Sakatah Lake State Park is
located just east of Waterville, Minnesota (14 miles W of Faribault). Its
topography is primarily rolling hills of hardwood forest, and at just 842
acres, it is one of the smaller state parks. The park borders part of the
shoreline of Sakatah Lake, and the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail, 39
miles connecting Faribault to Mankato, runs right through the park.
We had the entire park to ourselves! The information
office was closed, probably because it was Sunday, but we grabbed a park
map from a box outside. From the parking lot just south of the
Interpretive Center (also closed), we began heading east and north on the
Hidden Pond Trail. After we found the Hiking Club password we cut over to
the Wahpekuta Trail that ran along the slope of the lakeshore. It was
quite icy and alightly treacherous, so after about a half mile we cut back
over to the Oak Tree Trail. Continuing west we did the Big Woods Loop,
which had steeper hills than the rest of the hike so far. Finally, we
rejoined the Hiking Club Trail and headed back toward the parking lot.
Trails were wide and primarily leaf-covered earth. Most stretches had a
thin layer of snow and ice or none at all. Overall, we spent 2 hours and 4
minutes hiking 3.6 miles of trails.
|
