The Blackduck State Forest is a state forest

State forest

A state forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign state.The precise application of the term varies by jurisdiction...

 bordered by the towns of Ely

Ely, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,724 people, 1,912 households, and 916 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,369.5 people per square mile . There were 1,912 housing units at an average density of 703.2 per square mile...

, Babbitt

Babbitt, Minnesota

Babbitt is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 1,475.County Highway 21 serves as a main arterial route in the community.-Geography:...

, and Tower

Tower, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there are 479 people in the city, organized into 233 households and 137 families. The population density is 176.8 people per square mile . There are 295 housing units at an average density of 108.9 per square mile...

 in Lake

Lake County, Minnesota

Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 10,866. Its county seat is Two Harbors. Lake County was founded on February 20, 1855, as Superior County, though its name was changed on March 3, of that year to St. Louis County. On March 1, 1856, St...

 and St. Louis

St. Louis County, Minnesota

St. Louis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 200,226. Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county by total area in Minnesota, and the second largest in the United States east of the Mississippi River; in land area alone, after Aroostook...

 counties in Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. It is adjacent to the Buena Vista State Forest

Buena Vista State Forest

The Buena Vista State Forest is a state forest located in Itasca and Beltrami counties, Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources manages , with the majority of the forest being managed by private companies and the United States Forest Service and other government agencies, as the...

 and the federally-managed Chippewa National Forest

Chippewa National Forest

Chippewa National Forest is a National Forest located in northcentral Minnesota, United States, in the counties of Itasca, Cass, and Beltrami. Forest headquarters are located in Cass Lake, Minnesota. There are local ranger district offices in Blackduck, Deer River, and Walker.-History and...

. It is managed

Forest management

200px|thumb|right|[[Sustainable development|Sustainable]] forest management carried out by [[Complejo Forestal y Maderero Panguipulli|Complejo Panguipulli]] has contributed to the preservation of the forested landscape around [[Neltume]], a sawmill town in Chile...

 primarily by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is the agency of the U.S. state of Minnesota charged with conserving and managing the state's natural resources. The agency maintains areas such as state parks, state forests, recreational trails, and recreation areas as well as managing minerals,...

 and the counties.

The landscape is hilly and mixed soil

Soil

Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...

s are a result of the area's glacial history

Glacial history of Minnesota

The glacial history of Minnesota is most defined since the onset of the last glacial period, which ended some 10,000 years ago. Within the last million years, most of the Midwestern United States and much of Canada were covered at one time or another with an ice sheet. This continental glacier had...

. Aspen

Aspen

Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...

 and northern hardwoods dominate the upland sites, and black spruce, tamarack, and northern white cedar

Thuja occidentalis

Thuja occidentalis is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is widely cultivated for use as an ornamental plant known as American Arbor Vitae. The endemic occurrence of this species is a northeastern distribution in North America...

 have been successfully introduced into the lowland sites.
Outdoor recreation

Outdoor recreation

Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity is leisure pursuits engaged in outside, especially in natural or semi-natural settings out of town...

 opportunities include cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

, snowmobiling  and hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

 trails. Hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

 and picnicking sites are located through the forest, and there is boating

Boating

Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...

access to the Chippewa Forest's waters.