2025 03 23 - Belwin Conservancy - Afton MN

Taken near the north parking lot at the start of the trail.

This is a free park, it is not part of any park system, national, state or local. There are a total of 1,600 acres as part of the park. Part of that is pasture where they have bison in the summer months.

In addition to the bison and education area's there is also an observatory and ballfield area.

We have now lived in the area for almost 30 years and this is the first time we have been to any of these area's. Today we are at the first parking lot south of I-94 on Stagecoach.

There are some soft spots on the trail but not really muddy. The snow is long gone except for the ski sloops. This area is as hilly as could be crop farmed and there are no paved trails so it is a hike, not a stroll for the less able.

We didn't take a map, we just walked to what we thought would be close to our hour. Ended up being an hour and a half.

The first area we walked was down hill as shown in the above picture. Then when we got to the woods on the middle left of the picture we walked in the woods. Just in the woods, not deep into the woods. So we came back out into the field somewhere before the corner of the field on the top of the picture.

While in the woods we were quite close to some deer before the moved on. BB saw them first. Three of them. Hmmm. I wonder if they are the same three that frequent my garden.

Looking back to where our car is parked, it is just on this side of the tree line.

This picture gives a little better view showing the land is not flat. We are near the gravel pits so the land is more sandy/gravel than it is muddy. But there is not a lot of grass on the paths, my guess is the soil is too poor for the good kinds of grass to work here.

We will likely be back many times. Much nicer than walking on our local streets.