Hiking The Pothole Trail In Interstate State Park

For the past couple of weeks I have been sharing photos and stories of our families staycation to Osceola Wisconsin.  In my first post, we played in Cascade Falls and then in my second post we took a scenic train ride.  Today, I'm going to show some fun we had the next day in a nearby park called Interstate State Park.

Interstate State Park are two separate state parks on the Wisconsin/Minnesota Border;  that is why it has such a strange name.  The St. Croix River separates the two parks.  On the Minnesota side is a short fun trail I thought the grandchildren would enjoy.  It is most known for its unique potholes, but it also has gorgeous views of the St. Croix river canyon.

The park was just a short drive from our hotel in Osceola.  The grandchildren had some fun waiting with grandpa by the car as their mom and dad were busy checking out.

The park entrance for the Minnesota side is located in Taylor's Falls.  They have the cutest riverwalk on the way to the park of which you will see more of at the end of this post.

Leave it to young Atticus to find a stick right away!

The views on this trail are beautiful.  

There were lots of steps to climb, so mom had to carry baby Lazarus in a sling.

The Pothole Trail is perfect for little kids for it's a short little hike but has so many twists and turns, ups and downs, and a Little Rock climbing that kids just love.

There are over eighty potholes on the Minnesota side of the state.  It is the largest concentration of glacial potholes in the world!  They all differ in size.  Some are only a few feet wide and deep and others can be as large as ten feet wide and sixty feet deep.

Pictured below is an example of a glacial pothole.  Potholes are formed when sand or gravel are caught in whirlpools and swirled with such force that they would drill a hole straight down into the rock.  Larger rocks caught in the hole would polish the rock smooth.  

In addition to the fascinating potholes on this trail, there are also lots of great rock formations.  The grandkids found this large rock wall so interesting and each kid had to have their own photo taken in front of it.

There was a narrow crack in the wall that the kiddos could crawl through one side and exit out the other.  They thought that was pretty cool.

There is a sight-seeing cruise you can take down the St. Croix river.  We have never done it, but it is on our bucket list!

We saw some canoeists floating down the river.

The park had a selfie station set up on one of the viewing decks.  I always appreciate it when parks do this because it's always so hard to get a photo of the entire family.

I didn't bring my walking sticks so some parts of the trail I left up to the more agile ones to explore while I waited on top.

Baby Lazarus had enough of the sling by now and wanted to get out and walk himself.

After hiking the Pothole Trail, we headed back do the riverwalk back to our vehicles.  The kids found these lounge chairs fun.

They had a couple of fun photo cutout boards in this spot.  The grandkids always love them!

The riverwalk goes under the busy bridge/highway.  The grandkids had fun climbing under the bridge.

We saw a cute little covered bridge and decided to see where it went.  To our surprise, it took us up into town and right back to our vehicle!  That was so funny.  It looks like it would be going on a hidden trail into the woods, but it just leads to a lot of stairs going back into town.

But there is a gorgeous view of the St. Croix river from the bridge area, so it was all worth it!

And that is all of our staycation to Osceola.  Next week I will wrap things up with some other things we did the week our kids were visiting and then I'll begin my Door County post.

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

See These Posts for More Things To Do in the Osceola Area:

Fun in Osceola Wisconsin

A Scenic Train Ride on the Osceola Railway

A Candlelight Walk in Interstate Park & Other Valentine's Weekend Highlights 

Exploring the Forest, Gorge, and Glacial Potholes of Interstate Park

A Scenic Train Ride on the Osceola Railway!

In last week's travel post, I wrote about how my daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren and us went to Osceola Wisconsin for a fun time.  After enjoying a picnic lunch and swimming at Cascade Falls, it was time to do what we came to Osceola for:  go on a REAL TRAIN RIDE!

My grandsons are crazy about trains and have taken kiddie train rides, but they have never been on a real train before, so I knew they'd be pretty excited about this adventure!

The Osceola Railway has a historic train station.  Here is part of the group waiting for me as I stand in line to get our boarding passes.  Do they look excited or what?

There are several different train rides you can take:  a pizza train, a dessert ice cream train, a fall colors train, and even a beer and wine train!  We decided on the Marine Excursion because we just enjoyed a picnic lunch at the local park.

The kids were so excited to each get their own boarding pass!

You can sit in just about any car you want.  There are many different styles and time periods of the cars, as you will see later.  We chose an air-conditioned one, which was only air conditioned in the very beginning.  It got VERY HOT.  Thankfully, you are allowed to get up and walk around and even go outside and stand on the caboose so you can get some air.

There are all different styles of seats.  We picked seats that faced each other and that could recline.

Once everyone is seated, a knowledgeable host shares stories of the trains, the railroad, and its history.  He also lets you know all the rules of what you can and cannot do on the train. 

The train has many different cars from different time periods.  

It's fun to walk around the grounds either before or after your train ride to check out all the other old trains.  There is also a small museum inside the station, but unfortunately with four little kids we didn't have time to look at it. 

You can sit on either side of the train for both sides have great views of the St.Croix River, and one side gives you awesome views of the rock cliffs.

The baby seemed to handle the train ride very well.

The views of the St. Croix Valley were beautiful!

The view from the caboose.  It was so refreshing to stand in the back of train and feel the wind.

The train ride is 90 minutes long.  Halfway through they have to move the train engine to the other side to take you back.  During this time they serve delicious brownies!

Shortly after the train started, we decided to check out the other cars.  The kids had so much fun walking between the cars;  it was just like in the movies!  Even though I have ridden in modern trains, I never had to walk between cars where they joined together on the outside, so it was pretty exciting for me too.

The dining cars were all empty because we were on the Marine Excursion which didn't include dining.  They do have a snack stand car where you can purchase drinks and food.

This car is the pizza train.  The pizza actually looked pretty good too!

Look at these old train seats!  I think we chose the most comfy seats on the train.

Once you reach the engine, there is a host there who explains how the train was used to get and deliver the mail.  There are old photos, antiques, all showing how the mail was gathered and sorted. 

Here is the host, ready and waiting to answer any questions about the train.

It was fascinating hearing about how the mail clerks caught the pouches hanging along the track.  

Here's what they used to catch the mail pouch.  It seems like it would be such a hard thing to do;  I wonder if they ever missed?

While the train was still moving, the mail would be sorted and put in new pouches to be tossed out.  I can't even imagine sorting mail on a train, it was hard enough to just stand up!  But I suppose after a while one gets use to balancing on a moving train.

The kids really enjoyed being able to walk around and look out open cars.  

If you missed any gorgeous views on the outgoing trip, you have a second chance to see them on the way back to the station!

We really enjoyed the train ride.  I'd love to go in the fall sometime too, maybe the train wouldn't be so hot.

For more information on the train ride visit the Osceola and St. Croix Valley Website.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

See These Posts for More Things To Do in the Osceola Area:

Fun in Osceola Wisconsin

A Candlelight Walk in Interstate Park & Other Valentine's Weekend Highlights 

Exploring the Forest, Gorge, and Glacial Potholes of Interstate Park