Online booking is not offered for this Hostel. Contact them for availability and reservations (any contact info we have is listed below).
Please see Lake Itasca for other available Lake Itasca hostels and accommodations.
Please see Lake Itasca for other available Lake Itasca hostels and accommodations.
The Hostelz.com Review
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!
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
Their Description
HI - Mississippi Headwaters Hostel Details
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Location/Contact| Address | Main Park Drive, Lake Itasca (Itasca State Park), Minnesota, USA |
| Location | |
| Website | www.himinnesota.org |
| Telephone | +1 (218) 266-3415 |
| Fax | +1 (218) 266-3415 (call first) |
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Hostelz.com Guest Reviews
My Stay was Excellent but Staff Treatment Terrible I stayed one time during the winter. It was great. They didn't seem that thrilled to have me call and gave me the feeling that I had really lucked out, that they weren't often available in the winter to take individuals for a night. But it was a great time, for those few hours. So I determined I would try and stay there for the 5 nights when my daughter went to camp. I was treated terribly. No one returned my calls, several times. Finally I got someone who told me she didn't start taking applications until April 1. I told her how excited I was about booking a stay from July 8 - 14, and that I usually could go nowhere as a single parent of a child with multiple disabilities and couldn't usually afford it anyway, but since I took her to camp near St. Cloud it wouldn't be all that bad to keep going on July 8 after I dropped her off and stay in the park at the hostel for 5 nights until I had to drive back and pick her up. I was very excited as I didn't usually get to take vacations, and was looking forward to it so much. She never responded that this might not be possible, just let me continue hoping and then on April 1 begin trying to contact her. I tried desperately for a week as she never returned my calls. I had to call the main office to find out that they didn't usually take individual reservations, only rented the whole hostel, and that maybe I could find 2 or 3 days in between which weren't rented if I was lucky. I felt I was treated very poorly. please note: you don't matter to this hostel unless you are a large group and don't expect to have them call you back. They should warn people on the webpage that individuals are only taken for a day or two in between the larger groups, and that they shouldn't expect to be communicated with as they don't contribute many $s to the hostel. It's only fair. — Betty , USA (2010-06-18) One of the Best in North America We stayed here in September and it exceeded our high expectations. It is in an old log building that has been completely updated inside. The kitchen is excellent and the bathrooms modern and spotless. The hostel is located in a real gem of a state park, featuring one of the most lovely mountain lakes I have ever seen. About three kilometers away, just outside the park, is a local bar/restaurant with considerable local color and good food. There were farmers wearing overalls drinking their evening beers along with day trippers who had visited the park. — Tom in Chicago , USA (2008-12-23) This is one of the cleanest and most well maintained hostels I have ever been to. It is a hidden gem for cross-country skiers (one of the only places open near the headwaters in the winter). I would recommend this hostel to anyone. — Therine (2005-03-07) This is a great hostel in a wonderful spot. The building is excellent, the manager very helpful, the park setting is beautiful/peaceful, and the surrounding adventure opportunities are challenging. We had a great time here and met some great people. — Tom (2003-11-04)