Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway
Grab your paddle and your longing for adventure and head to the St. Croix and Namekagon rivers! Together they form the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, offering over 200 miles of clean water that glides and rushes through a forested landscape. Paddle, boat, fish, and camp among this wild and scenic beauty. Hiking and historic towns also beckon.
About 1.5 hours from Minneapolis by car.
Alerts
- ClosureNorth Parking Lot at Osceola Landing to Close for Bridge Construction
The northernmost parking lot and co-located boat ramps at Osceola Landing will close week of 9/14 as part of the Hwy 243 Osceola Bridge replacement project. The parking lot and boat ramps will be used as a staging area and river access point for construction equipment for the duration of the Hwy 243 bridge replacement project.
- InformationIncreased Bear Activity in the Riverway
Bears have been seen approaching campsites in the Riverway in search of food. Store all food, garbage, and scented items in bear‑resistant containers, locked vehicles, or properly hung bags. Food should never be stored in tents. Stay alert and report safety concerns to 1‑800‑PARK‑TIP
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| St. Croix National Scenic Riverway | Daily · All Day |
When to go
July draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Campgrounds
| Namekagon District | 67 sites | |
| 67 first-come | ||
| Middle St. Croix | 57 sites | |
| 57 first-come | ||
| Lower St. Croix District | 19 sites | |
| 19 first-come | ||
Every campground here has its own page on Campsite Atlas, with site counts, hookups, rig limits and booking windows. All of them on one page → How park camping works
Visitor centers
- St. Croix River Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
Hours of operation are 10:00 am to 5:00 pm daily including all federal holidays. The St. Croix River Visitor Center is open seasonally, from mid-April through October. When open, visitors can view exhibits, pick up park publications, Junior Ranger booklets, and maps, and view the park film.
- Namekagon River Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
When open, visitors can view exhibits, pick up park publications, Junior Ranger booklets, and maps, and watch the park movie. Park rangers staff an information counter and offer trip planning assistance for the Namekagon and upper St. Croix rivers.
Explore
Things to do
- Paddling The Riverway2-120 Hours
Paddling the rivers of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway.
Opens on the Park Service site - Explore the Ridge View Trail, Osceola Loop1-2 Hours
The Osceola Loop of the Ridge View Trail winds through a dappled forest high above the St. Croix River.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
News
- North Parking Lot at Osceola Landing to Close for Bridge Construction ↗2026-09-11
ST. CROIX FALLS, Wis. — The northernmost parking lot and co-located boat ramps at Osceola Landing will close next week as part of the upcoming Hwy 243 Osceola Bridge replacement project.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Wisconsin 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 1× · Trumpeter Swan 1× · American Black Bear 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 241 birds, 57 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barred Owl · Boreal Owl · Broad-winged Hawk · Cooper's Hawk · Golden Eagle · Great Gray Owl · Great Horned Owl · Hawk 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 · Turkey Vulture · eastern screech-owl · snowy owl · swallow-tailed kite
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Bittern · American Black Duck · American Coot · American White Pelican · American Wigeon · Black-crowned Night Heron · Blue Goose · Blue-winged Teal · Bufflehead · Canada Goose · Cinnamon Teal · Common Goldeneye · Common Loon · Common Merganser · Common Teal · Double-crested Cormorant · Great Blue Heron · Greater Scaup · Greater White-fronted Goose · Hooded Merganser · Horned Grebe · Lesser Scaup · 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 · great egret · green heron · little blue heron · pied-billed grebe · yellow-crowned night-heron
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Woodcock · Baird's Sandpiper · Black Tern · Black-bellied Plover · Bonaparte's Gull · Caspian Tern · Common Snipe · Common Tern · Dunlin · European Herring Gull · Forster's Tern · Greater Yellowlegs · Hudsonian Godwit · Killdeer · Least Sandpiper · Lesser Yellowlegs · Long-billed Dowitcher · Marbled Godwit · Pectoral Sandpiper · Ring-billed Gull · Ruddy Turnstone · Sanderling · Semipalmated Plover · Semipalmated Sandpiper · Short-billed Dowitcher · Solitary Sandpiper · Spotted Sandpiper · Stilt Sandpiper · Upland Sandpiper
Gamebirds & dovesCommon Pheasant · Mourning Dove · Northern Bobwhite · Ruffed Grouse · Wild Turkey · rock pigeon · sharp-tailed grouse
WoodpeckersAmerican three-toed woodpecker · Black-backed Woodpecker · Downy 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 · Baird's Sparrow · Baltimore oriole · Barn Swallow · Belted Kingfisher · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-billed Cuckoo · Black-headed Grosbeak · Blue Jay · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Blue-headed Vireo · Bobolink · Bohemian Waxwing · Brewer's Blackbird · Brewster's warbler · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bruant de LeConte · Canada Jay · Canvasback · Carolina Wren · Cedar Waxwing · Chipping Sparrow · Clay-colored Sparrow · Common Grackle · 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 · Greater Prairie Chicken · 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 Raven · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Shoveler · Orchard Oriole · Philadelphia Vireo · Pine Grosbeak · Pine Siskin · Prothonotary Warbler · Purple Finch · Purple Martin · Red Crossbill · 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 · Sedge Wren · Snow Bunting · Song Sparrow · Sora · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Tree Swallow · Two-barred Crossbill · Varied Thrush · Veery · Vesper Sparrow · Warbling Vireo · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · 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 · boreal chickadee · brown creeper · cliff swallow · eastern towhee · olive-sided flycatcher · ovenbird · tufted titmouse
Small mammalsAmerican Beaver · American Pygmy Shrew · American Water Shrew · Arctic Shrew · Brown Rat · Cinereus Shrew · Common Muskrat · Deer Mouse · Eastern Chipmunk · Eastern Cottontail · Eastern Fox Squirrel · Eastern Gray Squirrel · Franklin's Ground Squirrel · House Mouse · Least Chipmunk · Meadow Jumping Mouse · Meadow Vole · Northern Flying Squirrel · Plains Pocket Gopher · Red Squirrel · Snowshoe Hare · Southern Bog Lemming · Southern Flying Squirrel · Southern Red-backed Vole · Star-nosed Mole · Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel · White-footed Deermouse · Woodland Jumping Mouse · common porcupine · mole shrew
PredatorsAmerican Badger · American Black Bear · American Marten · American Mink · Bobcat · Common Gray Fox · Common Otter · Coyote · Cross Fox · Ermine · Fisher · Gray Wolf · Least Weasel · Long-tailed Weasel · Striped Skunk · common raccoon
Hoofed mammalsEurasian Elk · White-tailed Deer
BatsBig Brown Bat · Black Bat · Eastern Pipistrelle · Eastern Red Bat · Hoary Bat · Little Brown Bat · Northern Bat
Also on the checklistGroundhog · Virginia Opossum
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Camping in the national parks · Canoeing and kayaking in the national parks · Fishing in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
All 18 activitiesHide
Questions people ask
Does Saint Croix charge an entrance fee?
No. Saint Croix is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
Is Saint Croix open year-round?
Yes. The grounds are open 24 hours a day, year-round.
Source: National Park Service
Can I camp in Saint Croix?
Yes. The Park Service lists 3 campgrounds in Saint Croix: Namekagon District, Middle St. Croix, and Lower St. Croix District. 3 are first-come, first-served.
Do any Saint Croix campgrounds have hookups or showers?
No. None of the 3 listed campgrounds report showers, electric hookups, or a dump station.
Source: Campgrounds
Is anything closed at Saint Croix right now?
2 active alerts as of October 14, 2026: Increased Bear Activity in the Riverway; North Parking Lot at Osceola Landing to Close for Bridge Construction.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Saint Croix?
852,296 recreation visits in 2025, number 76 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
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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