Making a few hour trip from the Twin Cities down to Southeastern Minnesota we stumbled a crossed the gem of Forestville State Park. Like many of Minnesota’s state parks, I assumed it was just near the town of Forestville and that was that. In all actually the state park is named after a historic town that lays within it’s limits and is manned during the summertime with characters in costume acting as actual people that lived in the town during 1899.

It was a neat feeling to drive into the state park and follow our way to the end of a road to a closed bridge (to traffic no pedestrians) over a trout river into a town well preserved for over 100 years. To our surprise, our Minnesota Historical Society Membership scored us free tickets (we did need to pay for the membership) for the historical tour which includes touring the remaining buildings and how they functioned. One of most unique is a store that includes many of the original items from the period.

I think The Wife and the fellow tourists enjoyed the tour much more than I did with a lot of “country experience” already under my belt. There were plenty of little things like chickens running around and activities to keep children busy while the adults soaked in historical knowledge of the site and area.

Have you made it to the Forestville State Park? Did you take advantage of the tour of historical town or any of the trails, camping, or fishing? I’d like to hear your take if you have.