mille lacs kathio state park

I really like this park. It has never been crowded when I have visited and it has a feel of being much further up north than it is. I always climb the tower for a great view of the lake. Would like to stay in one of the rustic cabins on one of my next visits and do a little fishing.

Plowed road. Cute cabins to rent. No snow this time to do any activities like cross country ski or snowmobile.

Some have written about the bugs......it's the outdoors people! Have spent several afternoons there. Plenty to do there.....climb the tower, camping, bike riding, swimming, fishing, pinicing, or hiking! And the plus is it's quiet! Love Kathio!

We backpacked here in June after a very wet spring. The mosquitoes were VERY bad! On the trail, there were at least 100 swarming and buzzing around our heads and bodies. Even though we used 100% DEET a few were still biting us. We used 3 cans of Deep Woods Off (25%DEET) and a small bottle of Muskol (100% DEET) in the two nights we were there. They weren't so bad once we got to the campsite because we kept a very smokey fire going the whole time we were at the site. The wood ticks were also very plentiful. We pulled at least 60 wood ticks off of our clothing each evening and I had at least 6 attached after just a few hours of hiking. We camped one night at the GR site. It is a very private and beautif site. I would call it the 2nd best backpack campsite in the park for privacy, shade, and scenery.The best site is BB. BB is on a small heritage lake that is beautiful. It is very private and serene. We watched loons swim by all day and heard their cries in the morning and evening. At BB the water comes right up to the campsite, Carry a canoe or kayak out there to launch right from your campsite. They can be rented at the other end of the park. The tent pads at all backpack sites are on a raised bed of sand bordered by treated timbers. Very nice because one's tent is always level and stakes go in the ground easily - also up off the ground when it rains and water drains into the sand instead of pooling around or running into your tent. Backpack site KT is up on a hill overlooking a pretty little beaver pond, a beautiful setting, but very visible from the trail. Site SM is more private than KT, but not as private as BB or GR. SM is the only site that is partially sunny. Going up the lookout tower is a must. I'm afraid of heights and am very slow up stairs, but it was worth the climb. After our extremely wet spring, the trail was very wet in a lot of places and we had to bushwhack around some parts where the water was too deep to walk through. Fall or after a long dry spell would be a much better time to visit this park for backpacking for less mosquitoes and dryer trails.

Don't let the title fool you this is an amazing state park! I had read up a little bit on this park before my wife and I came here. Apparently there is evidence that native americans have been using the area for as long as 9000 years ago. The park has countless informative plaques talking about the different peoples that have called that area home over the years. The lake was really nice and the trees and plants had just began to bloom. There was some spectacular spots of natural beauty through out the woods. When we got back to the car after our 4 mile hike I spotted a few ticks on my pants and shoes. After pulling them off I started seeing them on my wife, thus began the "woodtick horror". After what I thought was pulling all our ticks off I began driving down the road. To my horror the ticks began climbing up the inside of our car all over the dash. After pulling over I frantically stripped almost all of my clothes off and discovered at least 10 more ticks in various spots all over my body and my wife found some in her hair. Driving home we had to stop many more times to pull the ticks off, in all about 80 ticks between the two of us. Great park though.

Love the drive through here! So beautiful and peaceful, saw so much wildlife, deer ducks and a lot of other birds. Trees were turning color. I recommend this for a very peaceful drive.

The hiking trails are terrific! A quiet, off-the-beaten path little treasure. Definately worth the stop!

Climbed the Fire tower and rested on a lake. Great park, great park rangers. Awesome. Very peacefull.

I was so excited to go backpacking with my 9 and 12 year old, only to be disappointed by the amount of deer flies at this park. The staff was nice enough to warn us so we switched to a rustic campground. We started off by exploring the Interpretive Center, learning about the past history of this park and then moved on to the swimming beach. It was nice and warm out so it was very refreshing. We took part in the Geocaching, but the bugs were horrible on the trails. Our last day we fished at the dam and had fun catching frogs in the pond.Overall, a great park to visit. Next time we'll visit in the spring or fall when the bugs are not so bad so we can explore more of the park.

This park is just a short way from a huge Minnesota lake. Lake Mille Lacs is great for fishing. This park is off the beaten path and nice and quiet away from traffic noise.

Beautiful. Little cold at times. Relaxing and close to casino.