Afton State Park

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Area and County

Washington County

 

 

 


Size

1,695 acres

 
 
Maps

Minnesota DNR Summer Map

 
Park Office

N44 50.801, W92 47.482

 
Hiking Trails

20 miles
¾ mile interpretive
0.6 mile handicapped accessible

 
Hunting

No hunting


Ecological Classification

Province

Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province

Ecological Classification

Section

Minnesota & NE Iowa Morainal

Subsection(s)

St. Paul-Baldwin Plains

Land Type Association(s)

Afton Bedrock Hills

Stillwater Alluvial Plain

 
Native Plant Communities1

Dry Bedrock Bluff Prairie (Southern)

Dry Sand - Gravel Prairie (Southern)

Oak - (Red Maple) Woodland

Red Oak - White Oak - (Sugar Maple) Forest

Silver Maple - (Virginia Creeper) Floodplain Forest


Ownership

 
Links

Minnesota DNR


Comments

 


Images  
  Afton State Park   Afton State Park   Afton State Park    
   

Visitor Observations

   

Click on a visitor name below (if any) to view that visitor’s observations.

Click on the button to share your own observations.


 

 

MinnesotaSeasons.com Observations

   

Birds

Minnesota DNR Bird Checklist

 
 

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)

Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)

American Goldfinch

 

 

 

 

Mourning Dove

 

 

 

 

Northern Cardinal

 

 

 

 

Wild Turkey

 


Insects and Arachnids

Leaf beetles have been released here by the DNR in an effort to control the spread of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria).

 
 

Carolina grasshopper (Dissosteira carolina)

differential grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis)

monarch (Danaus plexippus)

differential grasshopper

Mammals

Both eastern gray squirrel and eastern fox squirrel can be found in this park.

 
 

American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)

coyote (Canis latrans thamnos)

eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus)

eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis)

thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus)

whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

eastern chipmunk

 

 

 

 

whitetail deer


Plants

University of Minnesota Herbarium Plant List


Plants frequently found in:

Dry Bedrock Bluff Prairie (Southern) UPs13c

Dry Sand - Gravel Prairie (Southern) UPs13b

Oak - (Red Maple) Woodland FDs37a

Red Oak - White Oak - (Sugar Maple) Forest MHs37b

Silver Maple - (Virginia Creeper) Floodplain Forest FFs68a

 
 

Allegheny blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis)

alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum)

American basswood (Tilia americana)

American bugleweed (Lycopus americanus)

American highbush cranberry (Viburnum opulus var. americanum)

American hog peanut (Amphicarpaea bracteata)

annual fleabane (Erigeron annuus)

asparagus (asparagus officinalis)

Balkan catchfly (Silene csereii)

big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)

bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata)

bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus var. corniculatus)

bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis)

bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara)

black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)

black-seeded plantain (Plantago rugelii var. rugelii)

black cherry (Prunus serotina var. serotina)

black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)

black maple (Acer saccharum ssp. nigrum)

black medick (Medicago lupulina)

black walnut (Juglans nigra)

blue giant hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)

blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis)

blue spruce (Picea pungens)

blue vervain (Verbena hastata)

bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii)

bouncing bet (Saponaria officinalis)

boxelder (Acer negundo)

bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare)

bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa)

butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa ssp. interior)

butternut (Juglans cinerea)

Canada anemone (Anemone canadensis)

Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

Canada lettuce (Lactuca canadensis)

Canada moonseed (Menispermum canadense)

Canada wildrye (Elymus canadensis)

Canadian horseweed (Conyza canadensis)

Canadian woodnettle (Laportea canadensis)

candle anemone (Anemone cylindrica)

common boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum var. perfoliatum)

common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)

common burdock (Arctium minus)

common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale)

common false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum racemosum var. racemosum)

common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

common motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)

common mullein (Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus)

common oat (Avena sativa)

common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia)

common St. Johnswort (Hypericum perforatum)

common sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale)

common strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

common yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

compass plant (Silphium laciniatum)

crown vetch (Securigera varia)

Culver’s root (Veronicastrum virginicum)

Deptford pink (Dianthus armeria)

early horse-gentian (Triosteum aurantiacum var. aurantiacum)

early meadow rue (Thalictrum dioicum)

eastern bottlebrush grass (Elymus hystrix)

eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana)

eastern white pine (Pinus strobus)

elm-leaved goldenrod (Solidago ulmifolia var. ulmifolia)

false indigo (Amorpha fruticosa)

false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides var. occidentalis)

field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)

field horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

Flodman’s thistle (Cirsium flodmanii)

garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)

golden alexanders (Zizia aurea)

gray-headed coneflower (Ratibida pinnata)

gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa)

gray goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis)

grayleaf red raspberry (Rubus idaeus ssp. strigosus)

greater fringed gentian (Gentianopsis crinita)

Grecian foxglove (Digitalis lanata)

green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

hairy hedge nettle (Stachys pilosa var. pilosa)

heal-all (Prunella vulgaris)

hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium)

hoary alyssum (Berteroa incana)

Illinois tick-trefoil (Desmodium illinoense)

Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans)

ironwood (Ostrya virginiana var. virginiana)

large-flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora)

leadplant (Amorpha canescens)

little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium)

lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium)

Michigan lily (Lilium superbum)

mouse-ear chickweed (Cerastium fontanum ssp. vulgare)

New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)

northern bedstraw (Galium boreale)

northern hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)

northern maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum)

northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis)

northern red oak (Quercus rubra)

Norway spruce (Picea abies)

orange hawkweed (Pilosella aurantiaca)

ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica)

paleleaf woodland sunflower (Helianthus strumosus)

paper birch (Betula papyrifera var. papyrifera)

pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea)

Pennsylvania smartweed (Polygonum pensylvanicum)

plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera)

pointed-leaved tick-trefoil (Desmodium glutinosum)

poke milkweed (Asclepias exaltata)

prairie crabapple (Malus ioensis)

prairie ironweed (Vernonia fasciculata ssp. fasciculata)

prairie onion (Allium stellatum)

prairie rose (Rosa arkansana)

purple locoweed (Oxytropis lambertii var. lambertii)

purple lovegrass (Eragrostis spectabilis)

purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea var. purpurea)

quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)

Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota ssp. carota)

rabbit’s foot clover (Trifolium arvense)

rabbit-tobacco (Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium ssp. obtusifolium)

red clover (Trifolium pratense)

red maple (Acer rubrum var. rubrum)

red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea ssp. sericea)

red pine (Pinus resinosa)

rough bedstraw (Galium asprellum)

rough cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium)

round-headed bush clover (Lespedeza capitata)

round-leaved dogwood (Cornus rugosa)

Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris)

scouring rush horsetail (Equisetum hyemale var. affine)

sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis)

showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa)

showy partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata var. fasciculata)

silky dogwood (Cornus obliqua)

silver maple (Acer saccharinum)

slippery elm (Ulmus rubra)

smooth hedge nettle (Stachys tenuifolia)

smooth sumac (Rhus glabra)

spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe ssp. micranthos)

spotted lady’s thumb (Persicaria maculosa)

staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina)

stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida)

sugar maple (Acer saccharum ssp. saccharum)

tall thimbleweed (Anemone virginiana)

upright carrionflower (Smilax ecirrhata)

Virginia mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)

western bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum)

western poison ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii)

white ash (Fraxinus americana)

white clover (Trifolium repens)

white heath aster (Symphyotrichum ericoides)

white oak (Quercus alba)

white prairie clover (Dalea candida)

white snakeroot (Ageratina altissima var. altissima)

white spruce (Picea glauca)

white sweet clover (Melilotus albus)

white wild indigo (Baptisia lactea var. lactea)

whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)

wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

wild ginger (Asarum canadense)

wild grape (Vitis riparia)

woodbine (Parthenocissus vitacea)

woodland lettuce (Lactuca floridana var. floridana)

yellow foxtail (Setaria pumila ssp. pumila)

yellow goat’s beard (Tragopogon dubius)

yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis)

zigzag goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis)

alsike clover

 

 

 

 

American highbush cranberry

 

 

 

 

asparagus

 

 

 

 

black cherry

 

 

 

 

black-eyed susan

 

 

 

 

blue grama

 

 

 

 

bottle gentian

 

 

 

 

bur oak (var. macrocarpa)

 

 

 

 

butterfly weed

 

 

 

 

Canada goldenrod

 

 

 

 

Canada wildrye

 

 

 

 

common boneset

 

 

 

 

common mullein

 

 

 

 

common St. Johnswort

 

 

 

 

compass plant

 

 

 

 

Culver’s root

 

 

 

 

false sunflower

 

 

 

 

garlic mustard

 

 

 

 

gray dogwood

 

 

 

 

gray-headed coneflower

 

 

 

 

greater fringed gentian

 

 

 

 

hoary alyssum

 

 

 

 

leadplant

 

 

 

 

Michigan lily

 

 

 

 

northern bedstraw

 

 

 

 

orange hawkweed

 

 

 

 

paleleaf woodland sunflower

 

 

 

 

prairie ironweed

 

 

 

 

prairie onion

 

 

 

 

Queen Anne’s lace

 

 

 

 

rabbit’s foot clover

 

 

 

 

 

 

rabbit-tobacco

 

 

 

 

round-headed bush clover

 

 

 

 

showy partridge pea

 

 

 

 

spotted knapweed

 

 

 

 

smooth sumac

 

 

 

 

stiff goldenrod

 

 

 

 

Virginia mountain mint

 

 

 

 

white prairie clover

 

 

 

 

whorled milkweed

 

 

 

 

wild bergamot

 

 

 

 

yellow goat’s beard

 

 

 

 

zigzag goldenrod


Visits

8/14/2004

4/28/2009

9/30/2009

   

 

Driving Directions

 

 

 

with Google Maps

Last Updated:

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