Reviews of Banning State Park. (Sports Complex) in Minneapolis (Minnesota).

Banning State Park

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392 Comments

Sports Complex

State park

61101 Banning Park Rd, Sandstone, MN 55072, United States

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Description

Information of Banning State Park, Sports Complex in Minneapolis (Minnesota)

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Map

Open hours of Banning State Park

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Reviews of Banning State Park

Ashley Chmielewski

This was such a great and relaxing choice for the day. Weather was nice, sun was partial, plenty of tree cover, wide trails, clear signage that's easy to follow, and bugs were really at a minimum. We took Spur Trail to Wolf Creek to make it down to the waterfall. Trails were pretty easy though some have you climbing up or down rocks depending on where you come from. They're big enough but some required a bit more legwork. The waterfall is really open and multiple groups can stand around at the same time. Different quick trails around it offer different views. Definitely recommend. Restrooms are there at the picnic entrance but have signage posted that they are not maintained daily so toilet paper and sanitizer can run out. Just check before you go or bring some sanitizer with you. Always a good idea. Enjoy!

Amy Swenson

Banning is on the list of favorite state parks. Great history to read about along the trails. The views in the early fall are exceptional. Just a heads up for those that prefer an easier hike - there are some more rocky parts to this trail.

Alex best

The hiking paths are amazing. Absolutely gorgeous. The fishing isn't too bad either. There are a lot of great places to take a kayak out all around. Had a great time at the campground.

Peter Lamm

Banning SP runs north-south roughly bounding both sides of the Kettle River. In the lower reaches around Sandstone adventurers can find kayaking, tubing, rapids shooting, rock and ice climbing. In the middle reaches near Banning Junction where I arrived early this morning its all about having a quiet forested hike on gentle slopes, babbling brooks and bird song. On the lower trails, find splendid views of rushing river gorges. The park and trails are well maintained, posted and safe for most ages, the upper trails are partly accessible by wheelchair i think. Overall great place for families, get there early it could get busy in summer

Steven Mosborg

Always enjoy stopping at Banning State Park that stretches along 10 miles of the Kettle River near the cozy town of Sandstone, MN. This nature reserve features camping, picnicking, hiking, skiing, canoeing and kayaking along with Wolf Creek Falls and the historic Sandstone Quarry. Beautiful in any season. Check it out!

Lindsey Schreiner

Very lovely state park. I would say it's a quieter park at least when we went during the week. Quarry loop trail has remains from the active quarry days with some history behind it. As of right now, pretty much all of the trails have downed trees on them that you have to navigate through or around. Skunk trail is more on the overgrown side, so not the best for small children. We took our dog and we had a blast! But make sure to load up on bug spray!

Rebecca Onnen

The instructions to the waterfalls from Google could be better. Hell’s Gate was amazing, didn’t make it to the big one we thought we were going to find. But there were lots of signs and it was very scenic.

Sonya Joy Mack

Incredible scenery, beauty and history. The quarry trail was a quick 1 - 1.5 hour walk depending on how many offshoots and stops you take. Highly recommend the stop.

Ryan Soller

Lots of trails but it's likely you'll come here to hike to the waterfall and back. It's minimal water flow right now but still a natural beauty. Fall colors are edging just above 50%. Very busy (Sunday afternoon), with people parked along the road fairly far out for overflow.

Sarah Carsello

This is one of our go-to parks for a day trip to hike. It's beautiful year round with many trail options - bonus that there is a waterfall and remnants of structures left from the days of quarrying. We camped for the first time and were not prepared for the park having no running water - no well water, no bathroom water, no showers. The nearest water source was almost 3 miles roundtrip. I was not prepared with more than one way to store water, thinking my site was near a well and it would be a non-issue. The park was not transparent, nor did they offer a pre-approval notice to be aware of the water problem. The campground was fully booked at the 120 days in advance, yet the campground was less than 25% occupied all weekend. There were bad storms that came through and no shelter available to run to, as the bathroom building was locked due to the no water issue. All around, an unusual experience for a MN State Park. I plan to camp there again in the future and hope to adjust my rating to something better.

Jerome Dinh IFBB Pro

What a gem of a park! Plenty of trails, easy for the whole family or if you're like me, hiking solo embracing in nature and what the park as to offer from Wolf Creek Falls to Quarry trail that runs along the Kettle River. A must hike!

Julia Lee

Great relaxing place. Scenes was really nice. We went to the quarry loop trail. It took us around 1 hour and 7 minutes to finish.

Christine Cartwright

Beautiful park. The trail along the river is very nice. If you are going to the waterfall, know that it is not close to the parking lot. The upper trails away from the water are also nice. The upper skunk trail is somewhat over grown and wet. Most are well protected by the trees. There is a map at every cross road you will encounter. I did the outside loop plus the waterfall back to the parking lot. It was just over 7 miles. The trails have a lot of tree roots and large stones. I was there on a Wednesday and it was surprisingly busy on the lower trail by the water.

Rachel McDonald

Parking is not well marked for entry to Wolf Creek on southside of the park. A sign says "Do not drive through campground" but there was no other turn around spot. In spite of the extra work of 'getting there' ... the smallish, gentle falls, creek, and river areas were SO BEAUTIFUL that all our troubles were forgotten. At times we expected to see Gandalf or some Hobbits tucked inside the rock formations! It's an uneven, muddy path, so dress appropriately.

Mella L.

One of my favorite State Parks to hit up when visiting my home state. Especially it being dog friendly and the best smaller waterfall to enjoy! We have also camped here before and enjoyed our quiet weekend!

Mushir Ahmed Basheer

It’s a beautiful park with nice trail, 1.2 miles of trail leads to mini falls and calm river side. There is upper and lower trail by river. As you approach the falls, there are rocks. I went during the dry and drought season, there was less water. In my opinion you can have best time with family and friends..

Krystal Houseman

Easy to access trails with a variety for all skill levels of hiking fans! We enjoyed the self guided historical trail of the quarry days. More challenging trail goes beyond the self guided loop and is worth it if you are up for some light scrambling.

Wyatt W. Penke

Lots of fun packed into this awesome smaller park. Park is right of the interstate near the town of Sandstone and the highlight is the Kettle river and its banks. Park has some serious class III + river rapids at the base of Rock cliffs. This makes for some very scenic views. Hiking along the river is wonderfull as well as the hike to a small waterfall. There is also a small campground. Park could use a trail/visitor center but overall is a great place to stop for a one day visit.

Cara Mills Bennett

The falls we’re definitely beautiful and worth the hike from the campground….we stopped at the office and got a parking pass and I asked how long the hike was from there, and they said 2 miles there and 2 miles back, which is a lot when you have an asthmatic kid….I saw tho that the trail went right through the campground, so we took a chance and drove to the campground. We were able to park there in the spots reserved for day visitors to the campground, slightly against the rules but we were definitely not the only ones doing it 😁 from there it was only .8 miles to the falls and that was perfect. The bathrooms were all locked (grrr) but again, we drove around the campground until we found an outhouse. The campground itself was really nice and I would love to stay there next time, there were so many other trails that we just didn’t have time for. Overall worth the stop!

Emily Olson

This park is my favorite out of the state parks with a lot of trails and places to explore. It has a unique water fall and lots of ways to swim if you want to. The terrain is kind of hard to navigate if you want to explore certain parts. There are bathrooms and a place for water or to picnic at.

Amy Ratliff

Love the trails no people tons of waterfalls, beautiful sceneries, very peaceful and relaxing. A must go

Nate K

Kind hiking trails (often wide, difficult trails clearly marked, well written maps), gorgeous views from the trails and beyond, nice facilities and camping sites!

Jennifer

Gorgeous scenery and nice trails! Wear hiking boots! Several areas were soggy/muddy. We had to park on the road since the parking lot was full, but not a big deal.

Ethan Grossinger

Camping area was pretty nice, lot size could have been a little bigger. The hiking was a good workout, had a lot of neat things to see. Would most definitely go again.

Beth Powers

Lovely trails...trees are gorgeous right now! Easy paths...dogs allowed.

Micheil Johnston

Beautiful area, lots of trails that can be used year round. Leaves were just beginning to turn, so it made for an especially pretty hike through the area. Will definitely be coming back in the future, as it our trip there was cut short by rain.

Sheila Stark

The quarry loop trail is amazing and mesmerizing. What an awesome way to find out this area's history!

paul greenough

This park is one of my favorites, has a little bit of every. Great views, great trails, awesome campsites! Kids loved it too!

Laura Linzmeyer

Great hike any time of year. Trails were easily hikeable today, lots of snowshoers paved the way, so easy to travel with just boots and towing the toddler along in a pull sled.

Amanda Erickson

We thoroughly enjoyed the hikes and views that Banning State Park had to offer, as they were stunning! We also really enjoyed the self-guided quarry history tour and will likely be back, hopefully in the fall. Rating a 4 strictly because of the campground. It was small and while wooded, seemed to have minimal privacy between sites (although it could have been far worse), which lead to alot of noise. The bath house was open on the Friday of our stay, but was not the cleanest, the water pressure was poor, and the water was incredibly hard. The bathhouse then closed the remainder of our stay for unforseen plumbing problems. Overall, we'd still recommend this beautiful park to our friends and family.

Annie Danielson

Love love love this park! The trails are interesting to hike, especially the Hell's Gate trail.

Barry Orso

Hidden gem totally loves it. Very beautiful with nice trails

Liz Osman

Had a great camping experience here. We had a campsite (no hook ups, just 2 tents) and the camping spaces were really nice. The one we had and the other ones qe were looking at were pretty private, yes you could see your neighbors through the trees but it wasn't very open so we still felt pretty secluded. Each camp site comes with a picnic table and benches and a fire pit with a build in movable grill top (came in handy for cooking every morning and evening) there were water pickets throught the campground so we were able to get water whenever we needed it, there were also bathrooms and one building where you could shower. Lots of beautiful hiking trails that range from mild to adventurous, we even came across a waterfall and what looked like it could have been a fun swimming area. We definitely want to go back again!

Jennifer Eldridge Calderón

Beautiful state park with well groomed trails and friendly rangers. We lucked into a parking space, but be warned you may need to park on the road on busy weekends. We’ll be back!

Dillon Schaeffer

Best hike of the year for me. I loved this place. The trails had many different choices. You could choose hard or easy. I loved climbing up rocks, crawling thru small caves, walking by the river, and learning all the history thats within this park. The waterfall was great. So much to see. I have never seen so many different kinds of mushrooms in one park. That was really cool. This was a difficult hike for us. We did 8 miles, but man it was so cool to do & see. I would give this park 10/10. Great bathrooms, looked like good camping, and well maintained. Thank you staff for the experience and keeping the park clean.

Patrick Hadorn

Beautiful park and easy drive from the cities. Will definitely return!

Rebecca Meszler

I love this park. We ended up walking 6.3 miles on a couple of the trails. Since we were there in mid-April, there were a couple muddy and flooded trails but the main quarry loop was dry and well maintained. Lots of interesting shifts in environment, and some cool old landmarks/ruins. There are beautiful little patches of sandy beach hidden among the rocks on the river. I can’t wait to go back.

Kaylee Ann

Fall is a perfect time to go to this state park because the mosquitos are nowhere near as bad as they are here in the summer. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and it's secluded enough where you usually will only come across one or two people on the trails and no one is walking on top of one another! It's truly amazing and there are many different trails to choose from. Every time I go I find a new trail to explore!

Virginia VanKeulen

Nice park. Wide paths. Pretty river. Nice picnic area. Did quarry loop and had a picnic on a Monday morning in August. Relatively busy. Interesting quarry history. Didn't see campground or hike more difficult paths. Will probably stop in again.

Jellybeansmooth

Lots of cool trails. Nice views of the Kettle River from a few different places. Some historical stuff too.

Aaron Danielson

The walk to the Hell's Gate waterfall is so much fun. It's an easy dirt trail, guessing a bit less than a mile walk, then a few steps down a few big rocks and you're there. The kids loved it.

Anthony Harrington

Awesome state park! Was very surprised and wasn't sure what to expect but definitely want to return at different times of the season

Elizabeth Charbonneau

We just had the best day in Banning State Park! We started our hike around 10 am and we saw a bear on the Quarry Loop Trail. He popped out of the woods, looked at us, and then ran off on the trail in the opposite direction. We then had a beautiful hike (after hopping on a different trail) along the river and to the waterfall. Afterwards, we went to Hard Water Sports and took kayaks down the river. Talk about a blast! We had so much fun, and a few people outside of our group even did some cliff jumping. All around great time! Will definitely get back up there for more!

Jennifer Lenz

Such a beautiful park! One of my favorites!

E. Barrows

Hard not to recommend banning. Great view, great trail, overall an amazing place. You can very easily choose how far you'd like to go, from 1 to 6 miles. Never gets old.

Anthony Sommers

Awesome State Park, great trails, easy hike down to the Kettle River, beautiful overlooks along the trail. And bonus history lessons along the way of the old mining operations. Highly recommend.

Stacy Welle

The trails and waterfalls were a winner! It was super muddy in some spots, but if you don't mind getting your shoes dirty, it was a perfect time to be there. There were not a lot of people on the trails or by the waterfall when I visited.

Jonathan Posthuma

Gorgeous state park with great trails through abandoned quarry and ruins. Ranges from easy trails that are old railroad grades / skiing trails, to medium hiking only trails by the rivers and falls, to freeform bouldering and off trail places of scenic solitude and beauty. Great in all seasons. Parking lots can fill up quckly.

jill lee

Was a great day trip for my son and I. We have never visited this park before and would go back again closer to Summer to see all the foliage and people actually canoeing and kayaking in the river. Next time we will have to head to the waterfall first.

Stephanie Thorson

Love this park! The wolf falls is a must visit and bonus if it's during fall.

Noah Gottlieb

Beautiful park. My wife calls it a Led Zepplin album cover or like something out of the never ending story. Spring can be wet but, tons of little stream run over the trails making for a muddy but, really cool scenery.

Kelley Winebego

The camp sites are not very private and other campers seemed to be really loud compared to other campsites. The vault toilets were open and really not too bad except, they seemed to be filling up quick and really need to be emptied. I wish that they had sawdust to sprinkle in the toilets after you use them. The trails are really nice and the rock formations are just incredible! Mosquitoes were really bad so be sure to stock up on bug spray! Not too far from Duluth either so if you're just looking to sleep, this isn't a horrible campsite.

Bindhiya Laxmi

It is a simple park. Have few trails to walk around. The view of rapids from Teachers overlook was fabulous. We need to hike down unpaved rocks to get the view. The waterfall was just ok maybe because we went in late summer. It is good for one time visit. Oh there were unleashed dogs running around.

jade hawkinson

Beautiful scenery with great hiking trails.

Michael Molde

Great hiking along the Kettle River. Terrific self guided hike, teaching you about the history of sandstone mining that occurred there between 1892-1912.

Blackfox 288

Great hike through what was once a flourishing sandstone quarry. Amazing views of the river mixed with large stands of pine and birch. Waterfalls, sandstone cliffs, and glacial potholes are just some of the many things to see.

ItsJustMe Nicole

Nice trail, will get very muddy in the spring. Waterfall is cool but small. Large picnic area by the parking lot

David Powers

One of my favorite State Parks in Minnesota and only about an hour out of town. No other park gives me a feeling of being on the north shore like Banning does. Excellent hiking trails with awesome names and it’s never been crowded in my experience. Make sure to check out the beautiful Wolf Creek Falls or as I like to call it, Halloween Falls!

Sara Michell

Beautiful state park, wasn't crowded at all. We had so much fun hiking the trails, seeing old quarry remnants, and sticking out feet in the waterfall. Highly recommend, as long as you bring bug spray!

Sasha Alasia

Beautiful state park for hiking. Medium difficulty for non-experienced hikers. Highly recommend making the trek to Wolf Creek Falls! Definitely bring some bug spray

Aaron N

Always a must see when ever I'm driving by on 35w. 10 minutes from turning off the highway and you can be hiking on a trail. Nice old growth forest with a great tree canopy. Well maintained trails and the camp sites are covered with large trees and brush all around so it doesn't feel like you are sharing your site with your neighbors.

Marty Lindsey

I really enjoyed my weekend there. I went up in the fall just in time to see the color of before all these leave dropped. Greatly hiking trails! My head wash on a swivel looking at and taking pictures of all the beauty. Very scenic. I the waterfall left a bit to be desired but it did not detractors from my experience. I will definitely be back!

Reapentant

A great park for young explorers and rock climbers. The quarry loop trail is only about 1 1/2 miles long and not too hilly, yet it has some great sights and rock formations. There's a dry creek bed with a rocky waterfall formation the kids love to climb on while Dad can watch from the overhead bridge without needing to climb down myself. The path loops past hell's gate rapids, which is fun to see, and then it winds along the banks of the Kettle river back towards the trail head. There are several more fun rocky areas along the river, just be careful not to let the kids actually play in the river because the current along this stretch can be dangerous. If you want a spot just an hour or two from the cities with a fun, short, kid-friendly trail, then this is your spot.

Cecil E.J

I can't get enough of this park. I've been there seven times in the last year more than any other park. It is very large and plenty to see the parking is lacking. But the river provides good opportunity for photos there is also remains of a quarry and a waterfall. Overall the best park in Minnesota

Stuart Deets

There are a number of great hiking trails here of varying difficulties and accessibility levels. For a challenge park near Teacher's Point and hike to the water fall. For an easier hike on a gravel path park near the campground. In the winter it's only pit toilets. The waterfall was spectacular and great fun. We definitely saw the most people near the waterfall, and I have to recommend hiking some of the other trails which are much quieter.

Jodi Nies

Great park with wide paths and beginner rock climbing/no equipment. Loved the waterfall. Amazing views of the rapids. Great self tour of the quarry history (paper at the ranger station recommended!). October 2019 some muddy pathways but could easily walk around those areas.

Taina Hulett

Beautiful park with well marked trails that determine difficulty. Includes buildings for the history buff as well as on site camping (if reserved in advance). Would definitely visit again.

Ellen Morgan

Well-kept campsites and lots of loop trails. Banning State Park offers ideal family hiking and stunning fall colors, especially in September.

Jakob C

Banning SP is an absolute gem nestled an hour and a half north of the Twin Cities. There are some great day hikes and historic sites here, enough to keep you busy for a few days if you plan to camp. If you're able-bodied enough for a more difficult hike/a bit of climbing then you need to do the Upper Hell's Gate Trail, it was by far my favorite trail here. We brought our dog (a medium size lab-pittie mix) and it was definitely a strenuous hike for her, but with human help she was able to make it. I would not take young children as far as the rapids, though.

Jeff Jarvi

Absolutely amazing park to hike along the kettle river. Great view of the rapids and some challenging hiking. Some spots are easy to get to also. Will definitely be coming here again in the near future!

Sonja Rhody

Banning State Park is always a delight to visit! There are so many trails to hike and stunning views of the St. Croix to see. I love to visit Banning to commune with nature and to practice my photography skills!

Colton Berger

We had a great time here! Came to see all the fall colors and this state park did not disappoint. The trails were great, and the views breathtaking.

Julie Badger (Beenken)

This place is amazing. Right along the river, with lots of neat rock formations to look at. Trails are well kept and the sandstone quarry is pretty cool too.

Riley Gruber

One of my favorite places to hike. Lots of cute trails with a variety of things to see. Recommend it to all my friends

Aaron Dahl

A few miles of well maintained, and well mapped secluded trails. Beautiful scenery along the river banks and a small but serene waterfall. Lots of wildlife and beautiful folliage to take in. Camping, hiking, biking and skiing in winter.

Kellie Kamm

Banning is now my favorite place to go hiking! Hiking along the rapids was phenominal. Must go if you've never been!

nicholas rahn

Banning state park is great. If you go to the main parking area far north there is a great spot to push in your kayak. I recommend a spray skirt because some of the Rapids get kinda rough. You can kayak down to big sandy falls about a half mile downstream. The hike up to wolf creek falls will take you about 30-45 minutes but it is worth it.

Dorian Warner

I love this park!!! The trails are great, the waterfalls are amazing. There is so much history to see and learn it really is a great place

Todd Mulvihill

Love this State Park. Always a showstopper for fall color. Easy access off the freeway and a short drive in to the Trails. Please tread lightly here along the river bank - it is suffering from erosion - so that all can enjoy!!

Celeste Fisher-Dale

There's a small section of Banning State Park located on a back road in Sandstone that is absolutely gorgeous! Love seeing the waterfalls, ruins, and rich history of this park. Will be returning for many years to come.

Dianne Parker

Lots of trees-Deciduous, Pine and Birch. Clean restrooms and showers, even over July fourth holiday! Camper Cabin was clean and comfortable, even without electricity. Our family does recommend having at least 4 citronella candles and 40% DEET bug spray, especially for hiking.

A. Adams

Great place for hikes. Take your bug spray. Great views of century old ways of life. Enjoy the sound of the rushing river. Very shady. Lots if uneven trails.

Darlene Young

We loved Banning State Park. We walked the trails on a beautiful fall day. It was fascinating to see all the areas that used to be a sandstone mine. The marks in the large slabs of rocks, the shells of old buildings were markers of past history. Great way to spend some time on a beautiful day.

Byju PV

Very pretty park for hiking, there are enough sign bord that help you find best route for you. And you have enough choice for different trails. Public restrooms are not clean as expected

Paul Cramer

This is an amazing campground! Beautiful place to enjoy your time and get out into nature. There are site with and without power. The only downside is there is no running water and the showers are out of order. All due to plumbing issues it states. Other than this it's still a great place.

Larry Robinson

Love to bring the family pets to this park. The park is very quiet and relaxing. We go to the falls because the dogs love going for a swim.

Josh

I really enjoyed the Quarry Loop and Hell's Gate trails in the fall. The trail largely follows the Kettle River. The Quarry Loop includes markers informing hikers about the quarry's history.

Minh Do

Go in the fall or spring, otherwise you'll have to deal with alot of bugs. Very nice place to visit, usually not crowded

Mike Boardley

Beautiful park & waterfall. A really nice hike for people that want a nice day activity and don’t want to drive too far from the Twin Cities metro.

DANIEL SHEESLEY

Beautiful park, especially the trail near the river. It was fun, challenging and beautiful!!

Sophia Tran

Nice hike with lots of different views and varying terrain!

David Bergman

Beautiful park really want to kayak down this river. Great place to hike with your dog.

Christi Neaton

Very nice trails. Lots of historical information along the self guided trail.

Karly H (Exploring the lakes!)

Really pretty place!! Nice trail system with bunch of signs to help You go the right way!!

Christoph Riesterer

Beautiful and spooky hike on the Quarry Loop Trail. Definitely want to come back for some camping and more hiking!

Sara Walter

We had a two night stay at the campground, loved everything about the park, except for the fact that they did not bother telling us the showers were out until the end of the season. We would not have stayed at the campground if we had know that.

Aaditya Kulkarni

Amazing place to see fall colors, arrive early to beat the crowd.

Matt Ridings

A surprise stay here when I stopped at the highway rest area which is almost literally adjacent. I figured I'd drive through but didn't expect much given its location. Surprise! Beautiful place with river access.

N A

It's such a beautiful hike! Could be marked better because we got lost on the lower hells gate. Dogs had a good time and that's all I really care about. Just look at his happy little face!

Cari Hanson

This place is beautiful. We didn't even make it to devils whatever...haha and I loved the place. Will be returning. And hoping to make it to the end and maybe the east side!

yunas muhammed

State park with refreshing hiking trails, the quarry loop is a must. Trail to Hells gate and Hells gate itself is awesome. One of the best stateparks for hiking in MN. Camping area are good.

nicholas ince

This is a great state park with beautiful scenery and a lovely river. There is a nice campground with showers available. The hiking trails are easy and there are several historic sites to visit.

minimate masterworks

This is a great state park. The hiking loop is tons of fun. Alot of history here

Kienan Mick

For those who love moving water there are two separate sets of falls, Wolf Creek Falls and Big Spring Falls along with a set of rapids called Blueberry Slide.

Scott Douglas

Beautiful park with good hiking trails. The trail through the quarry ruins is really cool!

April Marquart

The first part of the trail is pretty easy but the end is terrible. Lots of rocks, the trail disappears and if there are leaves it will be slippery.

Kristin Engelhardt-Fischbein

Great place to hike and chance to see waterfall... may not be rushing due dry weather.

Evelyn Hoover

A hidden gem. First time there. Absolutely gorgeous! Took the loop and learned a bit of history while we hiked.

Phill White

Beautiful hiking trails over large rocks along the Kettle River. Great place for semi to Advanced kayaking and canoeing. Spring is the time for more experienced canoeing because of the water flow. Camping is available and picnicking is great. Bike trailes are close by with access to the State. Phill White

Gary Rieks

We had a wonderful Memorial weekend camping at Banning! The photos of the park do not do it justice! There is easy hiking, history, scenic river views, falls, and we were there when thousands of Trilliums were in bloom. The park is a reasonable drive from the Twin Cities and an easy one hour drive into Duluth for sightseeing, We found the bathrooms a bit dated but clean and functional. Most camping sites are spacious and well shaded. We even found a Lady Slipper in the wild. We give it 4 stars compared to 5 starts for parks like Gooseberry and Bear Head. We will definitely plan on back!

Kiara Pederson

Great trails and beautiful river♡ Had no issues at campground. Great weekend trip.

Autumn Mollet

Great hiking which is why we were there. Have nice clean vault toilets by the picnic area and running water to wash your hands. Had many choices for hiking, we chose to head to Wolf Creek Falls. We were surprised to be able to stand up by the top of the falls and to also have many other points of view. We will be heading back to check out some of the other great trails as well!

Kris M

Pretty park. Quarry ridge trail really nice and marked well. River Water high with rapids. Disappointed plumbing not working. Vault toilets, no showers. you need to get water at camp office or dump station. Mosquitoes were bad.

Mike Mulvihill

Banning state park is a classic. Really cool terrain. The semi-marked "Devils Gate" trail is really really fun to hike. Ran into a lot of rock climbers enjoying themselves and just overall had a really good vibe to this place. Will be continuing to come back here.

Светлана Друшлякова

One of my favorite state parks. Awesome every season, every weather.

Mike Ferguson

5 out of 5 Stars. One of the nicer state parks that my wife and I have been too. Very clean and well taken care of trails

Mary Buzan

Beautiful park with nice trails!

Wendy Priolo

Beautiful park! Took senior pictures today and there were so many amazing photo ops!

Luke Gorski

This one is a good one. Like really good. Possibly better than Interstate and that's saying something. The north end of the park has some mosquitoes, but nowhere near as bad as some of the other parks in the area. If you want to avoid them, just stay along the river (with everyone else lol). The rapids are super impressive and loud. Wolf Creek Falls is a place to hike down to, thats the first area I noticed the mosquitoes fading (they like the area on the other side of the pool at the bottom of the falls though). One to hit in June.

Laura Garaghty

Parking was difficult on this autumn Saturday. The trails, woods and rapids were worth it.

Kaitlyn Wright

The trails are great, I'd definitely visit Banning State Park again

Maggie Locke

Good place to stretch your legs and nice to have if you're driving through but wouldn't travel far just to visit. There's a very flat, easy hike along the river with info about the quarry operations that is nice, continues on to the hells gate trail, but then cuts off abruptly and appears a portion of the trail is currently underwater :o.

Art Olstead

This gem situated on the Kettle River four miles north of Sandstone offers interesting venues of historic sandstone quarries that anchored industrial development in the area at the end of the 19th century.

Rubia Ochoa

It's a nice place to go hiking but it was too much for little kids. We were unable to get to the falls because it was a long hike. I also wish there maps were a little bit easier to read. The trail maps on the trail wouldn't tell you where were you exactly. Maybe I'll try next time by myself whenever I come North again!

Taylor Norby

Beautiful State Park. Trails aren't paved but great for hiking!

Krissy Pierce

Had tons of fun out here there are so many trails to explore!!!

Bob Johnson

First time visiting; it is a lovely park!

Brittney Jensen

Great hiking lots to explore & amateur rock climbing make sure you have bug spray!

Kelley Nemec

Great short, flat trail with beautiful fall colors at this time of year

Jason Cross

Challenging riverside trails. Amazing views. Cool man-made and natural features.

Paul Wiinanen

Great park for hiking

Brittany Misuraca

Definitely one of my favorite state park hikes, and we hike a lot! Climbing around by the river was my favorite! We will definitely be back.

Aakriti’s fun studio !!

Perfect place to drive to see and enjoy fall colours ! N the hike to the falls is amazing, very very long but adventurous! Carry your picnic along to enjoy ur day completely !

Amy Fisher

There are calm hikes through mostly flat woods and exciting paths through rocks. Two waterfalls and rapids to navigate. Campsites are fairly private, bathrooms were stocked and clean.

Nexus1Elvn

This spot is going into my book of favorite places to visit!! Soooo many breathtaking scenery! I highly recommend a visit!!

Ryan Smead

Wow this is in my top 5 of mn state parks no doubt. Quarry loop, waterfall and hells gate trails did not disappoint!

Chris Smith

Great little park with excellent rock climbing and nice hikes.

Anna Neu

Trails were well cared for. It was very busy today (state parks open house) but normally it's pretty peaceful.

Lindsay Samelian

Beautiful trails. So much to explore! Water front views, rapids, water fall, and gorgeous colors. For those who love history, walking the trail by the old quarry is fascinating. Definitely one of my favorite state parks!!!

Charlotte Kroft

Beautiful park even in unpleasant weather. Dead man's trail very challenging

Leeseng Vang

I take 4 kids for a hike and they are little disappointing due to so little time in the water. Overall, it’s a great family hike so bring enough water for the kids in hot day.

Sara Tallman

Beautiful park for nature lovers. Nice, polite park personal. Stopped in this time to buy park sticker for relatives that visited on weekend when gift shop was closed. They collect stickers from each park they visit. Desperatly need to fix incomming road. Full of bad potholes and it's been that way for a while. Two workers were filling holes with dirt which does help but there is just so much.

Marcelo Calderón

If you want to see leaves, you won't be disappointed. In the fall colors are beautiful. The trails are pretty and easy to walk. They can be muddy on some sectors if did rain the day before so take precautions when you step on rocks, especially going down to the river because they can be very slippery. The parking lot is small so it's usually full. You can park in the road, but in the way out from the parking lot. You may need to walk quite a lot if you need to go to the bathroom or start a trail. Bathrooms are located close to the parking lot. This is for the trailing part, but you can dind a similar situation if you go to the campground and you're not camping there.

jagmohan singh

Beautiful state park only an hour and half from twin cities. Well maintained, and beautiful hiking trails along the Kettle river. Pet-friendly hiking trails, river side view is amazing. Picnic tables also have fire-pits. Unlike Wild river state park or St. Croix state park you don't need to go much inside from I-35. It is almost on the highway, it was worth a stop for us on the way to Duluth. We didn't not Camp at this state park, would be worth to find out how much traffic noise do we get at campgrounds.

Steve Mesmer

Great sights along the meandering Trails. The Kettle River is one of Minnesota's jewels!

Nour Tamimi

Love stopping here in between the Cities and up North ❤ perfect walks and picnic areas ❤

Chris Rokke

Very nice state park. Facilities are not brand new, but are clean and well kept. Nice and convenient location. The area along the river is very scenic and has lots of photo opportunities. Definitely include the Quarry Loop Trail on your itinerary.

scott sheehan

Lots of trails some easy some more difficult and not as well marked.

Matt Swanson

Great little spot for a hike or to put a canoe or kayak in. Lovely scenery and water. You can swim or just hangout.

David Riewe

Great State Park, just off the interstate, about halfway between the Twin Cities and Duluth.

Dustin Hudak

Very cool state park / great walking & hiking trails for all types of experience / great rapids for those who are very adventures & experienced rapids riders on the kettle river / nice campgrounds a little close together but fill up quick & only one cabin camping spots / great woods all around & cool views on several diffrent trails / trails have very cleaver & cool names / an little over an hour drive from cities just off hwy 23 in sandstone well worth the trip to check out

Curtis Cutler

Fun walk with friends and the dogs on a sunny spring like day!

Miranda M

One of the best state parks I've hiked this year. Lots to explore!

Salem Mahmoud

This place has some neat simple hikes. Cool to stop by for an hour or two.

Steve Mills (Vintauri)

Beautiful state park with plenty of hiking trails. The campground is small with just over 30 sites but they are mostly secluded from each other. It's close to the interstate but you rarely hear any noise at the campground. If it's been wet be prepared for mosquitoes! Be sure to check out the falls on the south end and the quarry on the northeast end.

T C

Perfect beautiful hike. The self guided tour was fun and informative.

Greg Fine

Great little state park. They have some interesting history as a quarry site.

Paul Clemente

Beautiful park!! Great way to get out of the cities for a little bit. We hiked for a couple of hours and even decided to cross the river (i do not recommend)

Michele Zubert

Great hiking trails beautiful!

Scott Snell

Nice trails, small camping spots. Lots of trails to hike... bring alot of bug spray... the mosquitos are fierce!

Britta

One of my favorite state parks! The history , all the cool rocks, the beautiful river, all adds up to a great place to hike. I will say it was extremely buggy when I visited the last week of august. I thought I was wearing a LOT of bug spray but I still only lasted about 30 minutes and was pretty much eaten alive. So come prepared! The park is a DREAM once the weather cools off a bit. September and October are perfect.

Shannon Crissey

Love this park! Stayed one night, but there was so much to do and see could easily spend 3 or 4 days. Will be coming back! It's a beautiful park, we hiked the quarry loop which was really interesting to see what was still left. Tried hells gate but didn't get to the end as the footing gets iffy and we did not have the right shoes for wet leaves on sloped/uneven terrain.

Arielle P

Amazing views, awesome trails. Nature's paradise.

Martin Olson

Great park with the rapids, the nod to it past and wolf falls is worth the hike.

Bill Bodner

Hiking here was better than expected. The rocks left over from quarrying give the landscape an interesting feel and also makes the trails uneven enough to up the ante a bit. Woods, river, bluffs, rapids, vistas - it's a great park and right off 35.

Banle Gaar

My personal favorite so far out of every state park in MN I've been to. This time I got to take my dog so he could share it with me. There's something about moving water (iirc actually proven about the water molecules going into the air) that helps you relax. Plus all those fresh smells of water and the trees. What i love about the place is there are so many different trails near the river that branch out and branch again. Probably some are non regulated trails that have now become trails. I won't lie I've used them. Plus you got a waterfall, trails that are just large jutting rocks, history of old standing buildings and a river that runs the whole length. My personal favorite is Hell's Gate trail. First of all superb name for the rapids and the trail you go on to get to the end. The end you say? What's there? Oh nothing but my personal island. That's right laying claim! But I'll let everyone enjoy it, as long as you respect the land.

Mike Macintyre

Great park. love the views, and trails. Take the extra hike to the waterfall maybe not the biggest waterfall, its a cute place to go.

Rebekah Cedar

Beautiful park- best "North Shore" feel south of Duluth! Waterfall, bluffs, and rapids all in one park.

Patti Joyal

Went there to check out the camping area and go for a hike. The camp sites are each "secluded", and tucked back away from the road. Definitely putting this Park on our future camping list. The walk was rustic but well marked. Los of great photo op spots

Nickie Andreasen

Beautiful trails and scenery 😍 …

Chris Freeman

Great state park with a lot of scenic hiking and views of the wild Kettle River. It's a quick drive from the Twin Cities and right off of I-35 and well worth the trip. Wonderful autumn colors too.

Kelsey Depew

Big Spring Falls is a beautiful spot. On nice sunny days, playing in the falls can be refreshing. However, don't walk too far out, or you could be swept right off your feet and into the current of the river. One request I have for people visiting is to pack out everything you brought to the falls. When we visited in late July, there was an obscene amount of garbage and empty water bottles everywhere.

Julie

Don't try to navigate your way north to Wolf Creek Falls from Robinson Park in Sandstone as it shows on their trail map. There is NO trail!! None whatsoever! You'll run in to a pile of boulders. There is NO trail beyond this! You can only access the falls from the north end of the park. Other than that, it's a great state park!

john d

This is a wonderful state park! Really nice and well maintained trails

Nicole Janssen

Gorgeous park. So many cool spots!

Kevid Nineteen

Great park. Picturesque hikes, right off the freeway.

Miro Zajchowski

The park is gorgeous, with the kettle River and the stunning geological features. You can walk through the woods along the river, explore small caves, and even paddle the river. There is a boat launch right above Blueberry Slide Rapids.

JoDell McNiel

A wonderful time hiking. Fantastic

Kris Hagemeyer

Beautiful! A great place to go hiking and exploring.

Brendon Mckeon

Great place and very nice hiking trails

Luria Weber

Beautiful place to go. It's truly a spiritual journey!

Emily Walker

Loved this area! The buildings along the trail are marked and have information on what they used to be, the riverside is very unique with the rock hovering over the river, saw a lot of possible cave systems in the area. This is also home to wolf creek falls. Beautiful little area but BEWARE SWIMMERS, we saw a lot of leeches in the area by the waterfall.

Lou McCoy

The campground here is small and all except the sites near the bathhouse are wooded and fairly private. They are not kidding when they say the sites are narrow. It is tight getting in if you are not used to backing up a camper. The sites widen up once you are in. The park itself and the trails are lovely. My wife got good pictures of the rapids and waterfalls. Just understand the south unit with the falls is not marked. You follow the directions and will get there (and it is worth it) but may think you are lost when you drive.

Joleen Peters

This park has the feel of the Boundary Waters area but closer to home, there's tons of hiking options with waterfalls, fishing, Bluffs, and a little bit of history with old buildings on the paths. It was nice to find such a quiet place so close to the cities. Make sure to wear good shoes and spray for ticks before along with checking after if you plan to hike here.

Douglas Keillor

Great time with the family exploring and climbing. Perfect half way stop on the way to Duluth/North Shore

Dani

A perfect place to get away from it all. I have camped here and spent days hiking here as well. A safe place for women to camp alone (in my experiences). Don't be afraid to go off trail! My boyfriend and I went off trail by the waterfall and ended up seeing beautiful crevices, creeks, rapids, and were able to rock climb (minimal effort). I see something new every time I come here.

Leslie Gubbe

Beautiful! There are easy to hike trails as well as some that are a bit more difficult. We also took some of the smaller trails that stem from the main trail which was fun, just be sure to watch your step. We will be visiting again!

Micheala Boone

Great state park! One of my favorites. The camps are more secluded and away from the high way and have always been very clean. There is a lot of options for hiking, not great for kids under 5 for the trails by the river. If you want to swim there are a lot of large rocks you can set up and swim off of. But be warned it is the river and to get a good spot you'll nees to clime and be physically fit to get to a good snad bar or slab of rock. The waterfall is great too.

Holmes T

Beautiful State Park with a a small cozy campground.

Raye Koehler

This is a pretty place to visit!! The falls are pretty, but cold. The river has warmer water, if you are looking to go swimming. The area by the falls has a lot of sharp rocks underneath the water. Lots of greenery to see too.

Hannah Wethern

Vary nice place but getting in was not easy and not many bathrooms for when your hiking long distances. I would not swim in river but we seen people do so. Vary green and brown in many places. But we would for sure go back vary nice park to hike in.

Jessica Brouillette

Great place for a strenuous hike.

D Hampton

Drove over a hour almost two and couldn’t find the bike path. The one I did find was really short and leads you to a road with a single bike lane with cars traveling at high speeds so not ideal for smaller kids but the actual hiking trails were definitely worth the drive we actually got up close to the rapids witch was definitely nice overall we would go back but hopefully the bike trails improve drastically.

Melissa Warfield

Banning State Park is a nature reserve that has camping, canoeing, hiking and skiing. The park has a historic Sandstone Quarry. There are churning rapids inside the park. If you like the water, bring water shoes so you can experience the pools and the beautiful water falls. Great place to bring your family.

Emily Carlson Roth

Beautiful location, lovely trails, stunning views. Today, May 22nd, there were a lot of mosquitoes on the waterfall trail, but staying closer to the river gave enough breeze to keep them away!

Lela Dunn

Fall colors! ♥️🔥🍁🍂 Yes …

lAL L

Nice state park, clean, large wooded campsites that were not muddy! Fun hikes along the rocks of the river...we even found a beautiful cave with the walls covererd in plants and moss with a spring coming from the wall. Neat history. Would love to come watch people take on the rapids in a kayak or canoe. Warning: The water in the campground is not clean and cannot be utilized to even wash dishes. Its orange like the river. Make sure to fill at the fill site/dump station before heading to the camprgound (its about 1/4 to 1/2 mile away from everything else in the park). It's a good 2 night stay but there is not much around this area. Perfect stop through if your headed towards Duluth or up North.

Chelsea Kaminski

There seems to be so much to explore... a great reason to come back!

Nana Sis

It was beautiful but mosquitoes and ticks were overwhelming despite spraying deep wood bug spray every 10 minutes.

Sam McKie

Gorgeous hiking along the Kettle River!

Chad Smith

What a hidden gem. The Kettle River is gorgeous, and especially stunning when it's roaring hard in the spring. Interesting remnants of a historic quarry, and nice places to get off trail and sit by the river. Do the Quarry Loop for a scenic, enjoyable walk

Remorse Raven

The park has a bunch of different things you can do. Fishing, kayaking, what have you. The old quarry offers some really great scenery, as well as some cool opportunities to explore and climb around a bit. There is a campsite here, although I'm not sure on the price. Typically speaking whenever I go, it's usually myself and maybe one or two other people for the whole park, and let me tell you, it's large. I still haven't walked the full length of the trail. If you're I to history, there is some interesting information plaques in the park that explain what the quarry was, what it was for, what it looked like, etc. There's even still a lot of foundations from the old buildings with hand forged hardware lying around if that's your thing. They also do ice climbing in the winter which is neat. I advise going on a breezy day, bring snacks or what ever strikes your fancy, and bug spray. This park seems to be a little bugger than some, I'm sure the river contributes to that. All in all, I'd recommend at least checking the place out.

Mindy Cruz

This is a beautiful park. Trails seem endless. It's kept clean. The hiking ranges from amateur to almost any level. The history posted throughout the park is quite and experience. The parts of old buildings left me in awe. The wildlife there is very active as well. If you are observat and patient you will see many different animals.

Ash Majer

Amazing place. My new favorite park that's not on the north shore. We went to see the historic structures but were in awe by the moss, caves, waterfalls and general rock formations. Every step is another super-cool sight.

Ross Wareberg

Great place to go riding.

Sadie Josh

Our first time here and the winter views we're stunning. The Quarry Loop Trail was the perfect length (a little over 1 1/2 miles) and there were great "info stops" along the way.

Andrea Goldbaum

2.5 miles each way - the way we hiked it to reach Wolf falls. Lots of really cool rocks you can see from the trail which is mostly flat and fairly easy to hike. The waterfall is beautiful and the basin is full of clear cool water which is really nice to put your feet into. But beware! Mosquitos!! Mosquitos!! I am a Minnesotan born and bread, we had 40% deet spray all over us and they were not fooled a bit. Massive swarms of the things even in August. Also tons of poison ivy. So wear your long pants and your bug net. I would not recommend this for children under 7, and not for those who are grumpy or sensitive about mosquito bites.

David Tocholke

I love this park! This park follows the Kettle River where people use dig out rocks of the banks to use for buildings around the midwest and around the country. So now the river goes over some big rocks left over from the quarry days and it creates some very intense rapids that are about class 3-4 sometimes even a class 5 depending on the water level.

Alisha Patch

Absolutely wonderful for hiking and exploring with children. The campground was well kept and the bathrooms were clean and easily accessible.

Dave C

If you love hiking then this would be a fun place for you. But I am not a hiker. The old quarry was neat but the hike around it was a tad too much for me (I'm recovering from a broken shoulder blade but even if I wasn't it would have still been too long). The beautiful waterfall that is pictured above is a several mile hike round-trip so we never got to see it (of course this is why we went in the first place :^\ ). Now we did get to see the other waterfall further south. It involved leaving the park, driving through the town of Sandstone, and driving down a road that turned into a kinda sketchy dirt road. Followed as far as we could and parked. Then it was a short walk to the river and to the waterfall. This lower part was more fun and cooler by far than the big main part of the park. And we wouldn't have needed a State Park Pass. In conclusion I would have to say "Boo. Boo. Bad park. Hiss." But this is just my opinion, and opinions are like butt-holes. Everyone has one and they usually stink.

Thomas Roy

Very nice hiking trails along the river!

J.T. Minnesota

Unbelievable combination of woods, rock and water! Trails range from easy to very challenging, and the rapids and falls are really worth seeing. All the up-close woodsy feel of the Superior Hiking Trail without the 4 hour drive!

Molly Kern

Absolutely stinking beautiful. Take the hike to the waterfall.

Deborah Robinson

Nice trail. I took a nap in the car

Jeremy Morris

This a spectacular example of the gems managed by the DNR and MN State Parks system.

Jill vanDenHeuvel

This place is a Minnesota winter MUST for adventurers. The city repurposed this former mining hole and now drips water in to create these awesome "falls" for climbing. The annual Ice Festival is tentatively scheduled to resume in early February 2022, but if you can't wait that long I recommend calling Hard Water Sports to schedule a tour. Tony there is a great guide. He's easy going and very experienced, and he will catch you if you fall (I speak from experience).

Trae Wherland

This park is well worth stopping at. Many hiking trails into the woods and along the river. Great spot for photography and having an afternoon picnic. Get on the trails by the river for the best views!

Anne Lewis

Great state park! We came in the spring time so it was too chilly out to camp still. But we hiked down to the waterfall which is gorgeous coming over those bright rocks!! Had a great time!

Jen Vanselow

Absolutely beautiful!! Was hot and humid today mosquitos were terrible (thank you mother nature 🙄🙄) to be expected though but it was great! Watched some people in the rapids lots of history! Will definitely be coming back when it's not so ick out to walk around more to see the falls and buildings! …

Austin Johnson

Awesome hikeing! And swimming.

Tami Goley

Great place to camp with the family. Quiet, sites surrounded by trees to offer privacy. Sturdy, longer length picnic tables at each site and a fire ring. Many different trails to hike. Bring your water shoes so you can experience the pools and the water falls..

Carrie Moeger

Cool park!! Rapids were beautiful to see and it seemed like there were a bunch of cool trails to visit, but never got the chance due to trails not being properly groomed. Even with bug spray, long sleeves, and propper gear the mosquitos were terrible. Walking through tall grass stirring them up was not ideal, hopefully we just came at a time right before the trails got groomed and they're not normally like that. Hope to check out the park in fall when the mosquitos have died down a bit!!

Melissa Jabas

Stunningly beautiful river hiking essential like in fall.

Chris Lorge

Beautiful State Park but the trail to see the river was a little rocky. I wasn't able to get to any big waterfalls because of the distance to get there.

Lindsay Salo

We took the self guided tour along the river and loved it! The mosquitos were pretty bad, but it was worth it. We visited the southern section of the park later in the day and enjoyed the great river views. The kids had a great time as well.

Melissa Boon

Little muddy but worth the hike!!!

Amy Peifer

It's a beautiful area, great hiking, and the self-guided tour is super cool. The hiking is more challenging then alot of State Parks in the area. Makes a great day trip, bring bug spray!

Tomas Elke

As far as State Parks go, this one is OK. It has the cleanest bathrooms of any state park campground I've visited, but it's fairly small and lacks points of interest. There are only a few points of access to the river views - which are great - but they are not marked so you have to just guess and sort of wander around until you find them. There is a "self guided" tour of the old rock quarry, which means there are spots along the trail with markers and if you took tour paper along with you, you could read about the things people used to do there when it was a quarry. Most of the stops really didn't hold much visual interest for me. There are a few abandoned buildings that are interesting, but they are also full of graffiti. That's not the park's fault, but it takes away from the experience. Adding to that is the meandering trails with relatively poor sinage. Since many if the trails cross other trails and there is no sign that says "this way to X", you can easily end up on the wrong trail if it's overcast. Also, again not faulting the park, but this was the most moquitos I've encountered in this area. Because this was a quarry, the ground doesn't drain very well - leaving all kinds of great breeding puddles for mosquitos. Overall, I had a good time. This has most of what you might expect near the north shore. I don't think I'll go back, but I think it's worth a trip to see it once. Just remember lots of bug spray and a compass if you try it.

Tessa Gosiak

Great place to camp. We love to take nature walks and spend time outdoors when we go camping and this is a great state park to do that at. We have had many camping trips here and it is on the top of our favorites list. We will be returning again and would highly recommend it to others.

Micheala Boone

Early April may not have been a great time to go hiking but we did it anyways. Was still very icy when we hiked down to the waterfall. Saw lots of deer up close and a possible wolf track (was bigger than my Saint Bernard's foot prints).

Shawn Jarosch

Great for ice climbing the flows are amazing and beautiful, and the climbing in the summer is just as good!

timothy lindstrom

The GPS on my smart phone must be too strong. I haven't been to this State park for over 45 years! I did ride by it on my way to Duluth. Taking the Scenic route, Minnesota Hwy 23. I remember the park and the camping of the Youth Group from Grace Evangelical Free Church, Fridley, MN. Nice ride, either car or motorcycle, from the Metro to this State Park. Enjoy the quiet in the winter when cross country skiing or the loud birds calling to each other at 5 am or earlier in the Spring. GO! or stay on hwy 23 and enjoy the woods and glens, careful with your speed! Minnesota Troopers also enjoy the road!

Tara Kardong

Beautiful trails, wonderful scenery

zippocrow

Great, amazing, my little girl had a really fun time.

Ray Carlson

Beautiful park! Well laid out. The paths & trails are excellent, no matter what level you're at when it comes to walking! The fall colors are fabulous!👍🐸 …

Mary H

It has a river Wth at winds through with a water fall

Brett Althoff

One of the best state parks in Minnesota, campsites are fairly secluded. Bugs aren't outrageous here, beautiful trails with multiple levels of difficulty. Highly recommend

John Innes

Great place along the wolf creek river, great place for hiking, fall color, camping or just a stop to or from a trip To the north shore of Mn.

Kevin Tipton

Good Park. Beautiful Trails. Lots of Fun for the whole Family. Don't pay attention to No GMO's. All that person does is gives 1 stars out. This is a nice park to visit if your around :)

Jeff Bretson

Beautiful winter hike along the river and to the frozen falls.

Joel Virtue

Great fall colors, fun trails, so much to see!! Great way to spend time in nature

Christianna Mullins

This state park is gorgeous! The rapids, quarry, forest, and river are beautiful. Coolest state park I've been to in Minnesota.

Mark Richardson

I like to go hiking there is great trails and good scenery good place to go

David Ormonde

Beautiful section of the Kettle River- the main trails are well maintained and relatively flat. The Hell's Gate trail is great fun, but involves a lot of scrambling over rocks (amazing views from the bluffs are a great reward though!)

Charyle Calvert

Camped here #7 for an overnight while heading to the North Shore. camp site was nice and adequate for what I needed. Next morning I captured the geocache I was looking for and back on the road. I loved how the park had clean pit toilets and recycling bins!!

Evan Vranian

Some.of the best trails in MN state park.

I am John

I go here hiking at least once a year well worth the hour and half drive for me. It's a gorgeous place don't tell anyone about it.

JoeBob15 !

Beautiful. Long trails. You can see nature, ruined old man-made structures, the river, rocks. Take a breath of fresh air and visit Banning.

Xee Yang

A beautiful park located on the Kettle River.

Tiffani

Gorgeous State Park! We only did a little bit of the trails (forgot bug spray oops lol). We will definitely be back to explore more!

Katherine Towery

Most amazing hike so beautiful! Make sure to stop in at the ranger station when you get there they gave us a tip on a route to take that would take us there one way and back another it was so worth it !

Valerie Jorgenson

My favorite Minnesota state park. Waterfalls along the river and great hiking. You can walk the trail or go on the rough path. Walking along the river. Great place for pictures. Located in sandstone mn so you find lots of sandstone along the way. Many historicle stops

Jackie M

Beautiful rapids and tons of wooded trails. Sites are heavily wooded and private. The ground can get very muddy so prepare with rain boots! Quiet as well.

Kelin Jackman

This park has so many areas to explore. Hours can be spent without realizing it.

Samjok-o Legacy

Really nice park, great place to take your family to picnic and go swimming. Bring plenty of mosquito spray they are vicious on the trail to the falls and back.

Cara Jago

Pretty River and kettles! Hiking trails mostly follow along river.

Cherie Setala Reyes

Nice trails and scenery

Debbie Clark

This place is amazing ! Beautiful nature all around you. Put this place on your bucket list !

Tyson Poppleton

It was a bit too muddy to do some of the hikes with young kids. We came at the beginning of summer June so there weren't too many people. Very peaceful. Lots to mosquitoes but that's pretty much everywhere in MN. We'll need to come back!

B Knutson

Nice park, not much for parking.

Joe Dean

Great family place ..4hour tour

Adam Niosi

This can be one of the best and worst parks in Minnesota. Banning is a very beautiful park! I've also been here when the mosquitos could almost lift you off the ground. I'd bring bring bug spray just in case. Lots of wooded trails to explore. Have fun!

Tim O'Neil

Was here twice this summer. High water and low water. Pretty amazing difference in the landscape

Craig Gjerdingen

Fun little path system, built of the falls and quarry cuttings of Minnesota 's past. Let than a mile of 35W, makes a great lunch and hike stop on the way to Duluth.

Arielle Ehrlich

Lots of interesting trails at a variety of levels. Well worth a stop on the way to or from the North Shore, and even worth a trip as a destination.

Brittany Priest

Hiking in the winter here is fun! The trails were well-marked for the most part. When I got to the falls, there wasn’t really a path, but scrambling over the rocks was fun.

Carol L

A Minnesota State Park. On-line or phone reservations seems to be preferred. Check-in was self serve. Phone service was strong enough to use phones. Sites easily accessed and private. Relatively RUSTIC, even with a camper. Electrical available. A dump station available. No water hook-up. In womens room 2 showers, but one was "out of order", 3 toilets, one was out of order. Water rusty tasting and brown.

Brad Lane

Very fun state park located at what once was a rock mill or quarry. You can see what's left of the quarry through an interpretive trail. There is also a scenic waterfall worth exploring.

Mike Walton

Very nice hiking trails through the woods and by the river. Interesting quarry history. The camp site I was at was pretty well hidden from neighboring sites, providing a reasonable amount of privacy.

Charles Geary

Beautiful area.

Carissa Arens

Absolutely loved it. Great campsite, quiet even though it was the 4th of July. Water and toilet nearby. Hiking rivaled some much more famous destinations. Will definitely come back.

J. Jurg.

There's some great history here with interesting geological features. We enjoyed hiking along the Kettle River on a self-guided tour reading the history and enjoying the scenery.

Larissa Larivee

If you like hiking, you will love Banning! The self guided quarry trail and the waterfall is a must!! Highly recommend no matter your ability or experience :)

Brent Bolin

Another wonderful place. Drove my this exit a couple times and never expected this. So as I am being a passenger I google this as we past. And I am glad I did. Been here now 2 times. Great walking trails. And history if the past

ToolMan56 Tenn

Awesome park. Lots of trails of varying difficulty. A nice little water falls and some rough looking rapids on the Kettle river.

Ryder Fox

Very fun there is a really cool river and it's shallow enough to cross and like no sand very cool rock islands

Yew Kar

Beautiful area, great for walking

Mike Plantan

Great park with awesome trails. The historical markers and "ruins" are incredibly interesting.

Cameryn Hubbard

The colors are incredible! The only downside was the water was a little high so there was a trail you couldn’t walk on, but it was cool to see the rapids as they were

Cody Pomeroy

Yes. Go here.

Jena Anderberg

Fun hike with the family for Mother's day!

Richard Wix

Nice, trees (some very close to the roads), quiet park.. Has electric service, no water hook-ups, has a dump station.. Very reasonable, reservations and park pass required..

Rebecca Goldsberry (Becky)

Great park to go hiking! Kid friendly trails and leashed dogs are welcome. Beautiful waterfalls and river views.

Nick Jenkins

Stunning hiking trails along the river.

Nate Fetterley

Beautiful park. Well kept and groomed hiking trails. Always a pleasure going there.

Jamie Johnson

Great park. Lots of hiking trails and good river for water activities

Arun Batchu

One of my favorite state parks. A gem that we will need to visit again. A must-take-our-visiting-family-and-friends spot. Waterfall and River included!

Ryan Tuck

Been here many times over the years great for quick and longer stops off the highway to Duluth. Beautiful fall colors, river and waterfall!

Alex Kleven

Going during the beginning of fall was the best idea possible, the colors were vibrant and that made the experience so much better. There was a lot of old mining building ruins and we're a sight to behold.

Nicole Thompson

Absolutely gorgeous and so peaceful.

Spencer Peck

This is another of the are some beautiful parks in the State Park system. Well maintained trails with interesting informational signs at historical points. Worth a visit.

Steve Gjerdingen

There are many hiking trails here. If you get too warm there is a little pool you can swim in around the tiny waterfall.

Tim MacMurdo

Great park for a short hike. Bring bug spray and good footwear if you are going towards Hells gate Rapids

shane pechacek

Great trails and very scenic views. Definitely will be going back there again soon.

Ronald Benson

Nice park. Lots of nice trails. No mosquitos when we were there. It was kinda busy.

Dan Traun

Beautiful MN State Park. The Kettle River is great to kayak or canoe. The water is pretty lively below the Hwy 23 bridge - beware.

Danielle Jackman

It's beautiful. Can't wait to go back in the fall.

Ashley Bradford

A beautiful park for the family. There are fire pits and picnic tables for you to enjoy. So pack a lunch and hangout for a while!

ELC Wolf

Great place but make sure you know where your going can get lost

Craig Peterson

I think that the park was very well kept as all state parks are but the ranger and his hall monitor were a little much to handle and were always on patrol bugging us every chance that they could. Trust me we are rule followers but Ranger Rick and his hall monitor (motorhome across from 2E) were definitely taking their jobs to a whole new level. I know that they have a job to do but me, my wife, a 5 year old and a 2 year old are anything but trouble makers LOL.

Doug Boylan

I love Banning SP. The main entrance allows access to the Kettle River gorge and lots of trails. The north side of Hiway 23 is less developed with lots of untracked woods along the river.

Keziah Lakedon

Such a hidden gem. Well worth the drive, fall colors were beautiful. My kids loved the hike.

Stephanie Brenning

As usual this park never disappoints no matter the season. Watch your step in winter! Self guided trail was packed down.

Kayleigh Green

Beautiful rapids and scenery! Nice camp ground with running water and bathrooms.

Nick Skochinsky

One of the best State Parks I've visited. Going off trail and following the river made for a challenging hike and a chance to do some bouldering

Elise Kazmerzak

Beautiful park, a variety of trails, nice little waterfall. It can get busy on the weekends.

Kate Wahlen

Great spot to explore and take a walk in the woods.

kevin graff

Really nice and they were helpful. The mosquitos are out in force. Bring some spray. All the trails we took were in great shape.

Ian Stade

Great respite from the highway. Do the quarry loop for a nice 1.5-2 hour self quided hike with views of the rapids and abandoned quarry.

Christine Wade

Generally good signage to help you figure out where you want to go, and while the roads were often not paved, they were well maintained. Nobody at the office to help us, unfortunately, but we found what we wanted alright!

T Nara

Natural features are beautiful. Understaffed. The trails need attention. There is no campground host. Office is only open on weekends.

C Anderson

There were some paths along the river with good views. Lots of colorful scenery in the fall as well as easy to navigate paths, and paths with more of a challenge too.

Fred Johnson

Very nice park with an amazing variety of things to do from climbing to rafting lots of hiking trails and opportunity to see birds and climbing and bouldering opportunities

Scot Kelch

Very good park and camping. And very friendly staff.

mn fur baby momma

Trail maps along the way and plaques explaining what you are looking at. Pit bathroom. Picnic tables. Gorgeous views.

Megan Hicks

Great hiking, beautiful long trails.

Rhonda Herman

Very good trails! We will go back to the park again!

HawkinsOlsen

"Hell's Gate Rapids" are super gnarly. The rock formations along the hiking trail are unique and the woodland foliage is simply beautiful.

Espen Rodsjo

So far it is my favorite MN state park. Beautiful hiking on the Kettle river with lots to see. Be sure to bring bug spray though.

Don Johnson

Lots of intersecting trails, most very easy and some a little more difficult. Interesting ruins and remnants of the sandstone quarry. Looked clean.

Donna D

Absolutely stunning and so worth the $7 day permit with beautiful nature trails

Stephanie Larson

Beautiful park. Trails are easy to navigate and the self guided tour was wonderful!

Jackie Bowen

It's a beautiful place to walk with the whole family on and if trail as well as enjoying the falls when taking a dip. We also like the education along the trail.

Anand Gona

We have been camping here multiple times and its amazing. There is lot of scope of hiking, and even canoeing. Plenty of options for camp sites too.

Marrium Ghumman

We saw a black bear across the water there.

Teri Vinje

Great hiking trails!

lorahh luke

GORGEOUS state park! Love the historical ruins of the logging Mills. Loved the challenging hike. Definitely top 5!

Eric Peter

A great place to hike around and "traverse" along the huge rocks by the river. A lot of good views from up high and down low.

Tim Perrizo

Walked to Wolf Creek Falls and around the self-guided trail.

Clara Emma

Close enough to the cities for a day trip great place to get out into nature. The Kettle River is fun to see it's a beautiful spot

Lisa Fischer

Beautiful fall colors!

Andy Cosgrove

Didn't do much hiking while we camped for a night, but the location is nice to split up a drive to the North Shore.

Cathy Reinke

Great place to hike.

Danielle Henry

Nice park and a bit busier than normal. It’s small but I would recommend you to see the waterfall.

Strong Trucker

Beautiful place. Don't make your own trails, you will get lost if you don't have right equipment.

Jeff Bittner

Hiked it in the fall...very pretty.

Ivan Bartha

One of the best State Parks in Minnesota... Whitewater kayaking dream at most levels or guided raft trip with Hard Water Sports in Sandstone!

Tim Leach

Great trails, rapids/waterfalls. Tent camping in November! Site #33 is my favorite.

Juan Carlos Escobedo

It was genial be there it's my second to time for sure I will e back great place to take a photos along the Kettle River.

Jen E

I was really impressed at the beauty and history of the park. Lots of great sandstone rock! The river is beautiful, too.

Hannah Davis

Great hiking trails! Easy to find and get to. I always love bringing my dog on the trails

Aaron ness

Awesome park, great hiking and river views. Self guided hike of the old quarry operation is cool.

S K

It was gorgeous in winters too.

Liz Aldrich

There is so much to explore and see. There is never a dull moment! Great for groups or you and one other. Dont have to worry about running into too many people, which is a bonus!

Abby Pitoscia

Very beautiful but buggy in the summer

D Lujan

Very beautiful park, lots of walking trails. Great camping sites.

Nicholas Kiage

Amazing park! So much to see and do! Now one of my favorite parks in the State!

Liddy J

A must see! This park is beautiful with some very nice walking trails.

Scott Schreifels

First time at Banning, hiked to the waterfall. Had a great time with my kids.

Mariah Giem

Not stroller friendly, however a nice park. The river & rocks are gorgeous!

Joy Swanson

Even in early spring with not much green, this park is lovely and offers some wonderful scenery without a strenuous hike

Mark Ross

Very historical and a pretty decent hike. Careful on the edges.

Scott Suhsen

Lots of trails for hiking. Interesting history. Beautiful along the river.

Meghan Choudek

Lots of good trails, they were very well marked and had a lot of signage which was very appreciated

Lillaia C

The campground is absolutely beautiful. Will definitely go back again now that the foliage is in.

tiegjac

We went here for a class trip. This place looks, sounds, and feels beautiful. The rocks are definetly great to look at.

Kory Bumgardner

Wonderful hike!!

Jacki Roubik

Nice walking trails pretty water falls close to freeway

Victoria Lopez

One of my favorite sites I got to see while I was here. Spent around 1.5 hours taking pictures and it never became dull. Will definitely go back when I get the chance.

Ryan Cummings

Nice hiking. Consider the rafting option offered by Hard Water sports. Good fun.

Wendy W.

Gorgeous woods and a historic old quarry.

Ella Renner

Beautiful! Perfect for a hike or snowshoeing!

J Fang

Very long trails to walk. Hard to access the river. Lots of mosquitoes. Great walk and observing.

George Morris

Love the hiking here! Great water features if you like photography!

Wendy Johnson

5 ⭐️ for the park - great trails along the river 3 ⭐️ for the campground - spots are smallish and very close together

Amanda Kruse

Great hike to the falls.

John C

Love going here has very nice paths and history. Great place to spend the day.

David Victorious

Nice little park if you like hiking! Don't forget bug spray!

Brant Egertson

The only reason for the 4 star was the ridgid "2 tent per campsite rule" We had individual bike packing tents, which all 5 combined take up less room than a "standard" car camping tent

Kate Huff

I love hiking here with my son and friends and try to go every week when I can

Band Galaxy

Very beautiful!! Fun hiking! Some of it can be challenging.😉 …

Sue Urista

Great place to spend a day with family or friends. Great walking trails.

Ftt Bands 320 (lil dfuze)

Very fun place to explore

Laura Mcmanman

Went with my husband and my dog and had a great time it was beautiful, something there for everyone, some tough spots great scenery :)

Vanessa McCahon

We camped in a cabin and hiked the trail to Wolf Creek Falls. What a great day. It was beautiful!

Jackie Anderson

The ruins on the quarry loop trail are easy to find and you get a pretty river view along the way

Liberty Simons

This place is so amazing. The day i went there was a beautiful breeze that kept the bugs away.

ThePurplePineapple 243

Good park to be at! Great trails! Beautiful waterfalls!

Zachary Hudson

Beautiful waterfall! Well worth the walk! Paths can be a little confusing, so don't get lost!

Rebecca Lynn M Kennedy-Thomas (PinkyBaby)

It is beautiful with wonderful well maintained trails, campgrounds, and friendly park rangers.

Minda Carpenter

The trail maps are hard to read. Beautiful park. Dog friendly.

Ken Soles

Beautiful gem of a State park.

Laura Zabinski

One of my favorite state parks close to the city! So much to hike and look at!

Freedomand Firearms

Great place for nature although the mosquitoes are absolutely horrible! We brought bug repellent and it seemed to not even phase them.

aleesha anderson

Loved this place so much to look at so much to do ! Definitely going to have to go back being I rent out of time to look at eveything it's so beautiful there !