Upper Sioux Agency State Park (Minnesota) 15-May-2023

Upper Sioux Agency State Park was our last stop on this iteration of our state park~Hiking Club quest. This park encompasses a delightful piece of land at the confluence of the Yellow Medicine and Minnesota Rivers and we couldn’t have arrived on a nicer day for a hike here. It’s a beautiful landscape, but one with a dark past.

An agency was established here in 1854 to administer the terms of the 1851 Treaty of Traverse Des Sioux between the U.S. government and the Upper Dakota Sioux, who had been moved to a reservation here from Iowa and elsewhere in Minnesota.

Failure of the government to faithfully honor this treaty (and others) lead (in part) to the U.S. – Dakota War of 1862, one of the darkest chapters in Minnesota’s history. Most of the agency buildings here were looted and burned during this war – a conflict we knew nothing about until our visit to Fort Ridgely State Park last year. 😢

This park was established in 1963 primarily to “…preserve and interpret the remains of the old Agency site.” This Spring, 2 bills to authorize the transfer of these state park lands to the Upper Sioux Community were heard by the Minnesota Legislature.

A transfer at some point in the future would acknowledge “a historic wrong inflicted upon the Dakota people.” Discussions are still ongoing between the interested parties – we sincerely hope they can all reach some kind of amicable agreement.

That said, we turned from the troubled history here to a good walk through the various habitats that fill this land. It was a clear, sunny, and warm day – and for some unknown (but not too closely examined) reason, one free of mosquitos (so far). 😊

It wasn’t until we reached the junction with the Mink Trail that we noticed a discrepancy. Not to go all hiking geek here, but our Hiking Club booklet (dated 2019), the 2021 park map we downloaded, and the posted signs (dated 2009) all had different routes and mileages for the HC route. Consternation ensued. 😵

We finally decided to hike the route as shown on the 2009 maps as the mileage for that route most closely matched the mileage given in the official booklet. We were aware that there was still some flooding out there but we figured we’d just go see how far we could get.

The Terrace Trail was a long green tunnel but it was alive with bird life. In a short time, we’d spotted Baltimore Oriels, Redstarts, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, Scarlet Tanagers, Yellow Warblers, Nuthatches, and more than a few Robins. It was The LovedOne’s best birding day this season! 🐦😊

The Terrace Trail took us to a junction with the Agency Trail where a Hiking Club sign said we should turn and follow that trail up past Employee Duplex #1 (the remaining historic building) to the parking lot. But we were committed to trying to follow the original HC route, so we pressed on.

Eventually, we reached the dirt road going to the backpack/watercraft campground on the Minnesota River. A short ways down that road we found it blocked by a huge fallen tree and partially covered with water. We’d gone as far as we could. So we turned and followed the dirt road back to the parking lot.

Our route came to 3.1 miles (5.5 km), shorter than what was listed in the HC booklet (4.3 mi/6.8 km) but longer than the route shown on the online map (about 2.5 mi/4.0 km). We’re guessing that the HC route got truncated at some point – likely to avoid flooding near the Minnesota River – but that all the different maps and guides haven’t yet caught up with this change.

And so, this 3 parks in a day part of our State Park Quest came to a close. We got to see the headwaters of the Minnesota and the biggest Cottonwood in Minnesota and hike under a huge blue sky at a place riven by history. And let’s not forget being attacked by a whole bunch of crazed mosquitos! 🦟🦟 A great day, nonetheless! 😁

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