This is a beautiful state park in Minnesota. One of the highlights is a 2 mile hike on the Wetland Trail. The trail is mostly flat and winds you through a wetland, which offers lots of good bird watching opportunities. The trail changes with the seasons, from flowers in the spring and summer to stunning fall foliage in the fall. The trail also offers a view of a beaver lodge. The park is along the St.Croix river, and has an exit point for kayakers if you enter in Taylors Falls. The park is about 45 minutes from the Twin Cities, and is 2 miles north of Marine on the St Croix. read more

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Beautiful day and have the place to myself. Utterly fantastic and lots of Hawks. No water in Lake Alice still. read more

William O'Brien State Park - Parks Near Me - Marine on Saint Croix, Minnesota

Lovely state park! The trails were wide open and well maintained. The scenery this time of the year isn't the best but we still enjoyed exploring this park. We did the Hardwood Hills Loop, an easy trail about 4.2 miles and took us 1.5 hours. Plenty of parking. Great visitor center, heated bathrooms with flush toilets. read more

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Love the "slow-speed" only boat zone on Lake Alice & the St. Croix River. Here you can get up close to a sand hill crane or great blue heron on the river. The boat landing is next to the canoe launch. Restrooms were just up the hill from the launch parking lot-and they were clean and well stocked. While hiking around, I noticed short grills. Yes, they were marked as "handicapped" grills. I would have never thought of that. Thank you for inclusionary vision Minnesota State Parks! read more

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I have grown up in this park. Camping, swimming, boating, fishing, walking, family reunions. This is a true gem of the Mn park system and its just a stone throw away from the metro. A beautiful park with a beautiful river. Check out the park and you will see what I mean. read more

William O'Brien State Park - Parks Near Me - Marine on Saint Croix, Minnesota

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Wide flat grass trails that go through swamp and prairie, honestly one of the worst state parks in have ever been too. Granted, the riverside area was under construction so maybe that is where the nice views are. read more

A great place to see fall colors. Just don't get loss and make sure to read the map. This park is huge. I wondered if there is a Ike trail. I managed to walk only 3 miles. I was surprised that weren't any bugs. Lots of camping sites though. read more

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Second time camping at this Park. The first time we were over by the river side of the campground and this time we were in the Savannah campground. The state park is about an hour away so it's nice for families with little kids who may not do well camping overnight in the woods if it's their first time. It's about 20 minutes from Stillwater any about 30 minutes to Taylor Falls. The park has some nice pave roads and groomed trails for hiking and biking. The campground is pretty big with over 100 sites to choose from and we like our site 108. It can fit 3 cars and pretty big enough for three shelters to be set up and still have enough room to play for the kids. It's semi shaded so it's nice when the sun is out to have an area out of the sun. It's also nice from the trees to cover for the small sprinkles. The park overall it's pretty well maintained. Minimum bugs during the time we camped over labor day weekend. They have a beach and swimming area. They have kayaks and paddle boards for rentals. The bathrooms are clean an have hope running water. The pit toilets are well maintained and cleaned. The one close to our campsite was spacious and it didn't smell unless someone didn't read the sign and left the lid open. They have to unisex/handicapped accessible shower/toilet available with a changing table. There's no changing table in the main women/men's bathroom. They have separate shower houses for women and men from the bathrooms. The sink in the unisex bathrooms doesn't have hot water for washing hands. I rated 3 stars because we didn't have cell phone coverage and low privacy in that the trees around the campsite couldn't block out lights at night. No indication of which site the campground host is located when we needed to get fire wood and the park office was closed. Everything recreational is a drive away. read more

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The first few times I hiked here, I was left feeling kind of ho-hum. The trails near the visitor center and along the st croix are nice but are fairly flat and not all that exciting. BUT I decided to embark on an 8 mile hike one morning from the parking lot off Ostrum Trail north. Best decision ever! What wonderful trails! Rolling (sometimes steep) hills, beautiful prairie and trees! It's a GREAT challenge if you are into hiking on something other than flat grass. Returning this weekend to catch the beautiful fall colors. If you visit here, go to the ostrum trail parking lot. It's a small dirt lot. You still need a permit to park there but it's totally worth it! read more

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The Hiking Club trail is a challenging (5+ miles) hike, but offers a huge variety of environments and things to see. You move through prairies, hardwood forest, up to scenic vistas and down around a pond with a beaver lodge. There is a lot of up-and-down on the trails, but no really nasty climbs to speak of. Just distance and terrain read more

William O'Brien State Park - View from the prairie overlook - Parks Near Me - Marine on Saint Croix, Minnesota

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Rain happens, but I've never stayed in a state park campsite that actually floods. None of the other sites even had a puddle. It seems very greedy to rent Riverside site 10 all spring and let people set up camp even when the rangers know it will flood. All they need to do is haul in some dirt and gravel to amend it. The park is beautiful, however this county has a tornado siren that they sound off multiple times per day. I've only ever heard of testing a siren once a month or maybe even a quick windup at curfew. This one goes off long and loud all the time. Not exactly getting away from it all. read more

William O'Brien State Park - Flooded campsite after we packed up - Parks Near Me - Marine on Saint Croix, Minnesota

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Nicely maintained, wide paths for easy social distancing, bathrooms, and a nice mix of hills and flat ground! I really enjoyed this state park and its views. This is a great spot for a weekend hike and not too far from the cities. read more

There are loads of things to do at this State Park. The amenities cover a long sign near the entrance. Various camping and picnic spots and trails. Can't name them all but you get the picture as this park is huge. I enjoyed two trails, and there are more to explore. One of them goes through the wetlands so keep your eyes and ears open for creaking and splashing sounds. The vehicle roads are well maintained and there are porta potties throughout and resting areas. read more

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Great place to bring your dog, family or friends! Great for walking, running or spending to roaming around in the outdoors.

This park is conveniently located about an hour from the Twin Cities, but you'll find that this is a good and bad thing. A few friends and I went for just a one night getaway from the city. Our camp site felt like we were on top of each other. We were surrounded on all sides by camping trailors. There was literally a family next to us that set up a playpen on their campsite and the plethora of kids and dogs were crazy loud. We were able to move camp sites to one for up to 30 people. Best. Decision. Ever. There was way more space and the multiple picnic tables were great to have. The bathrooms were like porta pottys with TP & hand sanitizer, but I recommend you don't choose a camp site right by them as the whole area smelled like pooooooo :P The swimming area looked really gross with green fungus so we opted not to partake but that didn't stop others from doing so (crazy people). It was still a relaxing trip after we moved to the larger camp site. In MN, we kind of freak out in summer with such good weather. It's prime time for camping. Go out and enjoy one of the best things about our state! read more

William O'Brien State Park - Group camp site #2. Spacious w/ plenty of picnic tables, but too near the bathrooms. - Parks Near Me - Marine on Saint Croix, Minnesota

Nice park! Campground leaves a bit to be desired, no dish washing station and terrible signal for T-Mobile. Camp host is in the site with the big box out front labeled "Firewood" plus there is a "Camp Host" sign, as well, and the host this year [Month? Week?] is very friendly and helpful. read more

Nice 6 mile moderately strenuous hike. There was mostly dirt so i recommend trail shoes. It's too sandy for sandals. Make sure to wear a hat and sunscreen.. there is lots of sun exposure... i got quite sunburned! I really enjoyed the Beaver dams... the frog pond... and the birds. I saw the camping areas which looked decent but not really spaced out far enough. No running water for bathroom or sink. This makes a great glute workout. It's very calming by pond. read more

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Just got home after a wonderful overnighter at William O'Brien. Our parties' two (carefully chosen) adjacent campsites were perfect. Private, well-cared for, and extremely close to the St. Croix River. Noise from other campers was negligible. The surroundings were stunning, and really unexpected for a park so close to the Twin Cities. We saw all sorts of animals and took a wonderful riverside hike this morning. What a gem! I imagine summertime could bring crowds that might ruin the experience, but October camping was delightful. read more

Very convenient to our home so it was a great first introduction to camping in the camper cabins with young children. Easy trails along the river for hiking make for an enjoyable and relaxing day of exploring the St. Croix River. read more

In many ways, I feel as though I grew up at this park. Just thinking about it brings back so many memories. That having been said, a decade later, I recently went and camped for a few days with a friend and all was as we remembered it. The campgrounds are well-kept and generally one can get a site without too much hassle if you're not picky. There bathrooms/showers on site and they are, for the most part, clean and in working order. There are miles of walking and hiking trails throughout the park. The beach is always packed on summer afternoons, but try evenings or mornings and you'll have the place to yourself. Not sure exactly what the hours are but I am sure they are reasonable. My family has been faithful members of this state park for many years and will continue to visit whenever I am back in Minn. read more

First off let me say thank you for offering the Amazing Race program today. My fiance and myself competed and although we did not win we had a very amazing time and it was really a great date day for us. The woman in charge of the program said that if we had any suggestions we should email them in because she was looking for ideas to improve the program for next year. My suggestion is that you offer the event just as it was but make it specifically for families. THEN you offer a second Amazing Race event maybe on a different day for adults only. For the adult version, keep the very same Amazing Race format, but maybe make the challenges a little bit harder and maybe make the length of the race a little bit longer. You could possibly incorporate some sort of hiking element? I thought today was a very fun time and I'm glad it was loose and relaxed and the rules weren't extremely strict, but I also think it would be really really fun to see adults come out with their competitive spirit and take on The Amazing Race. thanks again and I hope you find my suggestions helpful read more

William O'Brien is gorgeous. There are miles of trails twisting through a diverse landscape. The campground is great and so are the little camper cabins. The boat landing is a great spot for river access for canoeists and kayakers, and Alice lake is great for shore fishing. read more

beautiful views and amazing hiking trails. perfect for camping, or even just for the day.

A great place to sample all the various landscapes of the St. Croix River valley. You can walk amongst beautiful white pines on the limestone banks by the river, or get a great long hike or ski on trails through prairie and forests on the uplands. read more

Hubby and I decided try out this park to see what it was like for walking and the bike trail they have. Cost about $5.00 for an all day pass to the park, which allows you to use the hiking, walking and beach area. There is also camping permits there - not sure how much those passes cost. We went on a nice little 3 - 4 mile walk trail around the camp grounds and by the St. Croix. The camp grounds actually looked pretty nice. If I was a camper I would definately try this place out. All around we had a nice visit to the park and plan to go back in the fall to check out the fall colors. In the winter the hiking trails are used for cross country skiing. read more