Since Ross’ annual state park pass expired in July and we hadn’t hit a state park in more than a month, we figured it was time to find one that was new to us. We have pretty much exhausted the ones in this part of the state, so we decided to venture a little bit north.

I suggested Glendalough State Park for this past weekend’s selection. It wasn’t too far away, being about two-and-a-half hours from Ross’ house in Wood Lake, and it looked like it had some nice features and plenty to do.

There were long stretches of road where there didn’t seem to be too many towns as we headed toward Battle Lake. As we approached Battle Lake, I marveled at the lake. After lunch at the Dairy Queen, we made our way to the park.

Some of the highlights of Glendalough, according to the DNR website, are canoeing on a chain of lakes, heritage fishing/large panfish, hiking and biking, wildlife observation, a sandy swimming beach and cart-in tent camping. There’s also a historic lodge and bike rentals. Whatever you felt like doing, this was the place to do it. The weather was warm enough for swimming, but it wasn’t too hot for hiking or biking. A wedding was taking place as we pulled up and hit the trail. The lake was a nice backdrop, and the weather was cooperating.

We were on the Glendalough Trail Loop, which was completed just a few years ago. There are four lakes along the trail: West Battle, Annie Battle, Molly Stark and Sunset Lake. The park itself has more than 9 miles of hiking trails, which are from half a mile to 3-and-a-half miles in length. The most popular trail, according to a list I picked up at the park office, is the Beaver Pond Interpretive Trail. It follows a stream through forest and meadow and returns along the shore of Blanche Lake. And apparently the trail’s highlights include a dog cemetery and a boardwalk. Alas, we didn’t traverse along that trail. There’s also the Molly Stark Lake Trail, the Lake Emma Trail, the Annie Battle Trail, the Sunset Lake Trail, the Ice Ridge Trail and the Prairie Hill Interpretive Trail. The Annie Battle Trail takes people past an active eagle’s nest. We passed by that spot, but eagles are best seen from late April through June. Perhaps another time, eagles.

We were trotting along as we were passed by a few people on bicycles. We took our time, snapping photos, noting different things and just checking out the landscape. Eventually we came across where a couple of yurts were located that people can rent if they so desire. It was a little while after that that we headed to the Molly Stark Lake Trail. My first thought was “Who is Molly Stark?” and “Why does she have a lake named after her in Minnesota?” And while I didn’t necessarily Google it while I was walking the trail, I now have found out that she was the wife of Revolutionary War general John Stark. What made her famous was when John said at the battle of Bennington, Vermont: “There are the Redcoats, and they are ours, or this night Molly Stark sleeps a widow.” She was also a nurse.

There were beautiful views during our hike, including the lakes, the numerous yellow flowers, a few Monarchs and the colorful tall prairie grass. It was just after we left the flowers and headed toward the savannah when I was walking along and didn’t notice a small hole in the ground. I slightly turned my ankle and basically tumbled to the ground. Feeling a little foolish, I eventually got up, tested out the ankle and started walking again. We still had a ways to go before we got to the car that was parked by the rental place, so, trouper that I am, kept on going through the savannah. The weather was pleasant, and the scenery was plentiful. Glendalough was a good choice. Hopefully we’ll squeeze in a couple more state parks in before the year ends.