigold, Dutchman's Breeches, and etc. are everywhere. Trillium and Jack in the Pulpit can also be found. The campsites are nothing special, but are clean and easy to get to.

WOW !! this is a great place to go snowshoeing. we haeded out and blast our own trail. the hills and trees are one to see. we made it over to the waterfall. wonderful great time !!

The walk was nice and flurishing view. It isn't a difficult trail so most walkers could do this with ease.