Sakatah Lake State Park

 

 

     
 
About
 
 

Ownership

 
 

Minnesota DNR logo

 
     
 

Links

 
 

Minnesota DNR

 
     
 

Overview

 
 

 

 
     
 

History

 
 

 

 
     
 

Management

 
 

 

 
     
 

Comments

 
 

 

 
     
 
Location
 
 

Maps

 
 

all season map

 
         
 

Printable Map(s) with GPS coordinates

 
         
         
 

Size

 
 

820 acres

 
         
 

Parking

 
 

50499 Sakatah Lake State Park Road
Waterville, MN 56096

N44 13.135, W93 31.917

 
         
 

Hours

 
 

Daily from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m.

 
         
 

Fees

 
 

Daily park permit: $7

Annual park permit: $35

 
         
 

Driving Directions

  Area and County  
 

Get driving directions from Google Maps to this destination from any address, and send those directions to your phone.

   
          Le Sueur and Rice Counties  
          Southwest and Southeast Minnesota  
     
 
Activities
 
 

Hiking Trails

 
 

5 miles
0.36 mile handicapped accessible trail

Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail, a 39-mile paved multiple-use trail, runs through the park.

 
     
 

Hunting

 
 

No hunting

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Ecological Classification

  Ecological Classification  
  Ecological Province    

Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province

   
  Ecological Section    

Minnesota & NE Iowa Morainal

   
  Ecological Subsection    

Big Woods
Oak Savanna

   
  Land Type Association    

Cordova Moraine

Iosco Moraine

   
             
 

Native Plant Communities*

   
 

Dry Hill Prairie (Southern)

Red Oak - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Bitternut Hickory) Forest

Southern Dry-Mesic Oak (Maple) Woodland

   
  * Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources      
         
 

Natural Features

     
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Park Entrance

 
    Sakatah Lake State Park      
           
 

Red Oak - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Bitternut Hickory) Forest

 
    Sakatah Lake State Park   Sakatah Lake State Park  
           
 

Sakatah Lake

 
    Sakatah Lake State Park      
           
 

Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail

 
    Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail   Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail  

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Hiking Club: Sakatah Lake State Park, April 2012
Carey
 
  Hiking Club: Sakatah Lake State Park, April 2012  
 
About

08 APR 2012; Park #4, 2.2 miles

 
  Sakatah St Pk
Restoration Evaluation
 
  Sakatah St Pk  
  Sakatah Lake State Park
Richard Sanders
 
  Sakatah Lake State Park  
 
About

Sakatah Lake State Park, MN

 
  Sakatah Lake State Park, Minnesota
campsitephotosdotcom
 
   
 
About

Published on Oct 29, 2013

Favorite Sites: 3, 15, 16, 19, 29, 36, 44, 52, 57

 
  Sakatah Lake State Park
Chris Kratzke
 
   
 
About

Published on Feb 13, 2014

I created this video with the YouTube Slideshow Creator

 

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

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Other Videos
 
  Hiking Through Sakatah Lake State Park in Minnesota - S1:E15
The Escape Shroom Perspective
 
   
 
About

Jan 26, 2021

Join us as we hike and explore Sakatah Lake State Park in Minnesota. It was a smaller park, but there was still plenty to do and see on a warm October day! We took a trail that led us through the campgrounds and stayed mainly close to the lake. Enjoy this video of our adventure at Sakatah Lake State Park!

Enjoy this video and thanks for watching! Don't forget to like this video and Subscribe to see more!

Follow us on social media for photos and more:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nawtmushroom/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nawt_mushroom/

Camera used for this video: Olympus Stylus 1
Edited with DaVinci Resolve

 
  Sakatah Lake State Park!
MN Prairie Gal
 
   
 
About

Oct 19, 2020

Join me for a hike through the historic Big Woods forest of southern Minnesota.

Like and follow for more nature adventures

 
  S2:E1 SAKATAH LAKE STATE PARK, Minnesota (04.27.2019) Old Dad Revival
Old Dad Revival
 
   
 
About

Sep 7, 2019

In April of 2019 we (Old Dad Revival) filmed our season two, episode one opener at Sakatah Lake State Park in Minnesota. It was early in the season and it snowed throughout Saturday, so we experienced a touch of winter camping. While there we took a bike tour of the Sakatah Singing Hills State Trail. We hope your find our Minnesota travel and travel vlog a useful guide for your family as well as entertaining.

 
  PERFECT Fall Colors while Hiking at Sakatah Lake State Park
Check It Out! with Tom Young
 
   
 
About

Premiered Mar 4, 2021

Being a video of a day hiking trip I made on a windy day in the middle of October during the peak fall color season at Sakatah Lake State Park in Minnesota. The yellow fall colors were incredible! This was a relaxing day and I'm sure you will find this a very relaxing video too. The authentic sounds of the wind blowing thru the trees and the crunching of footsteps on the fallen leaves will have you wishing you were there. And now thru the magic of YouTube you can be!

Please like, share, smash that subscribe button, and enjoy!

 
  Sakatah lake state park 1
John Kratzke
 
   
 
About

Published on Apr 28, 2012

This video was uploaded from an Android phone.

   
  Sakatah lake state park 2
John Kratzke
 
   
 
About

Published on Apr 28, 2012

This video was uploaded from an Android phone.

   

 

Camcorder

           
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

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Sarah Zeng

 
 

Plants

 
  showy orchis (Galearis spectabilis)      
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

Visits

10/29/2005

  4/20/2012            
 
 

Amphibians

 
 

boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata)

northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens)

spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

  northern leopard frog  
 

Birds

 
 

Thirteen bird species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here:

Endangered

Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)

Threatened

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)

Special Concern

Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens)

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii)

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea)

Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri)

Franklin’s Gull (Leucophaeus pipixcan)

Purple Martin (Progne subis)

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)

 
 

Minnesota DNR Bird Checklist

eBird Field Checklist – Le Sueur Co

eBird Field Checklist – The Narrows, Sakatah Lake / Lower Sakatah Lake

eBird Field Checklist – Rice Co.

 
 

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors)

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Hairy Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus villosus)

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Northern Pintail (Anas acuta)

Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)

 

American Robin

Black-capped Chickadee

Canada Goose

Double-crested Cormorant

Mallard

 
 

Fishes

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Fishes List

 
         
 

Fungi and Lichens

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Fungi List

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Lichens List

 
  Black Knot (Apiosporina morbosa)   Black Knot  
 

Insects and Arachnids

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Insects List

 
 

bald-faced hornet (Dolichovespula maculata)

eastern comma (Polygonia comma)

eastern tent caterpillar moth (Malacosoma americanum)

goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis)

mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)

plum finger gall mite (Eriophyes emarginatae)

red admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

 

eastern comma

eastern tent caterpillar

 
 

Mammals

 
 

American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)

fox squirrel (Sciurus niger)

whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

  whitetail deer  
 

Plants

 
 

Three plant species with conservation status in Minnesota are found here:

Threatened

largebract ticktrefoil (Desmodium cuspidatum var. longifolium)

Special Concern

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius)

late hawthorn (Crataegus calpodendron)

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and Minnesota Biological Survey Vegetation Releves Plant List

 
 

Plants frequently found in:

Dry Hill Prairie (Southern) UPs13d

Red Oak - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Bitternut Hickory) Forest MHs38c

Southern Dry-Mesic Oak (Maple) Woodland FDs37

     
 

 

American basswood (Tilia americana var. americana)

American elm (Ulmus americana)

American hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana var. virginiana)

Amur maple (Acer ginnala)

bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis)

black cherry (Prunus serotina var. serotina)

black walnut (Juglans nigra)

black-seeded plantain (Plantago rugelii var. rugelii)

bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides)

boxelder (Acer negundo var. negundo)

bristly greenbrier (Smilax tamnoides)

bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa)

Canada mayflower (Maianthemum canadense)

Canada moonseed (Menispermum canadense)

Canadian wild ginger (Asarum canadense)

Canadian woodnettle (Laportea canadensis)

catnip (Nepeta cataria)

chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. virginiana)

cleavers (Galium aparine)

common blue violet (Viola sororia)

common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)

common burdock (Arctium minus)

common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale)

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

common mullein (Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus)

common strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

cut-leaved toothwort (Cardamine concatenata)

downy yellow violet (Viola pubescens var. pubescens)

Dutchman’s breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)

eastern false rue anemone (Enemion biternatum)

eastern prickly gooseberry (Ribes cynosbati)

eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana)

fragrant bedstraw (Galium triflorum)

gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa)

great St. Johnswort (Hypericum ascyron ssp. pyramidatum)

green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica)

ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii)

kidney-leaved buttercup (Ranunculus abortivus)

large-flowered bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora)

late goldenrod (Solidago altissima)

Missouri gooseberry (Ribes missouriense)

nodding trillium (Trillium cernuum)

northern hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)

northern lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum)

northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis)

northern prickly ash (Zanthoxylum americanum)

northern red oak (Quercus rubra)

northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis)

ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica)

pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia)

plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera)

quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)

red baneberry (Actaea rubra ssp. rubra)

red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa var. racemosa)

red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea ssp. sericea)

scouring rush horsetail (Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine)

sharp-lobed hepatica (Anemone acutiloba)

silver maple (Acer saccharinum)

slippery elm (Ulmus rubra)

smooth Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum)

smooth sumac (Rhus glabra)

staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina)

starry false Solomon’s seal (Maianthemum stellatum)

sugar maple (Acer saccharum)

Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum)

western poison ivy (Toxicodendron rydbergii)

white oak (Quercus alba)

white rattlesnake root (Nabalus albus)

white trout lily (Erythronium albidum)

wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata ssp. laphamii)

wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)

wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)

wild grape (Vitis riparia)

wild leek (Allium tricoccum)

wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis)

woodbine (Parthenocissus vitacea)

woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca ssp. americana)

zigzag goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis)

 

Acer ginnala (Amur maple)

Acer negundo var. negundo (boxelder)

Acer saccharinum (silver maple)

Acer saccharum (sugar maple)

Actaea rubra ssp. rubra (red baneberry)

Allium tricoccum (wild leek)

Anemone acutiloba (sharp-lobed hepatica)

Aquilegia canadensis (wild columbine)

Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla)

Arctium minus (common burdock)

Arisaema triphyllum (jack-in-the-pulpit)

Asarum canadense (Canadian wild ginger)

Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum (northern lady fern)

Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)

Cardamine concatenata (cut-leaved toothwort)

Carya cordiformis (bitternut hickory)

Caulophyllum thalictroides (blue cohosh)

Celtis occidentalis (northern hackberry)

Cornus alternifolia (pagoda dogwood)

Cornus racemosa (gray dogwood)

Cornus sericea ssp. sericea (red osier dogwood)

Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s breeches)

Enemion biternatum (eastern false rue anemone)

Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine (scouring rush horsetail)

Erythronium albidum (white trout lily)

Fragaria vesca ssp. americana (woodland strawberry)

Fragaria virginiana (common strawberry)

Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash)

Galium aparine (cleavers)

Galium triflorum (fragrant bedstraw)

Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)

Glechoma hederacea (ground ivy)

Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum (Virginia waterleaf)

Hypericum ascyron ssp. pyramidatum (great St. Johnswort)

Juglans nigra (black walnut)

Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana (eastern redcedar)

Laportea canadensis (Canadian woodnettle)

Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)

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

Maianthemum stellatum (starry false Solomon’s seal)

Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica (ostrich fern)

Menispermum canadense (Canada moonseed)

Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot)

Nabalus albus (white rattlesnake root)

Nepeta cataria (catnip)

Ostrya virginiana var. virginiana (American hophornbeam)

Parthenocissus vitacea (woodbine)

Phlox divaricata ssp. laphamii (wild blue phlox)

Plantago rugelii var. rugelii (black-seeded plantain)

Polygonatum biflorum var. commutatum (smooth Solomon’s seal)

Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera (plains cottonwood)

Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)

Prunus serotina var. serotina (black cherry)

Prunus virginiana var. virginiana (chokecherry)

Quercus alba (white oak)

Quercus ellipsoidalis (northern pin oak)

Quercus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa (bur oak)

Quercus rubra (northern red oak)

Ranunculus abortivus (kidney-leaved buttercup)

Rhamnus cathartica (common buckthorn)

Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)

Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)

Ribes cynosbati (eastern prickly gooseberry)

Ribes missouriense (Missouri gooseberry)

Sambucus racemosa var. racemosa (red elderberry)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

Smilax tamnoides (bristly greenbrier)

Solidago altissima (late goldenrod)

Solidago flexicaulis (zigzag goldenrod)

Taraxacum officinale ssp. officinale (common dandelion)

Thuja occidentalis (northern white cedar)

Tilia americana var. americana (American basswood)

Toxicodendron rydbergii (western poison ivy)

Trillium cernuum (nodding trillium)

Ulmus americana (American elm)

Ulmus rubra (slippery elm)

Uvularia grandiflora (large-flowered bellwort)

Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus (common mullein)

Viola pubescens var. pubescens (downy yellow violet)

Viola sororia (common blue violet)

Vitis riparia (wild grape)

Zanthoxylum americanum (northern prickly ash)

 

American basswood

black cherry

bloodroot

bur oak

catnip

chokecherry

common blue violet

common false Solomon’s seal

eastern false rue anemone

gray dogwood

large-flowered bellwort

nodding trillium

northern pin oak

northern prickly ash

red baneberry

red elderberry

sharp-lobed hepatica

Virginia waterleaf

white rattlesnake root

wild geranium

Canadian wild ginger

woodland strawberry

 

 

 

 

Binoculars

 

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