Park Info
Frontenac State Park is located in Frontenac, MN on the Mississippi River. The park is 2,300 acres and offers a diverse landscape of bluffs, prairies, floodplain forests, and hardwood forests. All of that makes it a perfect place to go birdwatching as there have been 260 bird species seen here.
If you’re looking to hike, you have 13 miles of trails to explore. One of those miles is wheelchair accessible, HOWEVER, this park has track chairs available to rent! These chairs make getting around the park more accessible to those with mobility issues (or those who can’t get around because their lungs are broken). You can also bike here, with one mile of the trail being paved.
Going here in the winter? You’re in luck. There are nine groomed miles of trail for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing is allowed everywhere in the park–except on groomed trails. They even have warming houses at two of the trail heads.
Thinking about camping here? You will have plenty of options. The campground has 58 drive-in, 19 electric, two backpacking, six cart-in, and group camping sites. The website says there are accessible showers and flush toilets available, as well as vault toilets and a dump station.
The park also offers a park office, interpretive exhibit, historic site, gift shop, rentals, firewood and ice sales, picnic area, picnic shelter, sliding hill, and fishing on the lake and river.
All of this information is from the MN DNR website, so credit where credit is due. For more information, check them out here.
Accessibility of Facility
Parking
All of the parking I saw was on gravel lots with clearly marked spots. Most of them had handicapped spots with access next to it.
Bathrooms
I did not see the bathrooms throughout the park, but I know they are there. There were signs with arrows and everything. I would assume that they were as well maintained as the ones I saw the ones in the campground.
Getting to the trail
I drove about seven minutes from the campground to the trail head (thanks AllTrails and Google Maps). It was a nice drive with lots of stuff to look at, like the river, trees and other nature, and old buildings. I even saw one that looked like a castle or a manor for nobles in 1800’s England.
The trail is across the street from the parking area and is marked well with signs. I was confused initially since there is what looked to be a trail off the parking lot, but once I looked around it was clear as day.
Trail Info
Sand Point Trail is an out and back type trail that is 1.90 miles long and has 16 feet of elevation. The trail leading up to the beach is mostly wooded with greenery between waist and chest high. That being said, it is wide, mostly flat, and hard packed dirt. It could be fine for those with mobility devices as long as your wheels are good for the potential mud and the sandy beach at the end.
So, my experience here was very similar to that of Schoolcraft last season. The mosquitoes were so bad that I almost tapped out before I started. I gave it a shot because one of my hiking buddies secretly stashed a mosquito net for my head in the bag of supplies they borrowed me (I really should get my own weather radio and Cutter coils). It went over my head and I looked like a dern fool, but those bastards stayed out of my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The rest of me was screwed, bug spray be damned.
I made it 0.88 miles (about 22 minutes) before turning around. Most of that was scooting as fast as my old lady lungs could carry me, swishing around my hiking sticks like those people that direct planes. To be fair, I would have suffered through it to go to the beach, but the trail was epically flooded. I did know this might be a thing when I started, just hoped it would have receded by then. The bald eagle I saw was cool. It flew right over my head.
I did have a strange experience while there. About halfway to the flooded area I heard something that sounded like a large animal in the foliage and a loud snort. When I stopped to look around I heard a woman’s voice say ‘quiet’ and then there was silence. Well, as much as there can be in the morning hours in the forest. There was NOTHING in sight. I could see over all of the foliage and the trees weren’t dense. Of course, my mind jumps to sneak attacks and abduction so I was on a swivel the entire time–pepper spray and self defense skills at the ready. Someone could have been hiding in the dense, chest high foliage…or the voices could have carried from somewhere else. I did catch a whiff of a skunk on the way back so maybe that was the thing. Who knows?
On my rating scale of easy to hard, which you can find here. this trail would fall into the easy category. Like I said, it was mostly flat, well packed, and I don’t think I would have had as much shortness of breath if I wasn’t almost literally running from mosquitoes. This trail could have been awesome if wasn’t flooded so horribly and the bugs weren’t so bad. Maybe next time…
Camping Experience
This is where I stayed for the entirety of my trip. It was supposed to be three days, but I ended up staying one night. The chronic illness meltdown hit hard on the evening of the second day, it was nice while it lasted though.
The site was on the smaller side and made up of a gravel pad, like the others. It was an electric site that had a picnic table, fire pit with grate, and a campground host. There was decent tree coverage, so I was in partial shade pretty much the entire time. Super appreciated that because it was around 85*F during the day. There is little to no separation between sites, and they are close together, so you will see and hear your neighbors.
To be honest, loud neighbors played a pretty big role in my meltdown. I was in a lot of pain and children screaming while playing, barking dogs, and loud neighbors lead to me being overstimulated. At the time, I could handle one or the other, not both. You can’t be mad at them for having fun, that’s what we’re all there for, but it wasn’t something I had the capacity to deal with unfortunately. I would have loved to stay. I suggest going during the week if you can. My first night was a Thursday and it was so calm and quiet.
Bathrooms and Showers
The one nearest my site was a vaulted toilet, which was large, clean, and even had a light for nighttime bathroom trips. Within walking distance there was the building that holds the modern bathrooms and showers. These were clean, well lit, and accessible. The toilets were a little low, but there are grab bars in the two larger stalls. The sinks and the hand dryers were automatic and could be doable for wheelchairs. Soap might be a bit tricky, but one dispenser is off to the side of the sink so that would help.
I didn’t utilize the showers, but I checked them out. They are accessible with chair, grab bars, and handheld shower heads. The one I saw is what I would consider private. It has one shower stall, toilet, and sink. There is plenty of room to maneuver around. Other shower rooms were available, but I didn’t look into them.
Other camping thoughts
Firewood and ice are sold at the visitor center. The firewood was $8/bundle and purchased it through Yodel. It was an easy process. They were a standard size bundle. Ice was actually sold out, so I had to be sure to bring with what we would need.
The bugs here weren’t horrible at the campground, but there were definitely flies, beetles, and spiders. I used the Cutter coils I borowed and my Thermacell and was fine at the campsite.
There was cell service! I had full bars (on Consumer Cellular) and was able to use my devices and hotspot with no issue. It was nice to have the options if I wanted them.
Do you spy Currently Unnamed CardyBear? If you spot him, put FOUND in the comments 😊 He didn’t make an in person appearance, but he was there…
Be safe out there! REMEMBER YOUR MAPS AND PASSPORT STAMPS!! Seeyalaterbye <3
Also, if you feel called to help a sista out with her travels, check this out!
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