Afton State Park, Hastings

Nicely maintained State Park with riverwalk, forest and meadow trails for both hikers and bikers. The park has a couple of nice lookouts over the river and nice camping and picnic areas. There is also a public beach area that we didn't explore because dogs weren't allowed. We did explore the river and some cool driftwood in another beach area. Somewhat crowded on a Sunday afternoon in July. Not a lot of bugs.

Afton State Park is a great place for a family's day trip. We only had a couple hours, but got to hike a few miles and also saw the St Croix River from the overlook which was a very pleasant thing to do. From the visitor center, the hiking trails toward south mostly don't have tall trees that provide shade. So it could be more challenging when it is hot. The trails toward north, however, have a lot of trees and are mostly covered by the shade of the trees, and therefore are easier for little kids.