Introduction

Fort Snelling is a great place to hike if you are looking for a new place to go. We hiked the pike island trail. It is heavily wooded, which is nice for shade, and has a lot of places to explore.

Location

Fort Snelling is in Minneapolis, about 15 minutes away from Apple Valley. The road down to it branches off of highway 62. It is located under a huge bridge, which provides good shade but is kind of annoying, since it is towering over you for a while.

Environment

The Fort Snelling hike is very wooded. Personally, I like that about it but if for some reason you are a fan of open hikes, I would recommend going somewhere else. Some of the trees there are humongous and very interesting. They look like normal oak trees, but are a lot bigger. I like the fact that part of the hike is close to the river.

Animals

There is a perfect amount of animals roaming around the hike. Not too many, but not too little. The small animals we saw are squirrels and rabbits. I saw trees that were obviously chewed on, but we didn’t see any beavers. The bugs aren’t a problem, unless you are hiking next to the water, then the flies/mosquitoes get more annoying. We saw only a few birds, cardinals, woodpeckers, robin, blue jay, and we even saw a hawk and an eagle. I have only been to this place once, so I am sure that there are more animals than I mentioned here.

What to bring

The first and most important thing to bring, like usual, is water. Since it is shaded by layers of branches, you should not need to bring sunglasses or a hat. If you are planning on taking a trail close to the water I would recommend bringing bug spray. Just like always, you should probably bring some bandaids or first aid supplies. You can definitely bring more things, but these are really the things you want to think of first.

When to go

The best season to go to Fort Snelling overall is probably spring. That is when all the flowers and trees are blooming. Also, that is probably when the most animals will be active. The second best time would be summer. This is a hike that thrives in the heat, with all of the shade. The best time of day to go is probably about noon. That is when it is the most crowded, though, so if you want to go when it is not busy, go earlier.

Review

I would give this hike a solid 4 out of 5 stars. If anything, I would go a little higher since I find this hike very enjoyable. As I said before, I have only gone here once, so I might have a different opinion if I went a few more times. I enjoy the fact that it is wooded, and would recommend this place to anyone looking for a new place to hike.

Hiking challenge

This is a difficult challenge. There is a flood pole near the end of the hike. When you find it comment below what the date at the top of the pole is (Hint: it is not 1952)