Minnesota’s prairie is known as the tallgrass prairie, which means that the dominant grasses grow very high, sometimes taller than a horse! It covered the southwest portion of the state. Only fragments of the prairie remain, some of it on restoration sites, some on abandoned patches of land that were never cultivated, and some on private land that people have decided to restore. Pay attention as you walk through your neighborhood, you may notice that someone’s front yard is actually a restored prairie!

Here are a few of the prairies in Minnesota that you can visit!

For information on the any of the places listed below, please contact DNR Information Center at (651) 296-6157 or (800) 776-6000 or visit the Minnesota DNR website.

Afton State Park
Located in Afton, east of St. Paul on the St. Croix River

Crow-Hassan Park
11629 Crow-Hassan Park Road
Rogers, MN 55374
(612)428-2765

Grey Cloud Dunes Scientific and Natural Area
Located in Cottage Grove with parking on 103rd St. & 110th St.

Lost Valley Prairie Scientific and Natural Area
Located SE of the Twin Cities, 3 miles south of Afton in Washington County off of County Road 78 and Nyberg Avenue

Roscoe Prairie Scientific and Natural Area
2 miles west of Roscoe on County Highway 16

Sand Prairie Wilderness Management Area
Located just off of Hwy 10 on the eastern edge of St. Cloud

Schaefer Prairie
Near Glencoe
(612) 331-0750