Have you ever visited any of Minnesota’s abandoned places? Our state is home to an abandoned lighthouse, an abandoned tunnel, and more than a few abandoned towns – including the one we’d like to introduce today. This one is at a state park, and it’s easy to visit for those who are able follow a short trail through the park and hike to ruins in Minnesota. Once you’re there, you’ll discover an eerily abandoned place that might feel just a little bit creepy. Read on below to learn more about the abandoned village at Crow Wing State Park – and what we think is the creepiest hike in Minnesota.

Crow Wing State Park is a beautiful park in Crow Wing County Minnesota, in the north-central part of the state, alongside the Mississippi River.
Brett Whaley/Flickr
With a location about 120 miles northwest of the Twin Cities, or 50 miles north of St. Cloud, it's a great day or weekend trip destination for many Minnesotans.
The park covers over 3,100 acres and is full of wildlife.
Ron Hubert/Google
Around 14 miles of hiking trails lead throughout the park, where you'll pass through forests of oak and pine, prairies, and wetlands.
The trails also lead to the park's most famous attraction: the site of Old Crow Wing.
Tracie Berglund/Google Reviews
This site was initially a small village occupied by the Ojibwe natives of the region. European settlers moved into the area in the early 1800s and displaced the Ojibwe people.

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In time, Old Crow Wing grew into one of Minnesota's most populous towns with many structures, businesses, homes, and other buildings.
Kelly Schadeck/Google
A busy trading post, the town attracted residents to the territory.
Unfortunately, as was the case of many once-prosperous towns in Minnesota and throughout the Upper Midwest, the railroad bypassed Crow Wing, passing north of town, and diminished its importance as a trading center.
John Geyer/Google
Most people moved on, including the Ojibwe, who were forced to resettle on the White Earth Indian Reservation after a series of treaties enabled non-native settlers to acquire their traditional lands. By 1880, Old Crow Wing was abandoned.
When you visit Crow Wing State Park, you'll find little more than memories - and few of those.
Bjorn/Flickr
The buildings are mostly gone, except for the Clement Beaulieu house, which belonged to one of the town's early fur traders.
The stark presence of the abandoned Beulieu home on the prairie, set against the woods and surrounded by scant remnants of the town in which it once was located, is eerie. And its presence helps to make this particular trail in Crow Wing State Park the creepiest hike in Minnesota.
Bjorn/Flickr
Learn more about Crow Wing State Park and its abandoned ghost town in this YouTube video from Our New Front Porch:

Have you visited Crow Wing State Park and hiked to Old Crow Wing? Let us know in the comments if you think this is the creepiest hike in Minnesota. And if you’re interested in other forgotten places in Minnesota, check out our abandoned places road trip and our Minnesota ghost towns road trip. There are plenty of nearby cabin rentals if you want to make a weekend of your visit to Crow Wing State Park and the Brainerd Lakes Area.

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More to Explore

What are some other abandoned places in Minnesota?

Trent Jonas | September 10, 2023

Are there other abandoned places to explore in Minnesota?

Thanks largely to the boom-and-bust cycles of mining, as well as railroads and interstates bypassing towns, there is a surprisingly large number of abandoned towns and villages in Minnesota. And many are open for exploration.

I think one of the most fascinating is the abandoned town of Taconite Harbor along the North Shore of Lake Superior. It was abandoned and most of the structures removed during an iron ore mining bust in the 1980s. Given its location and history, I, personally, think it would make a fantastic new state park in Minnesota.

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Crow Wing State Park, 3124 State Park Rd, Brainerd, MN 56401, USA