Welcome back, friends! This trip, while fun, had some….difficulties. Today I’m going to share my experience at stop one of this weekend trip, Lake Bemidji State Park.
Lake Bemidji State Park Information
Lake Bemidji State Park is located in Bemidji, MN in the pine-moraine region of the state. It offers lots of activities all year round. Things like hiking, camping, fishing, boating swimming, birdwatching, biking, winter sports, and activities led by the naturalists.
Hiking/Biking
If you’re looking to hike, there are 11 miles to explore. Two of those miles being accessible and one of those being self-guided. Three of the trails have boardwalk access as well. Biking more your thing? There is 1.3 miles of paved trail–which connects to the Paul Bunyan State Trail, and 3 miles of unpaved trail. If you need to rent a bike, you’re in luck. Bikes are first-come, first-served rentals and you will need to bring your own helmet. The website does warn that the bikes will best fit people who are 5’2″ and taller, so keep that in mind.
Winter Sports
If you are visiting during the winter months, you can cross-country ski and skate on groomed trails, snowmobile, and you can snowshoe anywhere in the park that isn’t groomed. Snowshoes are also available to rent. You can hike here in the winter, they ask that you don’t walk on the groomed trails and stay on the plowed and/or packed, but untracked areas.
Camping
Need a place to camp? There’s 95 drive in sites and 5 pull-through sites, 43 electric sites, 4 accessible sites, 2 group camps, and camper cabins–two of which are accessible. There are also accessible showers and flush toilets at the campground, along with vault toilets throughout the park.
Other offering
Lake Bemidji State Park offers a picnic area and shelter; playground; volleyball; boat access; dining hall; fishing pier; swimming beach; as well as a concrete boat ramp with 10 slips. A fish cleaning house is nearby. There is also a ranger station, visitor center, gift shop, firewood and ice sales, public phone, glasses for those who are red-green colorblind, and All-Terrain Track Chairs.
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 Lake Bemidji State Park
Parking
The area I hiked in had a gravel lot near the trailhead. There was ample parking.
Bathrooms
Just off the parking lot I used, there is a modern bathroom with flush toilets and hot water.
Getting to the trail
It took me a hot minute and a stop at the ranger station to find the trailhead. My GPS kept trying to bring me to a restricted access area. The trailhead is located just behind the campground I was staying in. Just follow the road until you can’t anymore.
Lake Bemidji State Park Trail Information
The Bog Walk is an out and back trail that is 1.8 miles in length and has 62 feet of elevation. My numbers were 2 miles in length and 62 feet of elevation. I did the trail in about an hour, however, I was slower moving because of how I felt and how busy the trail was. There was also a lot to see, as you can tell from my pictures.
My goal was to see a Showy Lady Slippers and thanks to someone I met on the trail I found so many. They weren’t in full bloom, but were still cool. Something to check off the list. One day I will find a Pink Lady Slipper (most likely in Jay Cooke), which are the Minnesota State Flower and endangered. Fun facts, now back to the Bog Walk.
The trail was split between a dirt trail and a boardwalk. Overall, it was pretty flat and fairly free of things to navigate around. There were some areas of the boardwalk where they built around trees, so things can get a little narrow. It looked like it would be okay for most mobility devices, but it could be tight. Especially if there are a lot of people around. As long as you’re good on gravel, dirt trail, and boardwalk, this should be a cool trail to check out.
My rating
This trail would fall into the easy category of my rating scale. There is varying terrain and some inclines, but overall, it was easy. I did get short of breath and need to take breaks, but I was tired and the weather was hot.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know my shortness of breath is becoming more of a thing despite my numbers being only slightly worse than usual. I’ve done what I am supposed to and haven’t seen the desired benefits, but I have to keep going so I don’t decline further. I am still in physical therapy and creating a program for strengthening and stabilizing my problem areas, so maybe that will help.
My Camping Experience at Lake Bemidji State Park
I stayed here for the entirety of my stay in this area. The sites were small and mine lacked privacy, however, there are baby trees planted so once they grow up privacy will be had. My neighbors, which you can see in the photo, were super kind and friendly. He let me borrow an extension cord when I found out my power strip was missing so I didn’t freeze my butt off at night. When the temps get to 46 degrees F at night, it gets might cold in a tent. Plus, I would have had to choose between my CPAP and heater, which is not a desirable choice to make.
Totally would have chosen the heater though…I did end up driving the 15 minutes into town and picked up a couple of surge protectors, so there’s extras and I can have everything I need plugged in. That being said, my extension cord needs repair, which I will do before my next trip.
Back to the campsite
My site did have a picnic table and fire ring. I didn’t use them much because I couldn’t be bothered to cook a meal. Sandwiches all weekend! My site was not accessible, so I had a standard table. It was also a very tight squeeze to back my vehicle in. Not sure how a camper could get in there, however, there is a warning on the site when booking so be mindful. While, I missed the warning, I was fine since 90 degree backing is a skill I have.
Have you been to Lake Bemidji State Park? Want to go? Comment below. I’d love to hear from you.
Also, I have been getting a ridiculous amount of spam comments. Like 41 in a few days…so if you made it this far, do me a solid and comment for me. Like the post, think it sucks, have an idea for something in the future? Shout it out!
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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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