Scenic State Park is a

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 State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

near Bigfork in

Itasca County Itasca County (pronounced eye-ta-ska) is located in the State of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,014. Its county seat is Grand Rapids. The county is named after Lake Itasca, which is in turn a shortened version of the L ...

. It encompasses of virgin pine forests that surround Sandwick Lake and Coon Lake. It also includes portions of Lake of the Isles, Tell Lake, Cedar Lake, and Pine Lake. Established in 1921, the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

tribe had previously used the area for hunting. The park has places for camping, hiking, swimming, fishing, and canoeing.

National Register of Historic Places

The park includes two

historic districts A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...

that are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The Scenic State Park CCC/Rustic Style Service Yard is located on the western shore of Sandwick Lake and it is composed of four buildings on a site. They include the Equipment Building (1934), Ice and Wood House (1934), Custodian's Cabin (1935), and the Tool & Equipment Building (1935). The Scenic State Park CCC/WPA/Rustic Style Historic Resources district is composed of four buildings and two structures on on the western shore of Coon Lake. They include the Shelter Pavilion (1934-1935), Comfort Station (1934-1935), Naturalist's Cabin (1935), Shelter & Latrine (1935), Water Tower (1935), and the Stone Steps (1935). The ten buildings and structures in the park were constructed by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC) in the Rustic style. They were designed by G. Iverson, Edward W. Barber, and the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

(NPS). This development started in 1933 and it was the first CCC state park camp to begin operating within Minnesota. The buildings, of log construction, received considerable acclaim from the NPS. The landscape design was also prepared by the National Park Service and is one of the most thorough and extensive designs executed by their landscape architects.

References

External links

Scenic State Park
1921 establishments in Minnesota Civilian Conservation Corps in Minnesota IUCN Category V Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Protected areas established in 1921 Protected areas of Itasca County, Minnesota Rustic architecture in Minnesota State parks of Minnesota Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Itasca County, Minnesota {{Minnesota-NRHP-stub