Recreation

Liberty Derrick Operation at Quarry Park on June 15, 2013 from 12:00-3:30pm.   

Experience St. Cloud’s  granite heritage at Quarry Park.  In addition to interpretive displays and hands-on activities, the 100 year-old Liberty timber derrick will operate to lift a 4-ton block of granite.  Parking fees are waived for the day.

Quarry Park and Nature Preserve

1802 County Road 137
Waite Park, MN 56387

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Quarry Park Summer map    Winter map

Quarry Park is the most unique county park in the United States. It features:

• Granite reflecting pools
• A swimming hole 112 feet deep
• Scientific and Natural Areas
• Mountain bike paths over billion-year-old bedrock
• Trout fishing

Quarry Park currently contains 684 acres, it has much to offer for those who love the outdoors.

View Trail length maps:  Opens 3.5MB PDF File.
Trail distance maps:
Introduction to document
1-K route maps
5-K route maps
10-K route map
12-K route map

Quarry Park and Nature Preserve Interactive Map

Quarry Park & Nature Preserve Master Plan Map

Quarry Park Master Plan

Cover, Acknowledgements, Summary and Table of Contents.

I.     Introduction/Planning Framework

II     Setting and History

III.   Site and Resource Analysis

IV.   Master Plan

V.    Accessibility/Universal Design Plan

VI.   Ecological Restoration and Site Reclamation Plan  

VII.  Management and Use Issues 

VIII. Implementation Plan

Natural features include:

• Scenic woodlands
• Open prairie
• Wetlands
• Un-quarried bedrock areas.

Plant life in Quarry Park (PDF)

Birds of Quarry Park (PDF)

Man-made features include:

• Sizable hills composed of quarried rock remnants (grout piles)
• 30 granite quarries, most of which are now filled with water and form picturesque rock-fringed ponds.

The State of Minnesota has been a major partner in the establishment and improvement of this park.

Hours

• Quarry Park is open from 8:00 a.m. to one-half hour after sunset.
• The Park is open until 11:00PM during cross-country skiing season. (After a snow fall of 4
  or more inches.)
• The Park is open year-round.
• A county vehicle parking permit is required at Quarry Park and Nature Preserve.
• The revenues generated from the fees are used to maintain park facilities.

Permits

Daily permits: $5.00, Annual permits: $16.00

Buy an annual permit online!  Can be purchased 24 hours a day!

Can be purchased at the gatehouse self-service box at any time.
From the Stearns County Parks Department.  (office open regular hours: M-F 7:30am-4:00pm.)
From both the Stearns County License Center offices

Scuba Diving

In 2006 the Stearns County Board approved access to four quarries for public Scuba Diving.

Scuba Facts:

• All divers must be certified divers and dive with a buddy.
• Each diver will have to sign a permit and sign a liability waiver.
• Divers must show a current certification card and picture ID.
• The permit is free and valid for the calendar year.
• All vehicles in Quarry Park must have a valid parking permit.
• There are various underwater hazards.
• Diving is done at the divers own risk.

* You need to provide proof of insurance to provide scuba diving instruction in Quarry Park 

Rock Climbing

In 2005, the Stearns County Board authorized public rock climbing at Quarry Park.

Rock Climbing Facts:        

• Climbers must have an appropriate Rock Climbing Permit.
• The wall of Quarry 17 is the area designated for climbing.
• About 17 mapped routes have been identified and graded by local climbers for difficulty.
• A bouldering area is found just south of Quarry 20.
• The Rock Climbing Permits allows the climber in to "restricted areas."
• All people within the restricted areas must have a climbing permit.
• The permit is free and valid for the calendar year.
• All vehicles must have a vehicle parking permit.

Please see the Rock Climbing page for additional information.

Skiing:

Cross Country skiing is still available at the groomed parks, Quarry Park, Warner Lake Park, Mississippi River County Park, or Kraemer Lake/Wildwood Park.  We will continue to groom these parks until there is not enough snow or the weather is too warm.  Please continue to check the Winter Ski Trail conditions page for the condition of the trails at each park, as well as when they are groomed.     

Ski Trail Facts

• Trails at Quarry Park are easy enough for beginners.
• The outter loop is 2.2 miles, the inner loop is 2 miles, total is 4.2 miles of groomed track. 
• There is a 3.5KM skating trail on the perimeter of the park.
• Two traditional ski trails in the interior which are 3.1KM.
• The ski lights are turned on as soon as the first grooming occurs. (After 4-6" of snow.)
• The Park is patrolled and parking permits are required, ($5 per car).
• No ski permit is required

Important Links

Buy a Quarry Park Permit Online
Quarry Park Eco-Walk Brochure
Abridged Park Rules Including PET Rules
Granite Country USA

Maps, Photos, & Videos

Map: Quarry Park and Nature Preserve Interactive Map

Map: Site maps of Quarry Park:Winter (103 Kb PDF file) or Summer (116 Kb PDF file).

Map:  Interactive map of Stearns County with Parks and Amenities.

Map: For contour maps of the individual quarries, see list in directory (to the left).

Photo Gallery: Quarry Park in Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and the Liberty Derrick photo slideshow.

Video: A Park for All Seasons

Video: Liberty Derrick

Video:  Winter sports in Granite Country

Directions

From Highway 23 in Waite Park, turn south (left) onto 10th Avenue (you'll pass Menards and Bernick's Pepsi). Turn right at the stop sign, onto 7th Street South / County Road 137.

Quarry Park and Nature Preserve is 7/10 mile from that intersection.

Current & Future Development

The park today represents only the first phase of a multi-phase development plan for Quarry Park.

Park History

Quarry Park and Nature Preserve, formerly known as "Hundred Acres Quarry," is a great addition to the Stearns County Parks System.

Granite - formed by intense heat within the earth - was the foundation of a major Minnesota industry. The first granite quarry in Central Minnesota was opened in 1863 by two Scotsmen. In the 130 years to follow, Central Minnesota granite became an international commodity gracing buildings as far away as Singapore.

About 100 years ago, a type of stone known as Saint Cloud Red Granite was quarried from land which is now part of the park. The Landmark Center and the James J. Hill House in St. Paul, Minnesota both contain Saint Cloud Red Granite in their structures.

Though private ownership of the land by local quarry companies continued until 1992, quarrying operations in the present park area ceased in the mid-1950's. Companies operating quarries on the site during this period were Holes Bros., Delano Granite, Melrose Granite Co., Empire Quarry Co., and C. L. Atwood.

Over the years, the land gradually reverted back to a more natural state. In 1992, Stearns County purchased this site from Cold Spring Granite Company and added the land to its County Park System. The park opened on January 1, 1998.

See Environmental Education Curriculum, (2.74 mb PDF document) by Jean Hoff, Stephen Saupe and Marcia Handahl. Plant illustrations by Emma L. Thompson.

Contact Us

Email: parkinfo@co.stearns.mn.us

Mail: Stearns County Parks
1802 County Road 137
Waite Park, MN 56387

Phone: (320) 255-6172