Day 4 – Crow Wing State Park to Clearwater – 78 miles

Highlights today:

Camp Ripley Gate and Walls, Lindberg State Park, the Graves Family History at Bend in River Regional Park near Rice, Munsinger Park and Clemens Gardens in St. Cloud

Little Falls – Established in 1848 with a current population of about 8,500 people this town is known for being the boyhood home of aviator Charles Lindberg. The falls on the Mississippi were used to power saw mills, but now a dam creates hydroelectric power for the city and surrounding area. Near Little Falls is the Lake Wobegon Trail that celebrates Garrison Keillor’s imaginary town. •

• Visit Charles A Lindberg State Park and the adjacent museum

St Cloud – was the main crossroad for the Red River Trails that were a network of ox cart routes connecting North Dakota, Canada, and St. Paul with the head of navigation being the Mississippi River from 1820 to 1870 until the RR arrived.

• Stearns History Museum • Home of St Cloud State University, the 2nd largest public university in MN
• Over 30 islands on the Mississippi river here make up the Beaver Islands
• The city owns a hydroelectric dam on the river that provides power to the city