Hiking Near the Cities: Arcola Bluffs Day Use Area and William O’Brien State Park

Sep 19

Sep 19 Hiking Near the Cities: Arcola Bluffs Day Use Area and William O’Brien State Park

I’ve been hitting the trails recently and my most recent trek was along the St. Croix River, about 40 mins outside of the Twin Cities.

I had a wonderful solo-adventure day full of woods, prairie, wetlands, and river trails that were all too good not to share. Read more about it below!

Arcola Bluffs Day Use Area

I started my day at a lesser-known trail at the Arcola Bluffs Day Use Area just north of Stillwater.

The trail was so beautiful, and it was honestly the most comfortable I’ve been during the entire pandemic because there wasn’t another soul around!

There is a small parking area off the side of the road with a map at the trailhead. It’s not very large, but your GPS should take you straight there.

The trail is a steady, smooth decline down to the river and the Arcola High Bridge. It’s not a very long trail so if you’re short of time or not up for a full day of hiking, this is a great one to check out!

It was fun walking up and down the banks of the river, checking out the bridge. I love old, arched bridges like that. They remind me of old movies and childhood memories of walking along train tracks.

I took my time enjoying the scenery and taking photos, but you could easily walk down and back in less than an hour if you wanted to check out the bridge but are short on time.

William O’Brien State Park

Because the Arcola Trail was shorter than I was anticipating, I decided to venture a bit further north and spend the remainder of the day at William O’Brien State Park.

William O’Brien is a wonderful park with over 12 miles of trails ranging in difficulty and scenery.

Like all state parks, you need to purchase a parking pass, the proceeds of which help to maintain the trails, facilities, and park programs.

You can get a yearly state park parking pass Here

I did the hiking club trail, which is just over 5 miles and takes you through wetlands, woods, and prairie. I would categorize this hike as moderate in difficulty. While it’s a shorter hike than others I’ve done recently, it was more difficult because there are many inclines/declines. The prairie overlook loop section is a long trek uphill, but it was totally worth it!