Banning

Sasha DeMarre

The Kettle River makes this a very interesting place to hike. The Quarry Trail will take you along the river where you may see kayakers tackling the rapids. Beautiful moss lines the trees and sandstone formations. Hell’s Gate is a must if you want some adventure, but wear the right shoes and keep the kids at home. Lastly, bring binoculars and you may get a closeup on a Mink hunting in the water.

Marcelle Alvernaz

Wish I had more time at this park. Did it as a stop in and did one hike and unfortunately my phone went dead and didn’t have my camera with. It looks absolutely breathtaking. Would love to come back and kayak.

Valérie Lent

Worth a visit. Entrance is $7 for the day, per vehicle. The ranger told us the grass had not been mowed on most trails, so we stayed on the wider and rocky ones to avoid ticks. The best part was when we drive to the South unit to see the falls. The directions on the flyer we were given are very bad. Instead, we used Google maps which took us there. You have to leave the main park and drive across the town.

kara cole

This was a last minute pit stop on our way back home from vacation. We were all so happy we stopped. This is a beautiful park. The trails are a bit rough/semi-existent but we managed to find our way around well. The falls were beautiful and so was all the water carved rock structure/sandstone. Absolutely beautiful place to stop. And we saw osprey. So cool.

B A

Banning State Park has some of the most beautiful landscapes and is one of the most exciting Minnesota state parks out there. Park in the picnic area parking lot and hike to the lookout, then hike down towards the river for some of the most fantastic views you'll find in Minnesota. The Kettle River has some beautiful rapids here. The rock formations down the hill from the lookout are breathtaking as well. Hiking up and down the banks of the river are some great trails with beautiful views. If you hike far enough south, you'll come across two sets of amazing waterfalls. If you like hiking beautiful and exciting scenery, I'd highly recommend here.

Phill White

Beautiful hiking trails over large rocks along the Kettle River. Great place for semi to Advanced kayaking and canoeing. Spring is the time for more experienced canoeing because of the water flow. Camping is available and picnicking is great. Bike trailes are close by with access to the State. Phill

Mike Mulvihill

Banning state park is a classic. Really cool terrain. The semi-marked "Devils Gate" trail is really really fun to hike. Ran into a lot of rock climbers enjoying themselves and just overall had a really good vibe to this place. Will be continuing to come back here.

Peter Lamm

Banning SP runs north-south roughly bounding both sides of the Kettle River. In the lower reaches around Sandstone adventurers can find kayaking, tubing, rapids shooting, rock and ice climbing. In the middle reaches near Banning Junction where I arrived early this morning its all about having a quiet forested hike on gentle slopes, babbling brooks and bird song. On the lower trails, find splendid views of rushing river gorges. The park and trails are well maintained, posted and safe for most ages, the upper trails are partly accessible by wheelchair i think. Overall great place for families, get there early it could get busy in summer

Paul Clemente

Beautiful park!! Great way to get out of the cities for a little bit. We hiked for a couple of hours and even decided to cross the river (i do not recommend)

Teri

Tried to hike to the falls. One trail was covered with about 30 feet of thick sewage. The other trail had deep crevasses where someone can break bones. Wasted trip and time. Will go elsewhere in future. Very poor upkeep.