Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area is a unit of the

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

state park system in

Scott County, Minnesota Scott County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 150,928. Its county seat is Shakopee. Shakopee is also the largest city in Scott County, the twenty-third-largest city in Minnesota, and the sixt ...

, the United States. The park is not continuous but is composed of waysides, four of which are strung along the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It ris ...

between

Shakopee Shakopee ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Minnesota, United States. It is located southwest of Minneapolis. Sited on the south bank bend of the Minnesota River, Shakopee and nearby suburbs comprise the southwest portion of ...

and Belle Plaine. The various waysides are interspersed with units of the

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in eastern and central Minnesota. Located just south of the city of Minneapolis, it is one of fourteen Regional Priority Urban Wildlife Refuges in the nation. Many par ...

, a part of the

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is a and protected corridor along the Mississippi River through the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro in the U.S. state of Minnesota, from the cities of Dayton and Ramsey, to just downstream of H ...

. Although the state recreation area is managed by the

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, or Minnesota DNR, is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recre ...

and the national wildlife refuge by the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

, both agencies share a consistent signage to simplify visitation.

History

The lower Minnesota River valley had been recognized for its scenic and recreational potential since at least 1939, but when a bill proposing an state park went before the Minnesota Legislature in 1967 it did not pass. Two years later a scaled-back proposal also failed. However a bill creating the

Minnesota Valley State Trail Minnesota Valley State Trail is a 27-mile (43 km), multi-use trail in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area that runs parallel to the Minnesota River from the cities of Belle Plaine to Shakopee. A 10-mile (16 km) segment of the trail fr ...

did pass in 1969. The trail was to run from

Fort Snelling State Park Fort Snelling State Park is a state park of the U.S. state of Minnesota, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. For many centuries, the area of the modern park has been of importance to the Mdewakanton Dakota people who consi ...

to the town of Le Sueur and include six waysides totaling over . Even the smallest wayside was larger than some of Minnesota's state parks. In this roundabout way, portions of the valley were added to the state park system. The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge was authorized in 1976 and additional lands originally desired for the state park received federal protection.

References

*Meyer, Roy W. ''Everyone's Country Estate: A History of Minnesota's State Parks''. Minnesota Historical Society Press: St. Paul, 1991. *Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area signage, brochures, and website.

External links

Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area
{{authority control Mississippi National River and Recreation Area 1969 establishments in Minnesota Minnesota River Protected areas established in 1969 Protected areas of Carver County, Minnesota Protected areas of Dakota County, Minnesota Protected areas of Hennepin County, Minnesota Protected areas of Le Sueur County, Minnesota Protected areas of Scott County, Minnesota State parks of Minnesota