John A. Latsch State Park is located in Minnesota City, MN. It is named for a local businessman who donated the land. The park is 450 acres in size and had is a diverse habitat for wildlife, including bluffs, prairie, floodplain forests, and oak forests. You can see several kinds of birds as they pass through while migrating, coyotes, fox, opossums, timber rattlesnakes, and white-tailed deer. It’s said that you can even see bald eagles flying over the Mighty Mississippi.
Outside of watching the wildlife, activities at this park are hiking and picnicking. There are some pretty scenic views to check out. You will have to work for them though. The 0.5 mile hike available here is steep and all stairs, but the view at the top is said to be spectacular. Snowshoeing is available throughout the park.
This park is a self-serve and day use only, so there is no camping or park office. You will have to do those things at other parks nearby. Whitewater State Park manages this one, so you can contact them if you need something.
All of this info came from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources website, so credit where credit is due. Click here to view the original source.
Accessibility of Facility
Parking
There is a small dirt lot right in front of the trailhead.
Bathrooms
A vault toilet is available across from the trailhead.
Getting to the trail
It’s easy to find since there is only one trail at this park. You can see it from the parking lot. All you have to do is get out of the car and walk straight ahead.
Trail Info
The Riverview Trail is an out and back trail that is about 0.5 miles in length and has 450 feet of elevation. Unfortunately, when I got there the trail was closed for safety. There were stairs missing and in poor condition, so I would suggest waiting to give it a shot unless you are able to navigate difficult terrain, good with hiking sticks, and stable on your feet.
Like I said above, the entire trail was stairs all incline all the time. If stairs are your sworn enemy, like me, I would avoid this one to be honest. However, if you’re like me and really want to see the summit, take it slow. I had to stop every few stairs or so to catch my breath. The poles helped with the up and down of it all, but they only do so much.
Here at Adventures of Seleana we support knowing your limits and working within them. There is no shame in leaving early, listening to your body, and coming back when you’re in a better place (or not). All of that being said, I did less than half of the trail because my knees were crying and I was just plain exhausted.
If I would have listened better to my body (and intuition) I probably wouldn’t have started this trail. I knew it was going to kick my butt before I even started, but chose to risk it for the biscuit. While I didn’t make it to the summit, I did get to a couple of outlooks so I got the cliff notes part of the view. It was beautiful.
In full transparency, I did this one after Carley and lunch, so I was a little spent going into it. Seleana before hypersensitivity pneumonitis could have made it, but she’s not here anymore. Walking was difficult for about three days after this one and my forearms were inflamed from using the poles as much as I had to.
This trail would fall into the hard category of my rating scale for everything listed above.
Do you spy Currently Unnamed CardyBear? If you spot him, put FOUND in the comments :)
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!
English 