Banning State Park was one of our favorite outdoor stops during our Hinckley getaway. The park is…read moreknown for its scenic hiking trails, sandstone cliffs, and the views of the Kettle River, making it a great place to spend a few hours exploring. Our goal was to find the waterfall, but like many first-time visitors, we ended up taking a wrong turn and wandered a little longer than expected. Honestly, it turned into part of the adventure. As we explored, we spotted deer quietly moving, squirrels darting between the trees, and plenty of birds and caterpillars along the way. We discovered quiet trails, beautiful overlooks, and peaceful stretches of the river that we might have missed if we'd gone straight to our destination. The sound of the water, the surrounding rock formations, and the forest scenery made it one of those places where you naturally want to stop and take it all in. If you're visiting Banning State Park for the first time, don't stress if you get a little turned around. Give yourself extra time, wear comfortable shoes, and enjoy the journey.

This is a beautiful state park that offers so many opportunities to commune with nature. Lush…read moretrails, flowers native to shorelines and wet soils, and a waterfall are among some of the many joys here. It is located off I-35 near Sandstone, and 90 miles away from the Twin Cities (about an hour and a half away). It is worth making a day trip to visit. The park stretches along 10 miles of the Kettle River, and has 1.5 miles of churning class IV rapids for those daring kayakers.

The playground could use some updates, but cute concept. The kids seem to really enjoy it, but just…read moregetting a bit old. There is a bandshell and music in the park event in the summer which is a great community event. You can also launch your boats into the lake. The area near the serpent statue no dogs allowed which is a bummer. Skate park and police station all in the same area.

Beautiful park! Super clean and fun! We were visiting from out of town, and this place didn't…read moredisappoint.

This review is only regarding the cliff jumping you can do at the park into the water- this review…read moreis not meant to discourage others to go to this beautiful park - just to make people aware of the risks. If you plan to cliff jump - please read!!! I have been to this park many times in my life, and jumped off the high cliff into the water at least half a dozen times. Last Memorial Day, I went with my friends to enjoy the park. I went to the highest cliff jumping spot and I jumped off into the water. I immediately knew something was wrong with my spine when I hit the water as I could barely breathe and my back exploded in pain. As the signs state at the park - you jump at your own risk. It was clear they do not have a protocol for when people get injuries. It took about 10 minutes to get a ranger to come over and help, who did end up calling an ambulance, but they did not offer anything else. They didn't clear the area, and people continued to climb up and jump around me. My friends had to kick me across the whole quarry to get to the shore to get to the ambulance. At the hospital they did an x-ray and a vertebrae in my spine had compressed due to the angle I hit the water and fractured. It was about a 5-month recovery with a back brace full time. If you go for the cliff jumping just be aware that there is a risk jumping into the water, and the risk gets greater the higher you go. All this to say - the park is beautiful and it is still a lovely spot for swimming and hiking. Just know the risks before you go cliff jumping into the water.

Definitely a gem in this little town. The walking trails are pleasant and go for miles. Wear…read morecomfortable shoes. There's a quarry with cliffs to dive from. Parking fee's vary $5 Sep-May and $10 during the summer.

My family and I stopped by this park while on vacation in the area in March 2024. We were thrilled…read moreto see there are hiking trails as well as the fire tower, plus there are a lot of interesting things to read about the tower history and fire history in the area. The whole park is nice - clean, well kept, both paved trails and gravel lined trails, well-built steps, and quality railings where steps are located. There is a paved trail that goes to the tower, as well as an unpaved trail that is a good uphill climb. The tower looks neat, and we would have loved to climb it, but it was closed. There is a big fence with a locked door around it. This was a bummer for me - the websites that I found describing the park had said that the park was open year-round, which I (wrongly) thought included the tower. I do understand - it is an unseasonably warm winter, and most people aren't going hiking or climbing giant towers in March. I was just disappointed. Nonetheless, we enjoyed our time there - both the hiking and learning about fire safety in the area.

We came on MN State Park Day where entrance was free and this has been on my husband's list to…read morevisit so we gave it a go! We did a combination route along the Quarry Loop and Wolf Creek Trails and it was really great! I like how it also snaked past other trails like Hell's Gate and Deadman Trail, and you could hop off the trail for a bit and explore something else (like checking out the historic sandstone quarry ruins and the waterfall). Generous shade and well maintained, we had an awesome time!

We only got to spend about an hour at Banning State Park but it was an hour well spent. Lots of…read morehiking trails to choose from and a nice picnic area right off the parking lot that even has grills available. We took a short hike to see some rapids and even though the water was low it was quite beautiful! Trails were maintained and the colors were beautiful this time of year. Wish we could have spent more time! Not too far from the twin cities metro so makes for a nice day trip!

Great park with AstroTurf and a water park to run in. A great time for kids of most ages. My son…read morehad a blast for hours and slept great.

Great splash park and playground. Just needs an ice cream stand or an ice cream truck.read more

Super nice park/hiking trail that has so many facilities. Park has Softball/Baseball Field…read moreTennis Courts (4) Disc Golf Pickleball Courts (2 fenced) plus on the Basketball Court Basketball Court Volleyball Court (sand court) Horseshoe Pits (2) Bean Bag Toss (2) Children's Playground Equipment (New in 2022) Outhouses Drinking Fountain Numerous Picnic Tables Pollinator Garden in Trails Area. They have a fun hiking trail that has hidden gnomes to find that was so fun to search for them. Would recommend this park to all age ranges because of all the options that are available.

The trails are easy to see and they have easy and then more skilled trails. The scenery is very niceread more

A nice park to walk in. The trails are clearly marked. One thing I do wish is that they had maps of…read morethe park and trails listed. At intersections there are signs posted with directions to go to certain points. It isn't clear how far away that point is or if the trail is a loop. It is a fun place to walk and experience nature.

Crow wing is a lovely place to get out and connect with nature! There are many hiking and bike…read moretrails. It also is filled with wildlife! You can take a walk through the old town of Crow Wing and learn alot about its past! You can go down and see the Mississippi River while you have a picnic or hotdogs over a fire. The cabin is very rustic but it does not have electricity. Still overall a very nice place!

Excellent day of hiking! Trails are well marked and maintained. Only a small area are paved the…read morerest of the trails are grassy or wooded. Checked in with Ranger Barry Osborne. He was Uber helpful and friendly. We enjoyed the historic markers and learning about the area. Lots of good picnic spots.

We have rented this pavilion for our family picnic for many years. We usually get there at eleven…read moreo'clock to set up for the noon picnic. This year when we arrived the pavilion was so disgusting & dirty. There were cigarette butts put out on the tables. Broken glass all over under the tables. Tacks stuck in all the tables & all over the ground. Old food left on the picnic tables. Took us over an hour to clean up the mess before we could start our picnic. The garbage cans were full. It was horrible.

This park is very updated and clean for a small town park. We were very pleased! Our toddler son…read moreloved the Splash Pad! It's $4 a person, which I think they should either just charge for kids or families, as O didn't even run around I. The water, I jut sat supervising my son. But I get it, they need funds to stay open. I wish there were more shaded areas at the splash pad. The trees only cover 1 or 2 of the tables. The playground has nice shade screen umbrellas and plenty of varied sizes of equipment for different ages. They have pavilions as well for picnics. You can rent them for I believe $50 a day and then the restroom key is a $100 deposit. We will be back! Such an enjoyable time!