Great outdoors remains open

Minnesota’s state parks and trails remain open to the public, but the Department of Natural Resources is making changes to adapt to the challenges of the public health emergency.

Getting outdoors is one of the activities being encouraged as social distancing continues. Users need to respect space between other users and avoid touching what would normally be shared surfaces.

As of now, all 75 state parks and recreation areas:

• Moved to a 100 percent self-pay system. All state parks and recreation areas have the ability to collect permit fees and provide visitor information through self-pay and information kiosks located near entrances.

• Offices, visitor centers, and non-essential buildings are closed until further notice. Rustic bathrooms and group centers remain open.

• All bathrooms, shower buildings, and vault toilets that are currently open will remain open to the public and closed vault toilets will reopen where feasible.

• All naturalist programs and public events are canceled until further notice, including visitor center programs, outdoor events, and school group activities. Over time, the DNR hopes it can find ways to restart programming.

For more information, visit mndnr.gov/covid-19 or call 651-296-6157.