Mississippi National River & Recreation Area
In the middle of a bustling urban setting, this 72 mile river park offers quiet stretches for fishing, boating and canoeing, birdwatching, bicycling, and hiking. And there are plenty of visitor centers and trails that highlight the fascinating human history of the Mississippi River. This a great place to start your exploration of this important river.
About under an hour from Minneapolis by car.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Our partnership park encompasses federal, state, regional, and local public lands. While we do not charge admission fees, some partner parks, museums, and historical sites within our park boundaries do (including parking). Please contact those parks and facilities for more information. We issue the Military, 4th Grade, and Access Passes at the Mississippi River Visitor Center.
Hours
| Mississippi National River and Recreation Area | Daily · All Day |
| Coldwater Spring (NPS) | Daily · 6:00AM - 10:00PM |
When to go
July draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Mississippi River Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
Located in downtown St. Paul, in the lobby of the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Mississippi River Visitor Center serves as a gateway to adventure along the mighty Mississippi. Find interactive exhibits and get advice from park rangers as to things to do and places to go. Admission is free.
Explore
Things to do
- Visit the Mississippi River Visitor Center5-60 Minutes
The Mississippi River Visitor Center provides fun activities for people of all ages as well as highlighting the fascinating human history of the Mississippi River. This a great place to start your exploration of this important river!
Opens on the Park Service site - Earn a Junior Ranger Badge10-15 Minutes
Becoming a Junior Ranger means learning more about the history, resources, and communities within the 72 mile stretch of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.
Opens on the Park Service site - Enjoy a Coffee with a Ranger!
Start every Friday right with Coffee With a Ranger! Each week brings a different subject, and park ranger, exploring the wonderful world of birds, beers, mushrooms, geology and more within the park!
Opens on the Park Service site - Go on a Day Hike at Coldwater Spring
Enjoy a nice day hike and many opportunities for wildlife viewing, photography, and reflection at Coldwater Spring! Trails surround a restored prairie oak savannah and wetlands in this culturally and historically significant gem that is open…
Opens on the Park Service site - Kayak in the park with Paddle Share
Paddle the park with Paddle Share, self-serve kayak sharing system in the Twin Cities metro area that lets you rent a boat and paddle to a destination downriver!
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Events
- Discovery Table10/1411:00 AM · runs through Oct 30 · freeMississippi River Visitor Center, 120 W Kellogg Blvd, St Paul, MN 55102
- Paddle with a Ranger: Fall Foliage10/1611:00 AM · free · registration requiredStart: Bohemian Flats Park, 2150 West River Parkway Minneapolis, MN 55454 / End: Minneapolis Rowing Club, 2965 W River Pkwy…
- Hike with a Paleontologist: Fall Fossils10/1710:00 AM · free · registration requiredShadow Falls Park, 30 N Mississippi River Blvd, St Paul, MN 55104
- Minnesota Bat Festival10/3110:00 AM · freeMinnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, 3815 American Blvd. E., Bloomington, MN 55425
- Reading with a Ranger at Great River Road Visitor & Learning Center11/1410:30 AM · freeGreat River Road Visitor and Learning Center, 200 Monroe St, Prescott, WI 54021
- Reading with a Ranger at St. Paul Public Library11/2811:00 AM · freeSaint Paul Public Library - George Latimer Central Library, 90 W 4th St, St Paul, MN 55102
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Historic landmarks nearby
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Minnesota guidebooks
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthBald Eagle 17× · Coyote 7× · Trumpeter Swan 6× · Barred Owl 6× · Great Horned Owl 5× · Belted Kingfisher 4× · American White Pelican 4× · Osprey 4×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 261 birds, 51 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barred Owl · Broad-winged Hawk · Cooper's Hawk · Golden Eagle · Great Gray Owl · Great Horned Owl · Hen Harrier · Long-eared Owl · Merlin · Northern Saw-whet Owl · Osprey · Peregrine Falcon · Red-shouldered Hawk · Red-tailed Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Short-eared Owl · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey Vulture · eastern screech-owl · snowy owl
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Bittern · American Black Duck · American Coot · American White Pelican · American Wigeon · Barrow's Goldeneye · Black-crowned Night Heron · Black-necked Grebe · Blue Goose · Blue-winged Teal · Bufflehead · Canada Goose · Cinnamon Teal · Clark's grebe · Common Goldeneye · Common Loon · Common Merganser · Common Teal · Double-crested Cormorant · Great Blue Heron · Great Egret · Great egret · Greater Scaup · Greater White-fronted Goose · Hooded Merganser · Horned Grebe · King Rail · Lesser Scaup · Long-tailed Duck · Mute Swan · Northern Pintail · Red-breasted Merganser · Red-necked Grebe · Ring-necked Duck · Ruddy Duck · Sandhill Crane · Trumpeter Swan · Tundra Swan · Virginia Rail · Wood Duck · Yellow Rail · green heron · pied-billed grebe · western grebe · yellow-crowned night heron
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Avocet · American Golden Plover · American Woodcock · Baird's Sandpiper · Black Tern · Black-bellied Plover · Bonaparte's Gull · Caspian Tern · Common Tern · Dunlin · European Herring Gull · Forster's Tern · Franklin's Gull · Glaucous Gull · Great Black-backed Gull · Greater Yellowlegs · Hudsonian Godwit · Iceland Gull · Killdeer · Least Sandpiper · Lesser Black-backed Gull · Lesser Yellowlegs · Long-billed Dowitcher · Marbled Godwit · Pectoral Sandpiper · Piping Plover · Ring-billed Gull · Ruddy Turnstone · Sanderling · Semipalmated Plover · Semipalmated Sandpiper · Short-billed Dowitcher · Solitary Sandpiper · Spotted Sandpiper · Stilt Sandpiper · Thayer's Gull · Upland Sandpiper · White-rumped Sandpiper · Willet · Wilson's Phalarope · Wilson's snipe
Gamebirds & dovesCommon Pheasant · Mourning Dove · Ruffed Grouse · Wild Turkey · rock pigeon
WoodpeckersDowny Woodpecker · Hairy Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Pileated Woodpecker · Red-bellied Woodpecker · Red-headed Woodpecker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsChimney Swift · Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Also on the checklistAcadian Flycatcher · Alder Flycatcher · American Crow · American Goldfinch · American Redstart · American Robin · American Tree Sparrow · American pipit · Arctic Redpoll · Baltimore oriole · Barn Swallow · Bell's Vireo · Belted Kingfisher · Bewick's Wren · Black Scoter · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-billed Cuckoo · Blue Jay · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Blue-headed Vireo · Bobolink · Bohemian Waxwing · Boreal Chickadee · Brewer's Blackbird · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown creeper · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bruant de LeConte · Canada Jay · Canvasback · Carolina Wren · Cedar Waxwing · Chipping Sparrow · Clay-colored Sparrow · Common Grackle · Common Moorhen · Common Nighthawk · Common Redpoll · Common Starling · Common Yellowthroat · Connecticut Warbler · Dark-eyed Junco · Dickcissel · Eastern Bluebird · Eastern Kingbird · Eastern Meadowlark · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Wood Pewee · Evening Grosbeak · Field Sparrow · Fox Sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Golden-winged Warbler · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Gray Partridge · Gray-cheeked Thrush · Great Crested Flycatcher · Great Grey Shrike · Harris' Sparrow · Henslow's Sparrow · Hermit Thrush · Horned Lark · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Indigo Bunting · Lapland Longspur · Lark Sparrow · Least Flycatcher · Lincoln's Sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Mallard · Marsh Wren · Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow · Northern Cardinal · Northern Goshawk · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Shoveler · Olive-sided Flycatcher · Orchard Oriole · Philadelphia Vireo · Pine Grosbeak · Pine Siskin · Prothonotary Warbler · Purple Finch · Purple Martin · Red Crossbill · Red Knot · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-winged Blackbird · Redhead · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Roughleg · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Rusty Blackbird · Sand Martin · Savannah Sparrow · Scarlet Tanager · Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Sedge Wren · Snow Bunting · Song Sparrow · Sora · Summer Tanager · Surf Scoter · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Townsend's Solitaire · Tree Swallow · Two-barred Crossbill · Veery · Velvet Scoter · Vesper Sparrow · Warbling Vireo · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Western Tanager · Whip-poor-will · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-crowned Sparrow · White-throated Sparrow · Willow Flycatcher · Winter Wren · Wood Thrush · Yellow-bellied Flycatcher · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-headed Blackbird · Yellow-throated Vireo · black-capped chickadee · eastern towhee · long-billed marsh wren · ovenbird
Small mammalsAmerican Beaver · Brown Rat · Cinereus Shrew · Common Muskrat · Deer Mouse · Eastern Chipmunk · Eastern Cottontail · Eastern Fox Squirrel · Eastern Gray Squirrel · Eastern Mole · Franklin's Ground Squirrel · House Mouse · Meadow Vole · Pine Vole · Plains Pocket Gopher · Plains Pocket Mouse · Red Squirrel · Snowshoe Hare · Southern Bog Lemming · Southern Flying Squirrel · Southern red-backed vole · Star-nosed Mole · Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel · Western Harvest Mouse · White-footed Deermouse · White-tailed Jack Rabbit · common porcupine · mole shrew
PredatorsAmerican Badger · American Black Bear · American Mink · Bobcat · Common Gray Fox · Common Otter · Coyote · Cross Fox · Least Weasel · Long-tailed Weasel · Striped Skunk · common raccoon
Hoofed mammalsWhite-tailed Deer
BatsBig Brown Bat · Black Bat · Eastern Pipistrelle · Eastern Red Bat · Hoary Bat · Little Brown Bat · Northern Bat
Also on the checklistCoypu · Groundhog · Virginia Opossum
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Canoeing and kayaking in the national parks · Fishing in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Skiing in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
Weather & climate
Minnesota has a continental climate characterized by cold winters and warm summers. Spring brings moderate temperatures and low humidity. Summer days may reach temperatures of more than 100°F (38°C), but are usually pleasant with temperatures in the low to mid-80°F (25-30°C). Autumn brings dry, warm days, cool nights and gorgeous fall colors. Winter daytime highs are around 25°F (-3°C). Rarely, winter daytime high temperatures may not get above -10°F (-23°C), sometimes with strong winds.
Questions people ask
Does Mississippi charge an entrance fee?
No. Mississippi is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
Is Mississippi open year-round?
Yes. The grounds are open 24 hours a day, year-round.
Source: National Park Service
How busy is Mississippi?
224,722 recreation visits in 2025, number 169 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Mississippi?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
When was Mississippi established?
1988.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Mississippi?
Minnesota has a continental climate characterized by cold winters and warm summers. Spring brings moderate temperatures and low humidity.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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