National and State Parks - Recreational Areas
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Fort Ridgely State Park
Nearby Parks
State Park Information
State Park Overview
Nature of the Area
For over a century, the land that is now Fort Ridgely State Park has been affected by logging, farming, grazing and
development. The open bluffs overlooking the Minnesota River have been the least disturbed of any area in the park and contain the best displays of prairie wildflowers and grasses. The park includes a variety of meadows, each distinct in character. Some have scattered prairie wildflowers and grasses others are dense stands of non-ative plant species. On the parks bluffs and
by some of the meadows -re large bur oak trees. At one time, these oaks grew out in the open surrounded only by prairie grasses. These areas, known as Oak Savanna, gradually disappeared as the prairie was plowed and its fires suppressed. Large ash, basswood, sugar maple, hackberry and
black cherry trees grow in the parks deep ravines and along Fort Ridgely Creek.
The last glaciers to cover this part of Minnesota retreated 12,000 years ago. They left behind almost 200 feet of sand, gravel and
rocks, called glacial till, on top of a layer of kaolin clay sediments and bedrock. Deposits of this clay are exposed in banks along Fort Ridgely Creek in the northern part of the park. Fort Ridgely State Park sits atop two distinct layers of this glacial till.
White-tailed deer, red and gray foxes, racoons, minks, beavers, hawks, owls, Canada geese, wild turkeys, reptiles and many songbirds can be seen in the park.
History of the Area
More Info
Fort Ridgely State Park