Minnesota trail features live beaver lodge

Beaver Lodge Trail. Photo courtesy of Minnesota DNR.

Route crosses oak savanna
on way to pond, wetlands

Day hikers can see a working beaver lodge on a short trail at Minnesota’s William O’Brien State Park.

The 0.7-mile Beaver Lodge Trail loops a wetlands where beavers have created a small pond. With the connecting trails, hikers will walk 1.7-miles round trip.

To reach the trail, from Stillwater, Minn., head north on Minn. Hwy. 95 to the park entrance. At the first junction, go left/southeast then turn at the left/southwest into a parking lot at the visitor center.

From there, walk the Wedge Hill Savanna Trail south, staying on that loop’s western side. The trail heads alongside a woodlands, the scent of dry oak leaves heavy on the air, as pileated woodpeckers tap-tap against the trees and warblers sing an array of melodies.

At the next junction, go left/west 0.2 miles. Here, the woods opens up to an oak savanna.

Tough lodge
Next, go left/south onto the Wetland Trail. When the trail splits in a few feet, it’s reached the Beaver Lodge Trail loop. A pond stretches between the two trails. Take the trail going left/south alongside the pond. You’ll quickly spot the beaver lodge sitting near the pond’s northern end.

Beaver lodges primarily provide a home so they are safe from predators. Though constructed of twigs and branches, it’s covered in mud that when frozen in winter is as hard as concrete.

If their lodges look like mansions, that’s because beavers are larger than most people think. They’re usually 35 to 40 inches long and weigh 40 to 50 pounds, but large males can be up to five feet long and top the scales at 90 pounds.

Should you be lucky, you’ll spot a beaver swimming about the pond. Don’t be surprise if you hear what sounds like a gunshot – it’s just a beaver snapping its tail against the water to warn its family of your approach.

Ideally adapted
Beavers are ideally adapted to living in water and can remain submerged for up to 20 minutes. Their tails act as rudders and propellers, while nictitating membranes cover the eyes to act as goggles when in the water. Their lips close behind the front teeth so that it can carry a branch in its mouth but not drown.

In a third of a mile from where the trail split, you’ll reach an intersection with the Wedge Hill Savanna Trail. Go right/west to stay on the Beaver Lodge Loop.

The trail circles about a wetlands where you may see signs of the beavers’ logging. With iron in their teeth and super strong jaws, beavers can chew through a 6-inch diameter tree in a mere 15 minutes. A single beaver can fell hundreds of trees a year.

In 0.2 miles, the loop intersects with the Wetland Trail. Go right/northeast. In another 0.2 miles, the trail reaches the split at the head of the beaver pond. From there, retrace your steps to the parking lot.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Hike alongside lake, thru floodplain forest

St. Croix River shoreline at William O'Brien State Park.

Riverside Trail map

Day hikers can learn about the power of floods on the St. Croix River via the Riverside Trail at William O’Brien State Park in Minnesota.

The 1.5-mile trail loops through a floodplain and typically is open during summer and autumn when water levels have gone down. Don’t think of this area as a swamp, though – you’ll find rest areas (some with benches) about every 900 feet on the trail, as well as interpretive signs.

To reach the trail, from Marine on St. Croix, Minn., take Minn. Hwy. 95 north into the park. Turn right/east onto O'Brien Trail North/County Road 33. The road curves south, dead ending in a parking area alongside Lake Alice. The trail begins at the picnic grounds immediately east of the parking lot.

Floodplain forest
At the amphitheater, the trail curves east then north again as paralleling a back channel of the St. Croix River. The fresh scent of pine needles upon the trail and the gentle rush of water along the river’s rock walls instantly lulls you into a feeling of serenity.

About 0.3 miles from the amphitheater, shortly after passing a stem trail leading to a campground, the back channel joins the main channel. Roughly half of the trail follows the river, mainly through a good mix of hardwoods common to a floodplain forest in this region. During autumn, their leaves turn gold, red, orange and brown. Across the water is Wisconsin, and with the two undeveloped shorelines, tranquilityreigns.

A little more than halfway through the hike, the trail veers from the river and follows a small stream that flows from the bluffs into the St. Croix. Frogs make their home along the creek in large numbers, and you’re likely to hear them through the day.

The trail then curves south and soon crosses O’Brien Trail North. This marks the steepest section of the trail as it rises and drops about 40 feet over a knoll.

Lake Alice bird life
Next the trail squeezes between the road and Lake Alice. The lake was named for Alice O'Brien, whose donation of 180 acres in honor of her father, William, launched the park.

Springs at Lake Alice’s north end feeds it through the year, assuring the water remains clean and blue all summer. Keep an eye to the sky for eagles and hawks looking for a meal in the lake. Geese and ducks usually can be spotted floating about, so if you have little ones, bring some dried bread they can toss into the water to feed the waterfowl.

The Riverside Trail is wheelchair accessible. It also has restrooms and a swimming area on Lake Alice at trail’s end, so be sure to pack your kids’ swimming trunks.

Read more about day hiking the scenic riverway in my guidebook Hittin’ the Trail: Day Hiking the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.