73 reasons to join the MN State Parks Passport and MN Hiking Club 2025
Do you love to explore? Do you spend your weekends camping, hiking, fishing, and everything outdoors? Then you need a Minnesota State Parks Passport or are you part of the MN Hiking Club?
The programs work great together and give you a good reason to get out and explore. That is why I was so excited when I got gifted a MN State Park Passport this past holiday season.
Here is the lowdown on the programs and what you need to start an epic summer adventure!
The MN State Parks Passport Program
The MN State Park Passport Program is great for those that love to explore but maybe need a reason to go see them all! As you travel to each park, stop by the main office and get your passport stamped.
The passport costs $14.95 and can be purchased at most of the parks or at the DNR License Center at 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul.
What’s included in the MN State Parks Passport?
Besides the passport, you will also receive a travel log giving you the opportunity to document some of your favorite parts of the parks. It won’t take long before you realize you are already collecting your first reward.
How to earn MN State Park Passport Rewards?
After stamping 25 parks, you will get a certificate for a free night of camping and a pin. Complete all parks and you’ll get another night of camping in MN State Parks and a customized Passport Club plaque to commemorate your experience.
The Minnesota State Park Hiking Club
The MN State DNR also offers a MN Hiking Club. For $14.95 you can be a part of this too. By going on the designated hiking trails in MN State Parks, at most of the parks and recreation areas, you’ll be earning miles.
The hiking trails will lead you to a lot of the park highlights including, waterfalls, overlooks, geological wonders, and historic sites.
On the designated hikes, you’ll see a sign with the password to verify that you made it through your hike. You can enter in your miles in the Minnesota Hiking Club Book at that comes with your kit.
How to earn MN State Park Hiking Club Rewards?
The rewards for the hiking club are based on the number of miles you’ve completed. It’s the amounts listed in the book, not the miles your fitness tracker counted.
You’ll receive a patch for each milestone of 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, and all the miles. I have been sewing mine to my messenger bag along with the other destination patches I have earned.
At 100 miles, you’ll get a free night of camping and if you can complete them all, you’ll get another night of camping plus an engraved plaque. I plan on picking up a passport at our first park this year!
Pro Tip: Finding the Hiking Club Passwords is a great motivator to get younger kids to start hiking
MN Hiking Club and Passport Tips
Closed Offices
Nothing is worse than getting to the MN State Park only to find the office is closed. Don’t stress out, you can still get your passport stamped still.
Most stamps hide in a box outside the park’s main office window, near their map stash. If not, they will post a sign telling you where to go. I’ve seen them around the corner.
If it’s not at the park, you can mail in your passport to Park Office in St Paul’s office and let them know the date you were there and that you could not get the stamp.
They will mail it back to you with a stamp included. Some have even left their passport in the pay box outside the gate with a return envelope and requested a stamp.
Hiking Club Maps
There are plenty of GPS programs like All Trails and The Hiking Project that help you plot out your adventure. But the one thing they are missing is the MN State Park Trails.
You’ll need Avenza Maps if you plan on hiking. It works by taking the same MN State Parks maps you used to and placing your GPS position on top of it.
This app is free. Make sure to download your maps before you leave as some locations have spotty internet signals. Once on the trail, it uses your phones GPS, so no internet is needed.
This gives you a good peace of mind that you are on the Hiking Club Trail and not some offshoot.
This is a game-changer for anyone directionally challenged or those that want a little reassurance when you come to an intersection with more branches than shown on the map.
Pro Tip: Track your progress with a Push Pin Map of Minnesota!
The State Park Disappeared, Can I still Complete it?
As many have heard already, we went from 75 parks and recreation areas, to just 73. It’s a total bummer for Minnesotans who love exploring these areas. If you are doing either the Passport Program or the Hiking Club and it’s included in your book, don’t worry, they are no longer needed.
How much does it cost to get into MN State Parks?
A daily MN State Park pass is only $7. If you are serious about it visiting the parks, I highly recommend getting a MN State Park parking permit.
It gives you unlimited access to the parks for the year. They cost $35. The permit expires on the Month you purchased the permit for the following year.
If you purchase a permit on June 1st this year, you have until June 30th of the following year to explore. It’s a great deal if you plan to go to a park more than once a year.
Check out more Minnesota State Park Pass Hacks, Tips, and Free Days
How Many MN State Parks Are There?
Here is the list of the MN State Parks where you can rack up your own stamps. There are 73 State Parks and Recreation Areas in total. Each time I visit a park, I give out trail descriptions and tips. Keep checking back to get a review of each of the parks as I cross them off my list.
- Afton State Park
- Banning State Park
- Bear Head Lake State Park
- Beaver Creek Valley State Park
- Big Bog State Recreation Area
- Big Stone Lake State Park
- Blue Mounds State Park
- Buffalo River State Park
- Camden State Park
- Carley State Park
- Cascade River State Park
- Charles A. Lindbergh State Park
- Crow Wing State Park
- Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area
- Father Hennepin State Park
- Flandrau State Park
- Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park
- Fort Ridgely State Park
- Fort Snelling State Park
- Franz Jevne State Park
- Frontenac State Park
- Garden Island State Recreation Area
- George H. Crosby Manitou State Park
- Glacial Lakes State Park
- Glendalough State Park
- Gooseberry Falls State Park
- Grand Portage State Park
- Great River Bluffs State Park
- Greenleaf Lake State Recreation Area
- Hayes Lake State Park
- Interstate State Park
- Iron Range Off-highway Vehicle State Recreation Area
- Itasca State Park
- Jay Cooke State Park
- John A. Latsch State Park
- Judge C.R. Magney State Park
- Kilen Woods State Park
- La Salle Lake State Recreation Area
- Lac qui Parle State Park
- Lake Bemidji State Park
- Lake Bronson State Park
- Lake Carlos State Park
- Lake Louise State Park
- Lake Maria State Park
- Lake Shetek State Park
- Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park
- Maplewood State Park
- McCarthy Beach State Park
- Mille Lacs Kathio State Park
- Minneopa State Park
- Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area
- Monson Lake State Park
- Moose Lake State Park
- Myre – Big Island State Park
- Nerstrand Big Woods State Park
- Old Mill State Park
- Red River State Recreation Area
- Rice Lake State Park
- St. Croix Island State Recreation Area
- St. Croix State Park
- Sakatah Lake State Park
- Savanna Portage State Park
- Scenic State Park
- Schoolcraft State Park
- Sibley State Park
- Split Rock Creek State Park
- Split Rock Lighthouse State Park
- Temperance River State Park
- Tettegouche State Park
- Whitewater State Park
- Wild River State Park
- William O’Brien State Park
- Zippel Bay State Park
What are my favorite State Parks?
MN has some amazing State Parks. Of my adventures, there are a few that are especially memorable. I spoke about them on Fox9 Morning Show. Check them out.
How To track your hiking club miles?
Hiking club miles are tracked by the official miles listed in the book, not actual miles hiked.
The miles listed are approximate. We’ve seen a 6 mile trail actually be closer to 8 and a 3 mile trail be closer to 2. Throughout the years, the park has shifted the official trails around. This happens for a variety of reasons, but most commonly it’s due to trail maintenance and erosion.
Go Digital to Find out What’s Left
It didn’t take me long to find out that there are a lot of MN State Parks and it became hard to juggle them all. That’s why I’ve developed a tracking spreadsheet that includes all the different MN State Parks.
I’ve got them broken out by distance from Minneapolis.
The spreadsheet will also track your MN Hiking Club Miles, and Passport Stamps collected, and give you a running total. I took it a step further and identified the best amenities at each park.
Using the filters, you can identify which MN State Park Hiking Club Trail is less than 2 hrs from Minneapolis. Or which trail has groomed paths for winter hiking? Or which trail is under 2 miles for those just starting out?
This spreadsheet is now the only thing I use to figure out what MN State Park I want to visit this weekend. Click on the picture below to get your copy.
Why I love Hiking
Make sure to check out my newest guide on Enjoying the Hike Again. It’s a free guide I put together spilling all the dirt on hiking. Based on what I’ve seen online, we’ve all lost our way.
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