Savanna Portage State Park

Pros: Really beautiful trails with great scenery, lots of trails to choose from.
Cons: Some trails unkept and isolated. Can be pro, can be con.

I chose to go to Savanna Portage State Park because there are several miles of hiking trails and had backpacking sites available on Labor Day weekend. Despite that it was Labor Day and the park seemed to be full, we met few people on the trail and...

Pros: You will see what few venture to see.
Cons: The last leg of the trail is not well maintained.

The Savanna Portage Trail is listed as a favorite experience of visitors to Savanna Portage State Park. I hiked the length of it, and the trail itself is worthy of its own review. If you are curious about other features of the state park, I plan to...

Pros: Historic and biological interest.
Cons: Terrible mosquito problem in June visit.

Savanna Portage is a large Minnesota State Park, but hardly anyone I talk to has ever heard of it. This is probably because it is 14 miles down a dead end (but good) highway, which in turn isn't very near anything. It is not that far west from Duluth, ...

Pros: beautiful beach, clean, quiet, lots of hiking
Cons: bugs

We visited on a Sunday through Wednesday and it was really quiet. The beach on Loon Lake is beautiful. Nice pine trees, pristine lake, small sandy shore. Canoeing on the quiet lakes was beautiful too. The bathrooms were cleaner than my own at home! Great hiking although the bugs were a bit irritating. The staff was very helpful and friendly. We had fun, but recommend bringing good bug spray.