9 Aug 2022 - Mississippi River Headwaters - "Gichiziibi" - The Great River

 9 Aug

This morning we drive about 39 miles SW of Bemidji to Lake Itasca State Park where the Mississippi River gets it's start - it's headwaters.  This 32,500 acre park is Minnesota's oldest state park, established back in 1891 and also contains the largest remaining old-growth of red and white pine trees.  It was created to protect the area around the headwaters.  

Apparently there have been century-long disputes as to exactly where the Mississippi begins, but park founder Jacob V. Brower settled it and determined Lake Itasca is indeed the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

We had to purchase a Minnesota State Park pass to enter the park, but the good news is we switched gears on our next camping location and will actually be camping in another Minnesota State Park, the Red River State Recreation area in E. Grand Forks  MN.  So we will get our money's worth out of it. 

 

Once we entered Itasca State Park, we made our way to the Mary Gibbs Mississippi Headwaters Center which has outdoor exhibits, latrine facilities, a gift shop and a cafe and a well-marked trail to the headwaters.  This center is named after Mary Hannah Gibbs Logan, the superintendent for Itasca State Park in the early 1900's.  She stood up to loggers and others to preserve the timber in the park.  There are many interesting displays that help to explain how the Mississippi River was formed.

Some interesting stats:  The Mississippi River watershed drains an enormous amount of water from the center of the continent, approximately 41%.  It obviously feeds from Lake Itasca, and gets some from rainfall, snowmelt and groundwater, but the majority comes from other river systems. They say about 15,000 miles of waterways from over 100 tributaries from 31 states and two Canadian provinces.  The Mississippi River touches 10 states and is 2318 miles long.  694 miles or 30% of it's total length is in Minnesota!  It's kind of interesting that the Mississippi actual flows north from Lake Itasca for 63 river miles before it starts meandering east and south through part of Minnesota because it is flowing downhill.  So enough with the stats already!  Let's get to the headwaters!.  

The trail to the headwaters

We left the center and headed down the relatively short trail to the headwaters.  Soon, the headwaters came into view.  

The iconic sign with Lake Itasca in the background.

There is a web cam looking down on the area.

You can view it at http://mndnr.gov/headwaters

 Our friend and classmate Patty lives in St Paul and she knew we were going to be here today.  She called Doreen and had us pose for a couple web cam pictures and she sent them to us!  Pardon the color issues!

A few more pictures from the headwaters.  

Doreen walking across the headwaters.

Looking back at Lake Itasca

Crystal clear water of the Mississippi

And off it goes towards the Gulf of Mexico!

A log bridge where you can walk to the other side

A wooden walkway took us back towards the entrance.

That's it for Bemidji.  Tomorrow we have a short drive to E. Grand Forks MN as explained above. Thanks for tagging along on our journey!