The Outdoor Dude

  Park Information Wild River State Park is located along 18 miles  of the beautiful St. Croix River. The park attracts people who enjoy camping, hiking, horseback riding, canoeing, interpretive programs, self-guided trails, and cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Day visitors can enjoy a leisurely paddle down the St. Croix River from the Sunrise river access to the southern park river access. The park provides opportunities for semi-modern camping, group camping, equestrian camping, backpack camping, and canoe camping. Visitors who want modern amenities can reserve the guest house which provides a living room, dining room, kitchen, and fireplace. The park also has six camping cabins which include bunkbeds, a table, and benches. Please note that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the trail center gathering area and visitor center exhibit area are closed. Restrooms are open at both buildings. Please follow posted requirements for masks, social distancing, and limited occupancy. An...

 This weeks State Park is Fort Snelling State Park. Fort Snelling State park is located in the Twin Cities Metro Area. Is at the Confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers and it host a number of great activities that you can do with family or just for some Me time. there are multiple hiking and biking trails and you can see the fort where has all sorts Minnesota history connected to it. Whey you are out on the trails be sure to look for all of the wild animals that are out there including deer, owls, fpxes, and much more. There is no camping at Fort Snelling so it perfect for a quick day trip. I hope that you have a great time exploring this historical park. If you have pictures of your trip to Fort Snelling please share them with us. Have a great day and Happy Holidays. 

 One of the best parts of being outdoors is the eating good food after a long day of playing and enjoying nature, sometimes we get ungery while we are outside hiking or biking or geocaching. Here is a great snack that you can make to give you energy and satisfy your craving at the moment. I hope that you enjoy it. Gourp What you Need. Cheerios Raisins Chocolate chips M&Ms Cashews What you do. You mix all of the above together and then put them it in to a baggie. and enjoy.  I hope that you have a great day and remember to enjoy the outdoors.

 The skill of the day is where I will be posting a skill that is useful in the outdoors and how to do that skill. I hope that you enjoy. If you what to learn more about an outdoor skill please post it in the comments below. if found this helpful please subscribe to the site and share it with your friends.  Today's Skill is Fire Building for recreation.  Fire is an important part of our outdoor experiences. There are many different uses for fire like cooking, keeping warm, keeping away unwanted wildlife, and just to sing and tell stories around. Here are the steps to building a fire for the last reason ( singing and telling stories around ) I will be breaking down each step in more detail in later posts. STEP 1 . have a fire ring. This is so important because we do not want to scar the earth to much and it help keep the fire contained. You should also have a bucket of water and a shovel around a fire to put it out. STEP 2 . Find small burnable materal called Tinder. these ...

 Hi Everyone, This is the first State Park of the week. We have so many beautiful state parks in the US that I want to highlight some of them. In the state park of the week I will provide some information about the park. If there is a park that you think would be great to feature please comment below and I will put it up as a post.  Lake Maria State Park Lake Maria State Park is located in Wright County near Monticello MN. This part show what was once called the Big Woods. Many of the trails here bring you through hard wood forests where you can see a wide variety of animals including Deer, fox, and grouse. It is also home to the Blanding's turtle that is on the endangered species list. Some of the activities that you can do at Lake Maria State Park are Hiking, canoeing, camping, and fishing. They also have a great place to do Geocaching and offer a great interpretive trail where you can learn about the history and natural resources of the area.  Camping is available year...

 Hi Everyone, I want to welcome you to my new Blog. This Blog is about everything outdoors. I love the outdoors and the great activities that we can do outside. I grew up in Minnesota and was always doing things outside. I earned my Eagle Scout award when I was 18 and I have been invovled with scouting for over 30 years now.  My goal in sharing this blog is to help others enjoy outdoor activities as much as I did. I will be giving posts about all things outdoors, like camping, fishing, hiking, biking, state parks and much more. My hope is that you will enjoy this blog and that you get practical advice as to how to better enjoy the outdoors. I hope that you enjoy.  If you enjoy this blog, please join. I look forward to meeting you and remember get outdoors and smell the fresh air.  Mark