Even if you are not really an outdoorsy person, visiting the Mississippi Headwaters is something everyone should do at some point in there life. The Mighty Mississippi as it is know begins at a small lake in northern Minnesota and is only a couple of dozen of feet wide. Seeing this country crossing river as it begins is an experience that is hard to describe, but I will give you the best description I can manage. You can visit this location while visiting Itasca State Park which is just a few hours north of the Twin Cities. Follow my site to see more posts about our trip to this beautiful area.
Revisiting my Childhood Memories
When I was a kid, camping was a huge part of our summer. We would pack up the pop up trailer and the whole family and go off exploring all the natural wonders Minnesota had to offer. This instilled in me a love of all things Minnesota outdoors and it was one of the things I missed the most when I moved away as an adult. One of my favorite memories was from our family’s visit to the headwaters. In fact, I had the ribbon I got stating, “I crossed the Mississippi” hanging on my bulletin board throughout my entire childhood. I remember slowly picking my way across the rocks and being so proud when I made it across without falling in. Then I proceeded to kneel down in the water below the rocks and had my first experience with a leech, which was also something I always remembered. I knew when I created my own family that this was a memory (the crossing not the leech) that I wanted to share with them, and now you!
Must-Do Experiences at the Headwaters
There are always those must-do activities whenever you accomplish a bucket-list item like this. One of the first is to take a picture with the headwaters post which sometimes has a small line to wait your turn in, but the good news is this means someone will likely be willing to take a picture of your group for you. Next, take off your shoes and walk your way across the water. This is the highlight of this visit so enjoy the moment. You are also welcome to walk in the headwaters lake or further down, but walking across the stones is a great memory to make at least once. You should also take some time to just absorb the beauty of this magical place. If you like to take photos you have ample opportunity, you can splash and play in the wading water (just be respectful of others,) there are grassy areas where you can sit and have a picnic, and several educational signs around the area that talk about the history of this historic site.
Unexpected Surprises
Even though my first trip with my family had happened many years ago, I did not think that much would have changed from the state park I remembered, boy was I wrong! First off, we spotted a sign saying to wave at the webcam with a URL you could visit to see it. We were super excited and pulled it up on my phone right away. Once we saw it we were able to frame ourselves in the space and wave and then I took a screenshot you can see above. It was so much fun and we giggled the whole time. As I mentioned, I will have more posts soon about all the fun things we did while staying at this state park, but as a sneak peek, were were really pleasantly surprised by the Mary Gibbs Mississippi Headwaters Center that is a short walk from the headwaters and where you park to visit the headwaters. We loved the food options and the gift shop was a favorite of B’s. There are also wonderful educational signs that really helped all of us learn more about this landmark.
A Tourist Attraction Worth Your Time
I am not normally one to fawn over tourist attractions, but the Mississippi Headwaters is one tourist attraction that feels absolutely nothing like a tourist attraction. Come to make the memory of crossing something cool off your bucket list (seriously, you can now brag that you walked across the Mississippi River which really freaks some people out!) and stay to enjoy a truly beautiful area of Minnesota. Even if you are surrounded by a bunch of other people, there is something truly serene about this area and honestly a top ten recommendation from me to you for something to do in Minnesota. Keep an eye out for my future posts about this trip which will cover everything from camping to other travel must do’s at the state park. Let me know in the comments below if you have visited the headwaters and your favorite memories from those trips.
