Sakatah Lake State Park
Encyclopedia
Sakatah Lake State Park is an 842 acres (340.7 ha) state park
of Minnesota
, USA, on a natural widening of the Cannon River near the town of Waterville
. The Dakota
native to the area called it "Sakatah" which means "singing hills". To honor this native heritage, some of the trails in the park have been given Dakota names. The Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail
, which connects Faribault
and Mankato
, runs through this park.
deposited during the Wisconsin glaciation
, resulting in a rolling and uneven topography. Blocks of ice left behind as the glaciers melted formed the basin in which Sakatah Lake now lies.
The park preserves a mixed transitional habitat where the Big Woods
(maple
, basswood, elm
) of central Minnesota
blend into the oak
barrens of the southern part of the state. During drier eras patches of prairie
arose, although they are now succeeding back to hardwood forests. The landscape is further diversified by wetlands and agricultural fields.
traditionally inhabited this area, using the Cannon River as an important transportation route. Some of their burial mounds remain in the park. European settlement came in the late 1800s, and a rail line was laid between Faribault
and Waterville
in 1882, and extended to Mankato
by 1886. By chance the forest on the south shore of Sakatah Lake was never logged, and a 1962 inquiry into making it a state park received much local support. The site was included in a bill that passed the next year which authorized fourteen state parks. Development occurred over the next few years and Sakatah Lake State Park officially opened to the public in 1967. Although there was a rail line running through the park, it was only occasionally used, and in 1976 the owners abandoned it entirely and willingly sold it to the state, which converted it into the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail.
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
of 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...
, USA, on a natural widening of the Cannon River near the town of Waterville
Waterville, Minnesota
Waterville is a city in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2010 census. It is close to Sakatah Lake State Park on the Cannon River.-Geography:...
. The Dakota
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
native to the area called it "Sakatah" which means "singing hills". To honor this native heritage, some of the trails in the park have been given Dakota names. The Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail
Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail
Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail is a paved multi-use rail trail connecting Faribault and Mankato, Minnesota, USA.It is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which converted it from a railroad line. The name comes from the Dakota people who lived in the region; "Sakatah"...
, which connects Faribault
Faribault, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,818 people, 7,472 households, and 4,946 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,644.8 people per square mile . There were 7,668 housing units at an average density of 605.8 per square mile...
and Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
, runs through this park.
Natural history
The park sits on a thick moraineMoraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
deposited during the Wisconsin glaciation
Wisconsin glaciation
The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....
, resulting in a rolling and uneven topography. Blocks of ice left behind as the glaciers melted formed the basin in which Sakatah Lake now lies.
The park preserves a mixed transitional habitat where the Big Woods
Big Woods
Big Woods refers to a type of temperate hardwood forest ecoregion found in south-central Minnesota. "Big Woods" is a direct translation of the name given to the region by French explorers: Grand Bois.-Trees:...
(maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
, basswood, elm
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
) of central 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...
blend into the oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
barrens of the southern part of the state. During drier eras patches of prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
arose, although they are now succeeding back to hardwood forests. The landscape is further diversified by wetlands and agricultural fields.
Cultural history
The Wahpekute band of Dakota SiouxSioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
traditionally inhabited this area, using the Cannon River as an important transportation route. Some of their burial mounds remain in the park. European settlement came in the late 1800s, and a rail line was laid between Faribault
Faribault, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,818 people, 7,472 households, and 4,946 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,644.8 people per square mile . There were 7,668 housing units at an average density of 605.8 per square mile...
and Waterville
Waterville, Minnesota
Waterville is a city in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,868 at the 2010 census. It is close to Sakatah Lake State Park on the Cannon River.-Geography:...
in 1882, and extended to Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
by 1886. By chance the forest on the south shore of Sakatah Lake was never logged, and a 1962 inquiry into making it a state park received much local support. The site was included in a bill that passed the next year which authorized fourteen state parks. Development occurred over the next few years and Sakatah Lake State Park officially opened to the public in 1967. Although there was a rail line running through the park, it was only occasionally used, and in 1976 the owners abandoned it entirely and willingly sold it to the state, which converted it into the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail.
Recreation
- Boating: The park has a public boat ramp and four rental canoes.
- Camping:
- Shaded campground with 62 sites and one camper cabin.
- Two primitive group camps accessible by road at the east end of the park.
- Camping area for travelers on the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail.
- Fishing: There is a fishing pier near the picnic area.
- Trails: There is a total of 39 miles (62.8 km) of trails in the park, most of them well-shaded.
- Sakatah Singing Hills State TrailSakatah Singing Hills State TrailSakatah Singing Hills State Trail is a paved multi-use rail trail connecting Faribault and Mankato, Minnesota, USA.It is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, which converted it from a railroad line. The name comes from the Dakota people who lived in the region; "Sakatah"...
(hiking/biking/roller-blading/snowmobiling) - Oak Tree/Utahu Can Trail - Hidden Pond Trail - Sumac Trail (hiking/skiing): These three trails form a loop around the center of the park.
- Big Woods/Tanka Canwitc Loop (hiking/skiing): A 1km loop accessible from either of the trail systems listed above.
- Wahpekute Trail (hiking): The least developed trail in the park runs right along the lakeshore.
- Timber DoodleAmerican WoodcockThe American Woodcock , sometimes colloquially referred to as the Timberdoodle, is a small chunky shorebird species found primarily in the eastern half of North America...
Trail (hiking/skiing): A level loop through the more exposed scrub area in the eastern part of the park.
- Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail
- There is no designated swimming area in the park. The shore is quite muddy.