A Minnesota state park is an area of land in Minnesota preserved by the state for its natural, historic, or other resources. Minnesota currently has 71 state parks. Each was created by an act of the Minnesota Legislature and is maintained by the Department of Natural Resources. The Minnesota Historical Society operates sites within some of them. The park sytem began in 1891 when a state law was adopted to "maintain intact, forever, a limited quantity of the domain of this commonwealth...in a state of nature." Image File history File links The source of the Mississippi River on the edge of Lake Itasca in Itasca State Park, Minnesota. ... Image File history File links The source of the Mississippi River on the edge of Lake Itasca in Itasca State Park, Minnesota. ... Lake Itasca and Elk Lake Lake Itasca is a small glacial lake, approximately 1. ... State nickname: North Star State Other U.S. States Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) Official languages None Area 225,365 km² (12th) - Land 206,375 km² - Water 18,990 km² (8. ... A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, together with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ... State park is a term used in the United States and in Mexico for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or other reason, and under the administration of the government of a U.S. state or one of the states of Mexico. ... The Minnesota State Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. ... The Minnesota Historical Society is a Minnesota instutution dedicated to preserving the history of the state. ... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...
The park is in Koochiching County, east of Birchdale (restaurants map)on State Highway 11.
Frontenac StatePark is located approximately 10 miles SE of Red Wing (restaurants map) on Highway 61 or 5 miles northwest of Lake City (restaurants map), then 1 mile north on County Road 2.
Park entrance is located off State Highway 60, one mile east of the intersection on State Highway 13 and 60 at Waterville (restaurants map), or 14 miles west of Faribault.
The park lies within the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and is bordered by Canada on the north and east.
Mixed hardwood forest covers most of the park and is dominated by paper birch and quaking aspen, with occasional white spruce, white pine, balsam fir, white cedar balsam, poplar, and fl ash.
The park was established in 1989 through the cooperative efforts of the State of Minnesota and the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa Indians.