Description: This park is located near the towns of Fargo/Moorhead and protects 1322 acres of prairie. The park includes mesic, dry and wet prairie along with sedge meadows, aspen stands, willow brush and hardwoods associated with the Buffalo River.

Two old gravel pits near the entrance to the state park have been restored to prairie. Although the land will never again be native prairie, this restoration may bring some plant and animal species back to the area.

Wildlife to Watch: A variety of wildlife has been sighted at the park. The area contains more than 250 plant species, including pale purple coneflowers, silky asters, dotted blazing stars, Maximillian’s sunflowers and prairie roses. Among these plants you’ll see Delaware skippers, spring azures, regal fritillaries and Melissa blues.

Prairie chickens gather here to perform their elaborate spring courtship ritual, known as booming, and you can watch them closely through the blinds provided by the Nature Conservancy on adjacent lands. Sandhill cranes, upland sandpipers, marbled godwits, bobolinks, western meadowlarks, dickcissels, loggerhead shrikes, and vesper, clay-colored and Henslow’s sparrows are among the 200 bird species that you might see.

You may also encounter a few of the 40 different species of mammals, including mink, red foxes, northern grasshopper mice, coyotes and white-tailed deer.

Special Tips: Over 220 species of birds have been seen here.

Campsites can be reserved through the centralized reservation service by calling 1-866-85PARKS (1-866-857-2757).

Nearby: Bluestem Prairie: From Moorhead, drive 11 miles east on U.S. Highway 10, go south one mile on Highway 9, then east for one mile on County Road 19.

Moorhead Science Center: Located two miles east of state park headquarters.

Ownership: MN DNR
Size: 1322 acres
Closest Town: Glyndon/Moorhead

Facilities:

Best Seasons for Wildlife Viewing:

Main Photo Credit: Pale Purple Cone-flower By Llez [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Wildlife Viewing Areas

A Guide to North American Wildlife Viewing Opportunities

Buffalo River State Park

Verified Listing

Buffalo River State Park

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