When you find your people, you click. When we didn’t know each other well a few years ago, I invited an acquaintance over for a rainy-day coffee date. Our kids were friends, but we weren’t super close.
But after that rainy day, we became kindred spirits. She invited our family to an annual camping trip in May for her husband’s birthday, which soon became a tradition for us. We packed our camper and headed across the Minnesota border to Wisconsin to Interstate State Park.
Interstate State Park isn’t known as one of Wisconsin's most popular parks. It does not have amazing waterfalls to view, but other amenities make it a great place to camp! While it does have rustic campsites and hook-ups available that are electric only, we appreciate how easy it is to maneuver our camper into the various campsites for hookups. It does have two different campgrounds: the North, which is a mix of rustic and hook-up for campers, and the South campgrounds, which is all rustic.
We have only ever stayed in the North campground along the St. Croix River. The views are beautiful at sunset. You can oftentimes see herons and cranes along the water, looking for their prey. In the middle of the loop of the North Campground is a large open area that can be used for recreational use. We have played some fun kickball games there!
There are two water spigots within the North Campground and another at the washout station, making it convenient to get water to fill your camper's tank and wash any dishes.
The camper water/septic emptying station is also in a convenient location on your way out of the campground.
The bathhouse/ bathroom is also open in mid-May. There were quite a few mosquitoes and little bugs flying around this year, but it’s been a heavy rain year! It wouldn’t be camping in without a few bugs!
The attractions around Interstate State Park are the hiking trails. While hiking, you can see some cool features like the Glacial potholes, some as small as basketballs and some so big that you cannot climb out!
You can also watch people climb the river cliffs or climb them yourself if you are an expert.
There is also the vegetation to explore, with many different varieties of wildflowers in the spring. You can go canoeing or Kayaking down the St. Croix or take a Taylor Falls paddle boat tour! There is also the lake to swim in, fish, or hike around!
One of my favorite hiking spots was stopping at the “selfie station.” While there, the Taylor Falls paddle boat went by with a tour group; someone was kayaking, and another group of adventurers was climbing the rockface. Everyone was on some kind of adventure, but we were all experiencing the same majestic beauty together.
It was a cool and breezy day, but it was glorious! I wouldn’t have asked for it to be more perfect!
Our first year, we rode the Taylor Falls Ferry Boat and had the whole experience. I highly recommend it if you have never done it. It is great! It is so informative, and you learn a lot of geological information and the history of how the river was formed.
Interstate State Park is a great park because it is near other small towns: Stillwater, Taylor Falls, and Osceola. If you enjoy antiquing, these towns have tons of antique shops!
This past stay, my husband and I visited Osceola and went to a driving range with our golf clubs for a morning. We found the town to be so cute! You could easily spend time in these little towns!
Interstate State Park holds many memories for us and our friends. We recently lost a good friend, and we made many memories there with him. Jim, you will be missed, but your spirit will live on. Rest in peace, dear friend.
