BEMIDJI — Lake Bemidji State Park was established in 1923 to guarantee public access to the lake and protect 1700 acres of forest and bog.
Interpretive Naturalist Christa Drake was a recent guest on Bright Spot on the KAXE Morning Show. The park has trails and events and one of its shining glories is a boardwalk through a bog.
"You get to experience what a bog is like without stepping in it and getting your feet wet," Drake said.
Rocky Point Trail is another popular trail within the park, and the Paul Bunyan State Trail begins at the park.
"And this time of year, people absolutely love our giant sandy beach," Drake said.
After last summer's derecho, there were a number of trail closures and damage to the park's marina. According to Drake, about 200 acres of trees were damaged in a patchy pattern.
"It was quite devastating to see, for sure," Drake said. Right now, there are loggers taking out some dead trees from badly hit areas.
Programming at the park
Drake told us about "Pollinators of the Night," a program beginning at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, July 23 during National Moth Week.
"Basically, we're going to hang up a white sheet in the playground and shine some UV lights on it and try to attract some interesting moths and kind of teach people the importance of moths," Drake said.
Ongoing activities this summer include Nature Discovery Tables from 2:30-3:30 p.m. each Friday and the Story Tree preschool program at 10 a.m. on Thursdays. Story Tree continues in the fall and winter on Saturday mornings.
For a full list of events, visit the park's website.
Listen to our full conversation above to hear more about the park, the bog walk and a new Junior Ranger book.
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The Bright Spot is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
