Lake Maria State Park

Located about an hour outside of Minneapolis, this state park is one of the popular parks to see fall foliage. We went on one of the last summer-​like weekends in fall this year and although my hiking partner was great at spotting the scattered fall colors, I was a little less impressed by the foliage.
However, the hike itself was better than I expected! There were several beautiful lakes to relax next to, plenty of campsites, horse trails, fall leaves on the ground, and the trail was actually slightly hilly! It costs $ 5 to get a parking permit for the park but it’s a good sized place to explore, had we come a week earlier we probably would’ve seen the trees with more vibrant colors. But as is it’s worth a trip!
It’s also conveniently located in that on the way there or back to Minneapolis you cross Albertville Outlets if you’re in the mood to shop, and Minne Diner, known for their minneapple and minnepumpkin pies they sell at the State Fair every year. It seems like a GREAT place to camp, definitely going to consider doing that next time. Yet another great find in the wonderful state of MN.