Thursday, September 25, 2025
We took two cruises on the St. Croix National Scenic River. I booked two nights in Interstate State Park, which is right on the river. People book this campground months in advance on the weekends. We were lucky to get a spot for a Wednesday/Thursday.
We are on our way back to Virginia, and we never pass up a chance to see a national park. What sets this one apart is a section that goes through great walls of rock, or what they call “The Dells.” The word comes from Old English word, dael, which means valley. On the St. Croix River, it cuts through sandstone cliffs, making giant potholes where spinning rocks in powerful water cut holes in the stone. There are over 400 of them.
The upper part of the 252 miles of protected river is known for floating, kayaking and smallmouth fishing. Two towns, Taylors Falls and St. Croix Falls, do not have water falls because two dams were built. I should keep track of towns named for waterfalls that aren’t there. The first cruise was a sunset cruise on St. Croix Lake, which is created by the dam.
On Thursday we took a scenic tour of the river below Taylors Falls. This is a pretty section on a pretty amazing boat that is actually powered by a paddle wheel, but does have side thrusts. It only draws 17″. On Wednesday we walked out the back or our campsite to a little gravel bar on the river. I was surprised to see a cruise boat coming around an island to make a hard left to avoid a gravel bar.
Before the cruise we walked a path through and around all the potholes. It is a most unusual place. In Taylors Falls, we had lunch on the corner at Juneberry Cafe. Then we got in line for the cruise.
The cruise was about 80 minutes. There were a number of senior citizens aboard, but one was pretty cool. She had her wheelchair out on the front deck, pulling herself up to stand for several pictures with her phone. Flood levels have reached 200 feet above this water level!
