Established 1961 Area 4,112 km² | EPA Classification Driftless Area | |
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Location Dakota, Goodhue, Wabasha, Winona, Olmsted, Houston, and Fillmore counties, Minnesota, United States Governing body Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Private WWF classification Upper Midwest forest-savanna transition | ||
Richard j dorer memorial hardwood state forest 50th anniversary
The Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest is a 1,016,204 acres (4,112.43 km2) reserve of current and former forest in Minnesota's Driftless Area. Only 45,000 acres (180 km2) of the land is state owned, with the remainder owned by private individuals and community groups, governed by easements. Non-contiguous units are spread over seven counties ( Dakota, Fillmore, Goodhue, Olmsted, Houston, Wabasha, and Winona Counties), generally in areas just west of the Mississippi River, but extending much further west into the valleys of the Root and Zumbro Rivers.
A wide variety of recreational activities are offered: camping, fishing, horseback riding trails (including horse picket lines and corrals); an extensive network of hiking and nature trails (including a wheelchair-accessible trail), and off-highway vehicle trails.
It is named in honor of a former Commissioner of Conservation.