Nerstrand State Park is in Nestrand, Minnesota.
When we arrived, there were very view cars in the parking lot. There is a campground here yet the place looked deserted.
The park has many beautiful large and tall trees.
My husband and I decided to take a hike to  the Hidden Falls Trail which is said to be the most difficult. The terrain gently sloped downwards with arrows to guide us.
Oops! A large branch had fallen on the trail that we were on. Fortunately we don’t let it deter us from our getting to the falls.
This boardwalk means that our destination is just ahead.
On the right side of this ledge are the falls.
And here they are!
I could hardly contain my laughter. There is no comparison between these falls and Snoqualmie Falls in the state of Washington. I was glad that we didn’t have to walk far to get to these falls (less than a mile) or I would have been very disappointed. Although — they are very pretty.
Back on the trail circling back, it was a little more steep than what we had anticipated but still very doable. A bench waits for people who need respite.
The brown headed cowbird makes its home in this park — not a good thing. Apparently, they lay their eggs in other birds nest and then desert them — leaving the other birds unaware that they are going to hatch birds that aren’t theirs. A cruel joke. Because of this, forest bird populations can decline.
The rest of the walk back had beauty of its own. We ran into a couple of mushrooms. I’m pretty close to identifying one of them — but the other I have no clue. Any ideas?
We saw pretty flowers along the way.
 Can you guess what’s hanging from the branch of this tree?
Did you guess a bat house? Nope. That’s not it.
A bee collector? Nope. That’s not it either.
A birdhouse? Nope …
Alright, alright — it’s an Emerald Ash Borer Detection Trap. The tree is an ash tree. I had never seen one of these before so I was intrigued by it.
A sign attached to the tree made it clear we should not disturb it. One would have to climb the tree or have a really really long stick to disturb this.
It was a nice day. And for the ride home, we passed lots and lots of farms with fields of delicious corn.
Way to go farmers!
Click below to hear the sound of the falls — they sound beautiful. I enjoy the sound of water.
Hidden Trail Falls in Nerstrand, Minnesota
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Looks like a man-made falls. Very nice, anyway. I’d love to have even a small such water fall in my garden.