Minnesota

Why Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota is a hidden well of natural beauty

Published

2 years ago

June 1, 2024

Why Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota is a hidden well of natural beauty

Just like you can’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t judge a national park by its numbers. Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota is one of the least visited national parks in America.

“I think it’s one of the best kept secrets,” said Mark Miller, the park’s acting chief of Interpretation, Education, Visitor Services, Public Affairs and Partnerships.

“We are a water-based park predominantly, with approximately 40% of our acreage being water,” he said.

In the summer, Voyageurs’ lakes are prime for water recreation like canoeing, fishing and just relaxing on houseboats “complete with a hot tub and a waterslide off the upper deck.” In the winter, Miller said, “People love to come for 110 miles of snowmobile trails that we have, a number of miles worth of groomed cross country ski trails, (and) ice fishing.

Here’s what travelers should know about Voyageurs, the latest national park in USA TODAY’s yearlong series.

What is so special about Voyageurs National Park?

“The park is so well known for its amazing landscapes, the 218,000 acres of woods and waters that border on the boreal forest,” Miller said. “From an ecology standpoint, great stands of white pines, red pines and the ecosystem that holds megafauna like moose and bear and wolves, but also the geology of the park, rocks up to 2.8 billion – with a B – years old, some of the oldest rocks here in the heart of the continent of North America. Our lakes are lined with this amazing, rocky shoreline of exposed granite with pine tree-studded forests.”

He noted that 99% of the park’s campsites have lakefront views, which is unique among national parks. They’re perfect spots to sit back and take in the night sky.

“We are a certified International Dark Sky Park and what that means is incredible dark skies that we strive to preserve and protect so that people can come and have an opportunity to see the Milky Way in all its glory, constellations like they’ve never seen before, and the northern light, the aurora borealis, shimmering in waves, the orange, red, pink and green,” Miller said.

Where is Voyageurs located?

Voyageurs National Park is located in Northern Minnesota, almost to Canada. It’s about four-and-a-half hours away from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-Saint Paul by car.

The gateway city of International Falls is about 12 miles away from the park. There is a small airport in International Falls, which offers connecting flights to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport via Delta and regional carrier Sky West.

“For those people that are looking for a remote, yet unique, beautiful experience, Voyageurs is a great place,” Miller said.

What’s the most visited national park? Answers to your biggest park questions

Can you drive into Voyageurs National Park?

Yes, but how far you can drive depends on the season.

“Via snowmobile and driving on our plowed ice roads, one could make the argument that in terms of driving a car, there’s actually more mileage that you could do in the wintertime,” Miller said.

The rest of the year, there are a couple of what Miller describes as spur roads that lead to the park’s Rainy Lake and Ash River visitor centers. “That’s about the extent of driving a vehicle on our road inside the park boundary.” During open-water season, he said most people take watercraft deeper into the park.

What is the best time of year to visit Voyageurs?

Voyageurs is a year-round park with no entrance fees, but there are two sweet spots for Miller.

“I love August and September,” he said. “You get the best of summer. The air is dried out. There’s less bugs. It’s warm. And then if you wait a little further into September, you get the opportunity to enjoy the turning colors of autumn.”

For winter activities like snowmobiling, cross-country skiing and ice fishing, Miller recommends February and March.

“February and March is often when we have the best snow and ice conditions and warmer temperatures. We’re talking maybe highs in the 20s come mid February to mid March,” he said. “Hopefully we’re done with highs that are below zero like we often see in January.”

What months can you see the northern lights in Voyageurs National Park?

You can potentially see northern lights any time of year at Voyageurs.

“If you’re a night owl, being here in the summertime is of course as good a time as any, yet it stays light pretty long at these northern latitudes,” Miller said. “It’s really not getting dark in June and the first half of July and until after 10 p.m., and there’s ambient light that persists seemingly as late as 11 p.m.”

In the winter, he said there’s roughly nine more hours of darkness. But darkness alone isn’t enough.

“The key to being able to see the northern lights really has to do more with is there a solar storm and are the skies cloud-free?” he said. “With the solar storms increasing lately – and we’re kind of in a peak of an 11-year typical cycle – here in 2024 and 2025, there are great opportunities to come and see the northern lights.”

Who are the Native people of the land?

“The predominant Indigenous tribe is the Anishinaabe. That is the term that the area tribes often refer to themselves as,” Miller said. “The word Ojibwe is probably more commonly used. It’s the same people group essentially as the Chippewa, which is another word that is used.”

“The Dakota (Sioux) people that have a history in this area as well. Throughout the generations, they ended up migrating to further west onto the plains and the prairies,” he added. “There’s also the Cree but they’re more north, northwest.”

Source link

Click to comment

Minnesota

Minnesota weather: How cold it got on Saturday

Published

5 hours ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Minnesota weather: How cold it got on Saturday

article

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Temperatures dropped into the negative Saturday, with the coldest temperatures in the morning.

How cold it got in Minnesota Saturday

By the numbers:

Here is how cold the temperatures got in Minnesota:

Hinckley: -20 degrees
Bemidji: -20 degrees
Ely: -18 degrees
Brainerd: -18 degrees
Detroit Lakes: -18 degrees
Hibbing: -17 degrees
International Falls: -17 degrees
Duluth: -16 degrees
Alexandria: -12 degrees
St. Cloud: -12 degrees
Cambridge: -11 degrees
Grand Marais: -10 degrees
Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: -6 degrees
Red Wing: -6 degrees
Morris: -6 degrees
Hutchinson: -5 degrees
Rochester: -5 degrees
Mankato: -3 degrees
Windom: 0 degrees
Marshall: 0 degrees

Here are the lowest wind chills across Minnesota from Saturday:

Bemidji: -37 degrees
Ely: -35 degrees
Duluth: -34 degrees
Brainerd: -32 degrees
Detroit Lakes: -32 degrees
Hibbing: -31 degrees
Alexandria: -29 degrees
Hinckley: -27 degrees
Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: -24 degrees
St. Cloud: -24 degrees
Willmar: -22 degrees
Cambridge-21 degrees
Grand Marais: -21 degrees
Hutchinson: -21 deegres
Morris: -20 degrees
Faribault: -18 degrees
Mankato: -18 degrees
Marshall: -17 degrees
Red Wing: -16 degrees
Owatonna: -16 degrees
Windom-12 degrees

Cold continues Sunday

What’s next:

The Twin Cities are under a cold weather advisory that is expected to last through Sunday morning, so residents should prepare for frigid conditions if they have plans to be outdoors.

Sunday will be slightly less frigid with temperatures climbing above zero. However, it will still feel like 10 below zero in the afternoon.

Milder and warmer temperatures are expected to return for the work week.

Winter WeatherMinnesota

Source link

Minnesota

Minnesota Wild acquires NHL star Quinn Hughes from Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster trade

Published

17 hours ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

Minnesota Wild acquires NHL star Quinn Hughes from Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster trade

The Minnesota Wild made an all-in move for one of the NHL’s best players in his prime, acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks in a blockbuster trade — their boldest action yet toward ending a decade-long skid of playoff series defeats.

The teams announced the seismic move on Friday night, after the 2024 Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenseman had been the most talked-about trade candidate over the past couple of weeks. Minnesota sent center Marco Rossi, defenseman Zeev Buium, winger Liam Ohgren and a first-round pick in the 2026 draft to suddenly rebuilding Vancouver to complete the deal.

The trade was the second major swap of the day, after two-time Stanley Cup Final runner-up Edmonton finally made a move for a goaltender, acquiring Tristan Jarry from Pittsburgh.

Rossi (24), Ohgren (21) and Buium (20) fit the mold of the young talent the Canucks were speculated to be targeting if they were going to trade Hughes. Rossi (2020), Ohgren (2022) and Buium (2024) were all recent first-round draft picks by the Wild.

“Quinn played hard, led by example and did a lot of very good things for the Canucks,” Vancouver general manager Patrik Allvin said. “Trading away a player of this caliber is never an easy decision to make, but it was one we had to do to make our team better. We are so excited to add a solid centre in Marco, a good young blueliner in Zeev and a versatile forward in Liam. This year’s draft is a strong one, so acquiring a first-round pick was also a big part of this deal.”

Hughes had no trade-blocking protection in his current deal that pays him an average of $7.85 million annually. Hughes, who is 26 and widely considered the best at player on the blue line behind only Colorado’s Cale Makar, is signed through the 2026-27 season before he can become an unrestricted free agent.

The Wild will not be allowed to extend Hughes until July 1, and it’s unclear if he would consider signing a new contract with them. There has been plenty of buzz around the league that Quinn wants to play with his brothers, Jack and Luke, with the New Jersey Devils.

They could potentially be teammates on the U.S. Olympic team, either in February in Milan or in 2030. Wild general manager Bill Guerin runs USA Hockey’s management team.

The long-term outlook for Hughes can wait until next summer, though. The Wild are focused on challenging the two top teams ahead of them in the loaded Central Division, rivals that happen to also have the top two records in the NHL: Colorado and Dallas.

The season-long celebration of the franchise’s 25th anniversary would be a lot more meaningful if the Wild can finally advance in the playoffs, having lost nine straight series after a first-round victory over St. Louis in 2015. The Wild have passed the second round just once in their entire existence, when they were swept in the Western Conference finals by Anaheim in 2003.

Hughes is a significant upgrade to Minnesota’s blue line, anchored by captain and 16-year veteran Jared Spurgeon, smooth-skating 14-year veteran Jonas Brodin and young stalwart Brock Faber. The emergence of rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt this season has given the Wild a reliable tandem with Filip Gustavsson in the net, with star winger Kirill Kaprizov leading the attack after recently signing the richest contract in hockey history to stay in the “State of Hockey” through 2034.

After a rough start, the Wild are 14-3-2 since Nov. 1. They host Ottawa on Saturday and Boston on Sunday night, with the latter game likely the more realistic one for Hughes to debut.

Hughes had two goals, 21 assists and 32 blocked shots in 23 games this season with the last-in-the-NHL Canucks. When he won the Norris Trophy two seasons ago, Hughes had 17 goals and 75 assists, both single-season franchise records for defensemen and the most among all blue liners in the league. Drafted seventh overall in 2018 out of Michigan, the native of Orlando, Florida, spent time growing up in the Boston and Toronto areas while his father, a hockey coach, moved around.

This was Hughes’ third season as Vancouver’s captain, and his abrupt exit paves the way for more change 11 months since the trade of J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers and in the aftermath of coach Rick Tocchet’s departure.

“With the circumstances surrounding J.T. and now Quinn, we are fortunate to acquire these very good young players from Minnesota,” Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford said. “They will be a key part of the rebuild that we are currently in, giving us a bright future moving forward. The hockey club will continue to build with talented young players using that as a blueprint to become a contender sooner rather than later.”

Source link