george crosby manitou state park

Truely a gem of the State Park system in MN. An extremely grueling hike up and down about 7 vistas. The hike was only 4.2 miles but it was incredibly difficult to hike and follow the trail. We started on the middle trail and it took us down to the Cascades. Probably my favorite waterfalls in the state. You have to leave the trail and get right on the Manitou river for the best views of the Cascades. We were the only ones here and had the area to ourselves, which was great. It was so beautiful and peaceful all at the same time. After enjoying the falls from the bottom we hiked right in to the middle of the falls for the greatest views of all. A once in a lifetime opportunity to climb right into some falls and experience them from that point. I won't soon forget Manitou State Park and look forward to the next opportunity to come explore this giant state park and state forest.

Expected it to be off HWY 61. It is not. But it was a pretty drive. Not a fan of the dirt roads on the way though! Did not get out to hike due to time constraints, just drove through but it will be nice to go take in a few of the hikes someday.

Off the beaten trail, hiking and backpack camping state park well worth a visit for a day of hiking along river or stay overnight, especially at full moon for good views.

This is a more primitive park and if you are sick of people, go here. It is a bit of a drive off the main drag, you have to go to the town of Finland and follow the sign. From the parking lot, there are many trails off into the woods. There is one water fall that is pretty to see. If you are with your family and don't want a rugged hike, Benson Lake has a wooden walkway all the way around the whole lake, maybe a mile. In the right season you will see lady slipper flowers. Lots of lupines along the road to the park. It is a great park to hike thru during the winter.

My three children (ages 12, 10, and 7) and I spent four days and three nights exploring Crosby Manitou SP in mid-September. Overall, the park has a rugged feel to it. The park is predominantly coniferous forests, with some deciduous trees (maple, aspen, birch, etc) mixed in. When we visited, the hardwoods were in their early fall colors and added some very nice highlights to the green forests.We spent two nights in backpack site 7 by the Manitou River, then moved over to site 22 on Benson Lake. We also checked out sites 2,3,4,5,6,8,19,20, and 21 during our hikes. Most of them would be acceptable to us for future backpack trips. Sites 2-5, 7, and 8 are all near the river. Site 2 is a small site near the cascades, which are beautiful. Site 5 is less desirable because the trail goes right through the site (although that might be a minor problem, since we only saw one set of hikers on the river trail the whole time). Site 6 is on a hill with beautiful views - however, the nearest water is at least three hundred yards away, down near the Misquah Trail. We loved site 7, adequate space, near the river, but somewhat shielded from the trail. Site 8 is similar but has more space. The sites around the lake (19-22) are all quite nice, I'd probably not select 19 because although it is fairly close to the lake, we did not see any trails providing easy access to the lake.The trails are generally pretty rough, due to roots and rocks. My 7 year old son fell three or four times in the first 20 minutes of backpacking to site 7 due to his needing to get a feel for stepping on and over roots/rocks combined with the way his backpack shifted his center of gravity. The Misquah Trail became very steep and rough near the river, and because of our late arrival, dusk made it a bit difficult to see as well. Park staff have done quite a bit of work in building stairs in some of the steeper sections. The trail junctions are generally well marked and often have a bench to rest on as well. In looking at the map, I thought site 7 would be accessible from the Misquah trail, but in actuality, it is on the Manitou River Trail about 150 yards north of the Misquah trail junction. Because of this situation, it was dark before we found our site, making the rough trail even a greater challenge.Site 7 has a fire pit with a rotating grate/grill, a couple of logs that serve as seats/benches, and a latrine seat (no walls or roof) set a short distance away from the main camp site. This is pretty standard for the sites, although there is some variation - for example, some have a bear box (22 does), while some have nicer benches or latrines, and others share latrines (20, 21, and 22 share an outhouse that was closed when we were there).We went for a day hike from site 7 up to the cascades. The river has several small cascades and other features along the trail, but the cascades near site 2 are the highlight. Overall, a beautiful little river with lots of opportunities for photos. We didn't try fishing it, although there were some nice pools that looked like good candidates for fishing.Although the maps don't show it, Benson Lake can actually be reached by car - you can drop a canoe or a cooler off by the lake, but then have to return to the parking lot (maybe 200 yards) to park. The small picnic area has a half dozen or so tables, with several fire pits, all in a grassy area next to the lake. The configuration of the lake allows some lakeshore fishing, but waders or a small boat would be advisable. Only non-motorized boats are allowed on the lake, and there is no real boat launch area, so your choices are pretty much canoes, kayaks, or inflatable rafts.A nice boardwalk encircles much of the lake, and makes for a pleasant and easy hike.