Itasca State Park: Hiking Club Loop

We packed up camp this morning and headed out for some more exploring. Our ultimate destination was the 3.5 mile Hiking Club Loop. However, on the way to the trailhead we stopped at the impressive Preacher's Grove

to admire the large red pine trees

and view of Lake Itasca.

We then headed over to Douglas Lodge to start our hike.

Noelle, Parker and I had attempted to hike this loop before, only to be turned around by the copious mosquitoes. I was hoping that by attempting this hike later in the year, the bugs would not be as bad. The bugs were definitely not as bad as they had been last time we attempted the hike, but they were still there. The hike began on the Ozawindib Trail

and quickly passed Lake Mary. We found a poor dead mole on the trail

and Sierra found the first colorful leaves of fall littering the ground.

At a strange obelisk,

we turned right to follow the Crossover Trail to the Deer Park Trail. There were several lakes to stop and admire on this stretch of trail, including Deer Park Lake

and Coffee Break Lake. As we looked into Coffee Break Lake, Sierra found a well camouflaged frog hiking among the lily pads.

While it's definitely starting to look like fall in northern Minnesota, there were still a few wildflowers in bloom along the trail.

While Sierra had hiked (and run) about 2/3 of the 3.5 mile loop, she rode in the backpack for about the final mile.

As we returned to Douglas Lodge we had collected our password and emerged from Itasca State Park victorious!