January: Winter shows off (we hope!)
Frontenac State Park Association newsletter
January 2025 (Vol. 3, No. 1)
Questions, comments, compliments, complaints, contributions? Newsletter editor Pamela Miller is at pamelamarianmiller@gmail.com.
January: Winter shows off (we hope!)
Happy New Year, friends! All things fresh and new, bright and hopeful, cold and snowy – that’s what we hope for from January 2025. Frontenac State Park in winter is the perfect place to find all of those things. As you open this email, Frontenac State Park Association members are greeting visitors at the park’s First Day Hike. Hope to see you there!
Winter in the park: A report from ranger Jake
January brings many opportunities for activities in the park – especially if it snows! (Have we mentioned snow enough in this newsletter? We love snow!) Park manager Jake Gaster lays them out for us here. (For reference, check out our winter trails map.)
Our hiking trails (purple-dash lines on the winter map) are open all winter, with two exceptions. The bluffside trails are closed because we don’t want you tumbling down their steep, snowy, icy slopes. Second, trails designated for cross-country skiing only (solid green lines on the map without an accompanying purple-dash line) are closed to hikers, because foot traffic can sabotage the snow pack and tracks laid for skiers. (This closure applies only when the trails are groomed for skiing; check with the park office if you’re unsure.)
Snowshoeing is a great alternative to hiking, though it requires a healthy snow base. Hiking rules apply to snowshoeing (for example, don’t snowshoe on groomed ski trails), but really, you don’t even have to worry about trails – you are welcome to snowshoe anywhere in the park. You can rent snowshoes from the park for $6, with multiple styles and sizes to choose from. Snowshoeing works different muscles from hiking, so be prepared for a workout if you’ve never done it before.
Cross-country skiing: We groom about 9 miles of trail for cross-country skiing, shown as green lines on the winter map. We groom three trails: the Bluff Loop, the Prairie Loop and Sand Point. The easiest are Sand Point and the Prairie Loop, while the Bluff Loop’s varying topography can challenge even seasoned skiers. The frequency with which we groom depends on snow conditions; we are at the mercy of the weather. Check the status of our ski trails by calling the park office (651-299-3000) or visiting https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snow_depth/index.html. (We do not have ski equipment for rental.)
Sledding (Jake’s favorite winter activity in the park!): We have one of the best sledding hills in Minnesota! It’s more than 100 feet high and ⅛ mile long. It’s located right off the park headquarters parking lot. People are welcome to borrow sleds from the woodshed there, and there’s a toasty warming shed off the parking lot. A picnic table and fire pit at the base of the hill can accommodate any non-sledders in your group.
Winter camping, anyone? Both electric sites and non-electric sites are available for reservation. We plow the road and the parking areas in each campsite. Winter is a fantastic time to get out and camp; the campground is never busy. All kinds of campers come through, from hard-sided travel trailers to hardy people who dig their gear into the snow. Reserving a spot is the same as during the rest of the year, except you are far more likely to be able to do same-day reservations so as to avoid the reservation fee. It really is magical to wake up at your campsite to fresh snow.
Other updates from Jake
Attendance: November brought high day use and near-record camping numbers.
During the park’s Nov. 23-24 deer hunt, 35 deer, mostly does, were taken in the park. Don’t worry — there are plenty of deer left; you’ll still see fawns aplenty in the spring.
We managed to get in only one fall burn. Overall for 2024, we burned 415 acres, not the best of burn seasons, the reason being a switch midway through both our spring and fall burn seasons from extremely dry to very wet with high relative humidities.
Staffing update: The park will have two positions to fill this spring: a parks and trails associate who will work both in the field and the office and a building and grounds worker focused on field work, especially maintenance at the Zumbro Bottoms and Hay Creek areas. We’ll provide more information about how to apply when we’re closer to posting these jobs.
The future: We are always working on future development plans, whether they be for one year from now or 10. Things we’re working on behind the scenes: New interpretive signage along the Sand Point Trail. A couple of new trails on the new property across Hill Avenue from park headquarters. Backpack campsites on the new park property southwest of Hill Avenue. A new trail connection between the Sand Point parking lot and the Prairie Loop. A new self-guided interpretive trail. And a new vault toilet by the park office. Stay tuned!
Upcoming FSPA events
From our calendar to yours
Wednesday, Jan. 1: First Day Hike. Welcome the new year with a walk in your favorite park. There will be an FSPA welcome table with cookies and hot chocolate at the main picnic shelter from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Stop by!
Saturday, Jan. 11, 10 a.m. to noon: Winter bird walk. Meet at the ranger station parking lot at 9:30 p.m. What birds can you see in January? We’ll take a short prairie loop to look for year-round residents such as Pileated Woodpeckers, identify some overwintering sparrows, including White-throated Sparrows and maybe even some Eastern Bluebirds, and perhaps see some early raptors such as an American Kestrel. Questions? Email janetmalotky@gmail.com.
Monday, Jan. 20 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day): Free park entry. Stop by the main picnic shelter between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.; a few FSPA members might be hanging out there telling tale tales and passing out snacks.
Thursday, Feb. 6, 3 to 4:30 p.m.: Quarterly FSPA meeting — note that this is a new date from previous plans — at the main picnic shelter.
Saturday, Feb. 8, 6 to 8 p.m.: Candlelight walk/ski/snowshoe: Come enjoy an evening in the park by candlelight. Walk, snowshoe or ski the trail along the blufftop, with beautiful views of the Mississippi River. Warm up at campfires at either end of the trail and enjoy some light refreshments provided by Frontenac State Park Association volunteers by the wood stove in the main picnic shelter.
Saturday, Feb. 22: Biochar/seed cleaning. What’s that, you ask? Learn more and sign up at https://www.givepulse.com/event/529518-2025.22.02-BiocharSeed-Cleaning-at-Frontenac-State-Park-Frontenac
Notes from the field: A wintery mix … of greens?
By Steve Dietz, Minnesota Master Naturalist volunteer
One of the joys of winter can be to gain a new perspective on regular stomping grounds. In mid-December, before it snowed, I walked along the marshes on both sides of Sand Point and followed what appeared to be a beaver path from its lodge to a stand of interior sandbar willows that had been recently harvested. I noticed an expansive trail of green among the marsh reeds. Low to the ground but not browning or dying back was a surprising winter sight, to me, of some lively greens.
Intrigued, I posted an image to iNaturalist, and its very good AI suggested the plant was in the genus Cardamine, “bittercresses and toothworts.” Later review by HI (human intelligence with area expertise in the field) identified it as likely Pennsylvania bittercress (C. pensylvanica): “Lots of leaflets, bright green, growing in seasonally inundated area, no cilia visible on the rachis wings.” Pennsylvania bittercress also has a terminal leaflet that is noticeably larger than the lateral leaflets (see right image) and grows in wet environments, like a marsh.
The genus Cardamine, in the Brassicaceae (mustard) family, are common cool-season weeds, and can persist and spread year round in shaded, moist environments — such as the Sand Point marsh in December, apparently. In a lawn or garden, Cardamine species are generally considered an aggressive nuisance (hence “weed”).
All parts of C. pensylvanica are edible. Young leaves can be eaten raw, while older leaves should be cooked; they have a peppery flavor. Seed pods are good raw, stir-fried, or pickled, before seeds mature and harden, and roots mixed with vinegar make a good horseradish substitute.
Postscript: I returned to the marsh a few days later to forage some fresh greens and, of course, there was much other greenery than I had initially grokked: mustard garlic, creeping Jenny, grass-leaved pond weed, bog yellow cress and the wonderfully evocative cursed Crowfoot, were just a few to be explored (but not necessarily tasted). Truly a wintery mix.
Bird note: Will the real Red-headed Woodpecker please stand up?
By Janet Malotky, Minnesota Master Naturalist volunteer
Winter is the season for spying woodpeckers in Frontenac State Park. While we lose our Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers to southerly migration, the rest — the Downys, Hairys, Pileateds, Flickers and Red-bellieds — all stick around. In addition to their prevalence in the park, all of these friends also come to bird feeders, so you can appreciate them from your kitchen window if you put out suet and/or shelled peanuts.
There’s another ratatatatting bird whose presence seems to be increasing in the park these past couple of years: the Red-headed Woodpecker. This elegant bird was common in Minnesota a hundred years ago, but habitat loss and decreasing food sources have caused a dramatic drop of 54% in population all over the country, including here. They are a species of concern for conservationists and all the rest of us who love them.
Thrillingly, over the past couple of years, we have been seeing these birds more frequently and in more locations in the park. There is evidence –- year-round sightings, and juveniles of all ages –- that they are probably even breeding here. So exciting!
Like many other birds, Red-headed Woodpeckers have specific habitat needs for breeding: open savannah dotted with snags (dead trees that are left standing) and low underbrush. They excavate a cavity in a tree for their nest or use one that already exists. Open forested areas that experience fire on a regular basis tend to satisfy these needs, and Frontenac State Park has such areas. We’ve seen Red-headed Woodpeckers along the beaver pond stretch of the Sand Point Trail, up on Rattlesnake Bluff, around the Villa Maria and on the Pine Loop Trail.
This year, since the Frontenac State Park Association put in the bird feeder station at the picnic shelter, we even see them regularly at the feeders there and around the parking lot. It’s possible the birds are benefitting from the emerald ash borer blight that is wreaking such havoc on our forests due to the increase in dead trees standing everywhere.
Red-headed Woodpeckers eat nuts and seeds, fruits and berries, insects, and sometimes other birds’ eggs and nestlings, and mice. Unlike other woodpeckers, they catch insects in mid-air and cache food for later use by cramming it into bark cracks and crevasses. It’s reported that they even “store” live grasshoppers this way. Terrifying for the grasshoppers, I’m sure.
Confounding identification of Red-headed Woodpeckers is the fact that all of our familiar woodpeckers have some red on their heads; at least the males do. Many folks picture Red-bellied Woodpeckers when they hear mention of Red-headeds, understandably, since the Red-bellied does not have a red belly and does have a lot of red on its head. Bird names can make you crazy. There is a dramatic difference, though, and the adult Red-headeds really live up to their name (although the juveniles have brown heads — sorry!).
Look for a dapper bird with a fully crimson head, decked out in a tuxedo. Hope you get to see one soon on a stroll through the park.
Observations from Bruce Ause: How record-setting fall warmth affects bird migration
Treasured friend of the park Bruce Ause has an intriguing new entry in his online blog — a story in words and photos about how record-setting warmth for most of this fall affected bird migration, especially that of American White Pelicans. It’s fascinating, and sometimes disturbing. Thank you, Bruce, for sharing your insights with our newsletter readers.
The coyote in winter
By Pamela Miller, Minnesota Master Naturalist volunteer
Unlike many animals that make their home in Frontenac State Park, coyotes (Canis latrans) don’t hibernate. With beautifully thickened winter coats, they stay warm even on the most frigid days.
If it seems like you see and hear coyotes more often in the winter, especially at dawn and dusk, that may be because they have to range farther and work harder to find food. And of course, you’re more likely to see them with foliage thinned, or to see evidence they were around from tracks in the snow.
Coyotes may be a bit more aggressive this time of year. That’s because January and February are their mating season. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, once bred, female coyotes dig dens in loose soil or take over those of other animals. Five to seven pups will be born in April.
This month, especially if you see coyotes in pairs, be cautious; if they approach, scare them away with loud hazing gestures. Our No. 1 goal with coyotes should be this: Don’t let them become accustomed to humans and our vehicles, pets and trash.
Coyotes are best appreciated from afar. Throughout the year, you will hear them singing in and near the park by night, often just after nearby trains emit their two-longs, one-short, one-long whistles. Something about those whistle frequencies triggers excitement and camaraderie in coyotes. Long may the song dogs roam, and sing. (Confession: Coyotes are your newsletter editor’s most respected wild animal, so expect to read about them often here!)
Poem of the month
We’ve been hoarding this poem for more than a year in hopes we’d have a month with a major, pounding snowstorm. January 2025 is not likely to begin with one. But … maybe in a couple of weeks? Let’s hope so! Meanwhile, enjoy the beautiful, powerful imagery in this classic poem. We recommend reading it aloud to yourself several times. It will make you happy, we promise.
“THE SNOW-STORM”
By Ralph Waldo Emerson (American; 1802-1883)
Announced by all the trumpets of the sky,
Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields,
Seems nowhere to alight: the whited air
Hides hills and woods, the river, and the heaven,
And veils the farm-house at the garden's end.
The sled and traveller stopped, the courier's feet
Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit
Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed
In a tumultuous privacy of storm.
Come see the north wind's masonry.
Out of an unseen quarry evermore
Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer
Curves his white bastions with projected roof
Round every windward stake, or tree, or door.
Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work
So fanciful, so savage, nought cares he
For number or proportion. Mockingly,
On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths;
A swan-like form invests the hidden thorn;
Fills up the farmer's lane from wall to wall,
Maugre the farmer's sighs; and, at the gate,
A tapering turret overtops the work.
And when his hours are numbered, and the world
Is all his own, retiring, as he were not,
Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art
To mimic in slow structures, stone by stone,
Built in an age, the mad wind's night-work,
The frolic architecture of the snow.
Interested in joining the FSPA?
If you’ve been a member in 2024, thank you! You allowed us to pursue our mission of supporting this treasured park with service days, new bird amenities, a new park sign, and many interpretive outings. Membership is on an annual basis. If you have not yet renewed, please do so. If you’d like to join us, we’d be honored to have your support. Dues are $25 per year for an individual, $35 for dual/family membership. Here’s a link with signup information.
A reminder that joining us occasionally to help with volunteer efforts is awesome too, even if you’re not a member. The FSPA’s goals are to support the park and share our love of Frontenac State Park with as many people as possible.
To sign up to regularly receive this free, spam-free monthly newsletter, click on “Subscribe” below. Feel free to send questions or comments to your newsletter editor at pamelamarianmiller@gmail.com. Questions about the FSPA? You can reach hard-working FSPA chair Steve Dietz at stevedietz@duck.com.
Handy links for more information and education
Frontenac State Park website
Frontenac State Park Association website
If you take pictures in the park, tag us on Instagram
Frontenac State Park bird checklist
Frontenac State Park on iNaturalist
Parks & Trails Council
Website for our township, Florence Township
Minnesota Master Naturalist program
Red Wing Environmental Learning Center
Lake City Environmental Learning Program on FB
Visit Lake City
Frontenac State Park staff
Jake Gaster, park manager; Amy Jay, assistant park manager; Amy Poss, lead field worker
Parting shots
Thank you, readers and park visitors!
This is Volume 3, No. 1 of the Frontenac State Park Association newsletter, which was launched in April 2023.
Here’s where to browse the full archives of this newsletter.