Whitewater State Park might be in my top three favorite parks in Minnesota. A huge reason is that the conditions aren’t ideal for pesky mosquitoes due to cold-spring fed water that is constantly moving.
But it’s the bluffs that capture my heart.
Once more, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and drove two hours to catch a state park sunrise. This morning treated me more colorfully than the visit to St. Croix State Park.

I had hoped that the color would expand into the clouds but it mostly stayed behind the ridge. And yet, it was a gorgeous scene.
After sunrise, I quickly transferred to the eastern Chimney Rock where I watched the sun burn the shadows away.

The five bluffs at Whitewater State Park are close enough to one another to climb all of them in one day. At Chimney Rock, you can view the widest part of the river offering a swimming hole for campers. I love the reflections here.
From here, I went south along the Chimney Rock Trail which bordered farmland and you can see where dried, small gullys zigzag down into the banks of Whitewater River. The sun burst through the trees and illuminated the yellow leaves all over.
Then I discovered Inspiration Point and wonder if it’s my favorite part of the park. It reminded me of the North Shore without Lake Superior.

But of course, it is not the North Shore. It has its own beauty and another reason to love Minnesota and our state parks.
Have you visited?
Nice blog Josh. Hope things work out the way you want with your future endeavors.
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Hello Steve,
Sorry for my delay in replying. Thanks for the kind comment. I’m open to what the future holds but running through the many doors that are opening for me.
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