Sibley State Park

About Sibley State Park

You have probably seen something like this before, at least once or twice in recent years, but never quite as spectacular as what you will see here.

This is a forest - dominated by a variety of tree species, grasses and shrubs, as well as a number of waterfalls. The park offers a wide range of activities, from canoeing and boat trips on Lake Henschien to Swan Lake. Canoe routes invite adventurers to canoe, portage or kayak on both lakes. Summer guests can swim in Andrew's Lake and camp on the shores of the lake or in the shallow waters of Schuylkill Lake, Siberia's largest lake.

The fields cleared and cultivated by settlers have now been transformed into native prairie grassland and oak savannah. The hills are still covered with the remains of prairies and grasses, but the slopes are covered with trees and shrubs, as well as a number of small lakes and ponds.

Although this advance only took place 10,000 years ago, most of Minnesota's scenic features were created during the Ice Age. Glaciers penetrated through the two-kilometre-thick ice that covered the state with ice up to two kilometres thick.

Birds Sibley shares with us include the Great Blue Heron, the American Red-footed Falcon and the Minnesota Woodpecker. There are other species that visitors can see when they walk along the paths of Siblingy State Park. The forest dwellers are the only bird species in the state of Minnesota with a population of more than 1,000 species.

In 1935, the federal government sent the Veterans Conservation Corps to Sibley State Park, and the park was named after its founder, William S. Siblingy, a Minnesota native. The only family member to survive the US-Dakota conflict in 1862 successfully lobbied the Minnesota state legislature to provide the funds needed to buy the land that became a sibling state park. When the legislator realized that the area was not popular with the locals, S babyy was founded as a national park.

Over the next three years, a group of 200 men built roads, buildings and paths in the park. When the camp was finished, the majority of veterans and their families, as well as the local community, left the camp and left.

From St. Cloud or New London, take Highway 23 and merge onto Highway 71 and walk one mile south of 71 to the entrance to the park. From entrance 71, you can walk one mile north to Sibley State Park and then take Interstate 71 for a short distance south.