Outdoors

Minnesota’s busiest state park reopens after flood cleanup
Fort Snelling State Park is the state’s busiest, with about a million day visitors every year. Extended flooding shut the park down for six months and covered parts of it with as much as 3 feet of silt this year. But it reopened Tuesday, just in time for the fall colors to start to turn.
Red Lake Nation confronts a new invader: Zebra mussels
Zebra mussels found earlier this year in Upper Red Lake are likely to spread to Lower Red Lake, threatening the reservation’s economic and spiritual core — and its massive walleye fishery. That’s left tribal leaders frustrated and angry.
Coming to national park trails: electric bikes
Motorized electric bicycles may soon be humming their way into serene national parks and other public lands nationwide, under a new Trump administration order — hotly opposed by many outdoors groups — allowing the so-called e-bikes on every federal trail where a regular bike can go.
On Lake Superior, rip currents prompt call for more lifeguards in Duluth
Last year, a record number of people drowned in the Great Lakes. This year, drownings are on pace to set a new record. Some in Duluth say more and better-trained lifeguards are needed to make beaches on Lake Superior safer.
Easy, cheap ways to get outside this summer
Yes, it’s already August, but there’s still plenty of time to get outside and have fun before the fall chill blows in. Here are some cheap or free ways to get outdoors with the whole family.