A late evening view of Kettle Lake from the high point of Glacial Lakes State Park.
A late evening view of Kettle Lake from the high point of Glacial Lakes State Park. These kettles and kames (rounded hills) were left by the edge of the receding glaciers about 11,000 years ago. The depressions (kettles) are formed when a big chunk of glacial ice breaks off is buried or has ground build up around it as it slowly melts. If you end up with a lake at the bottom of a kettle, it's a kettle lake. The rounded hills (kames) are collections of sediment that collected in rivers running across the melting glacier, leaving a cone-shaped hill when the glacier dissipated entirely. Nic McPhee from Morris, MN, USA · CC BY-SA 4.0

Glacial Lakes State Park

State Park · Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

Plan your visit

Trails & hiking

14.7 mi of maintained trail measured from the agency's own trail mapping

  • 0.4 biking
  • 14.7 hiking
  • 7.9 horseback riding
  • 1.8 winter use

Camping

50 mapped camping locations

Camping · Equestrian Camping · Group Camping · Primitive Camping · Rv Camping · Dump Station · Shower

Site types & reservations: see the official site.

Know before you go

Official site
www.dnr.state.mn.us
Managed by
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Established
1963

Getting there

Directions on Google Maps →

Things to do

Activities & features: Interpretive Signage · Nature Trail · Pets Allowed · Water Feature · Winter Recreation

Photos

Nearby parks

Parks of Minnesota

Lake Carlos State ParkHill-Annex Mine State ParkLac qui Parle State ParkAfton State ParkSt. Croix State ParkCuyuna Country State Recreation AreaLake Maria State ParkMoose Lake State ParkFort Snelling State ParkWilliam O'Brien State ParkBlue Mounds State ParkLake Louise State ParkFranz Jevne State ParkMcCarthy Beach State ParkJay Cooke State ParkWhitewater State ParkSakatah Lake State ParkRed River State Recreation AreaMinnesota Valley State Recreation AreaMille Lacs Kathio State ParkBeaver Creek Valley State ParkScenic State ParkBig Stone Lake State ParkVoyageurs National ParkWild River State ParkPipestone National MonumentSchoolcraft State ParkGreat River Bluffs State ParkRice Lake State ParkMinneopa State ParkBig Bog State Recreation AreaCrow Wing State ParkHayes Lake State ParkZippel Bay State ParkBuffalo River State ParkKodonce River State WaysideGlendalough State ParkSplit Rock Lighthouse State ParkLake Bronson State ParkKilen Woods State ParkJudge C. R. Magney State ParkFort Ridgely State ParkTemperance River State ParkLake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State ParkGreenleaf Lake State Recreation AreaLa Salle Lake State Recreation AreaMyre-Big Island State ParkCamden State ParkLake Bemidji State ParkItasca State ParkCascade River State ParkRay Berglund State WaysideFlandrau State ParkFrontenac State ParkForestville Mystery Cave State ParkMaplewood State ParkSibley State ParkSplit Rock Creek State ParkBanning State ParkJohn A. Latsch State ParkGrand Portage State ParkCaribou Falls State WaysideGeorge H. Crosby Manitou State ParkSavanna Portage State ParkBear Head Lake State ParkInspiration Peak State WaysideMonson Lake State ParkTettegouche State ParkFather Hennepin State ParkGooseberry Falls State ParkNerstrand Big Woods State ParkInterstate State ParkGrand Portage National MonumentLake Shetek State ParkOld Mill State ParkCharles A. Lindbergh State ParkCarley State ParkMississippi National River & Recreation Area

79 parks mapped in Minnesota

You're looking at Glacial Lakes State Park — the gold marker.

Every dot is a park. Tap one to jump to it.

Browse all Minnesota parks →

Guides for the trip

All guides →

Sources: Wikimedia Commons / editorial, State agency, USGS PAD-US · updated 2026-09-12