Free tour and family entertainment at Fort Ridgely State Park on ...

Free tour and family entertainment at Fort Ridgely State Park on Sept. 3

(Released September 1, 2011)

Family entertainment and a historic tour are among the events scheduled for Fort Ridgely State Park on Saturday, Sept. 3. The events are part of the park?s year-long centennial celebration.

Start the day with a picnic lunch and spend the day at park. Relax with family and friends while visiting under shade trees, or work off that lunch on eight miles of hiking trails that vary from easy to challenging as they wind through open prairie dotted with wildflowers and wooded areas.

Visit the historic fort site and learn about Fort Ridgely?s role in the U.S.-Dakota Conflict. The National Park Service recognizes the Fort Ridgely Battlefield as one of only two ?battlefields of national significance? in Minnesota. The other is the Wood Lake Battlefield.

At 5 p.m., local historians will lead a free tour of Fort Ridgely Cemetery and relate stories of their ancestors. After the tour, the Friends of Fort Ridgely will serve birthday cake, popcorn and lemonade to visitors to celebrate the 100th birthday of the park.

At 7 p.m., there will be a variety show at the park?s amphitheater. The show is co-sponsored by the Friends of Fort Ridgely and the Nicollet County Historical Society.

Vehicles entering the park are required to have a permit ($5 daily or $25 year-round) which can be purchased at the park. There is an additional fee to tour the historic site.

The park is located six miles south of Fairfax or 12 miles north of Sleepy Eye, off State Highway 4.

More information is available online or by calling 507-426-7840.

Source: http://news.dnr.state.mn.us/2011/09/01/6495/

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