State Forests offer quiet low cost recreation for all

With the rising popularity of State Parks they have become crowded. They feel quite expensive for camping which can put them of reach for some Minnesotans. We have so much public use land that many Minnesotans don't even know exists besides state parks - that doesn't require reservations or cost a lot of money.

Our state forests are often overlooked, many of which have great well-maintained trail systems and primitive camp grounds at affordable prices. I have thoroughly enjoyed several State Forests and camped in both dispersed and campground settings. Dispersed can be great, but finding flat locations can be a challenge.

A great improvement would be to have more information about each of these sites online. Geo PDFs, up-to-date maps (some maps show roads or trails which returned to nature decades ago), and updates about current conditions as well as how popular a given destination tends to be.