Carley State Park

Location:  15 miles northeast of Rochester, or 4 miles south of Plainview on Wabasha County Road 4.
Miles: 1 to 5 miles
Surface: Dirt
Terrian: Varied
Uses: Hiking, snowshoeing
Map:  http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/state_parks/spk00130.pdf
Website:  MN DNR - Carley
Ticks:  Never had a problem with ticks here but it's safe to assume there are some in grassy areas May- July
Mosquitoes:  Moderate to Low

This is another favorite of mine especially for snowshoeing in the winter.  Carley is relatively close to Rochester, MN and offers a variety of hiking challenges either steep or flat.   This is a small but beautiful park with very pretty wildflowers (blue bells)  in the spring.

Since this is a small park, and if you like a challenge, it is possible to hike all the trails in this park in a couple of hours.   The trails cross the river in several places where step stones in the water are provided.

The park in the winter is a snowshoeing paradise as the terrain is varied enough to keep the cross country skiers elsewhere and there are enough snowshoers that go there generally there will be some packed trails for you to follow.  If snowshoeing off trail on the east side it is easy to accidentally leave the park boundary and trespass on the neighbors to the east so watch for the signs.  

The campground there is pleasant but it provides pit toilets only with picnic tables, fire pits and hand water pumps.  Near the campground is a large field which is great for frisbee with the dog, a large picnic shelter and a swing set.