HI - Mississippi Headwaters Hostel

Location

Unfortunately, there is no public transportation to the park. Amtrak can take you as close as Detroit Lakes (56 miles) or Staples (72 miles). Greyhound bus service can take you as close as Park Rapids (22 miles), Bagley (33 miles), Bemidji (34 miles), or Walker (34 miles). From Park Rapids, take US Hwy 71 North past the first park entrance. Turn left on MN Hwy 210 and immediately left again into the park. If you don't have a State Park sticker for your vehicle you can pick one up at the park headquarters as you drive by. From the headquarters, take the main park drive north along the eastern arm of the lake for about 3.5 miles. The hostel is on the right and is well-marked.

Amenities

The hostel building once served as the old park headquarters, as evidenced by its wonderful log cabin construction. All rooms are kept very clean, and the kitchen has a special system for washing dishes that involves a 5 minute soak in diluted bleach solution before drying. Bedrooms house either 4 or 6 bunk-style beds, and all showers have community-style access from the hall. The common room is definitely the coziest spot in the hostel, a perfect place to curl up. A bike rack outside also doubles as a ski rack in the winter.

Atmosphere

Although there has been some recent turnover in the manager position at the hostel, the one constant has been the super-friendly attitudes of the managers. Patrons here are also very friendly, and most are active outdoors types who have come to explore the park's natural beauty.

Attractions

Itasca State Park might best be described as the "poor man's Yellowstone", but that's not really a fair comparison. Granted, there's no geologic activity, and the Tetons don't loom on the horizon across the lake, but both parks are home to much native flora and fauna and serve as headwaters for some important rivers that eventually meet downstream. The hostel itself is just a short walk from the Mississippi Headwaters (pictured), a great place to brag to your friends that you walked across the Mississippi! The park has a great network of hiking trails and interpretive trails surrounding the many other lakes and ponds that were deposited by the receding glaciers. And like Yellowstone, the park can also be seen rather well by car on the one-way road that encircles the lake and has many stops such as the tallest red and white pine trees in the state, and Nicollet Cabin (also pictured). But the solitude seeker will find that the park is best experienced in winter, when all the trails and some of the roads are groomed for XC skiing, the Deer Park Trail being the most interesting of them as it rises and dips between the scattered lakes and ponds. And the fireplace is much more worthwhile in the winter, too!

Price

This hostel is a very good value for an individual traveler, compared with motel and resort accommodations. The best part is that you don't feel you've sacrificed comforts to stay here, and you're smack in the middle of the park when you wake up!

Overall Value

Itasca is truly a gem of a State Park, and this hostel does it justice by being a gem of its own! What are you waiting for, the northwoods are calling!

— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
May 2008