Field Trips to Fort Snelling State Park

Successful field trips start with advance planning

This is one of Minnesota's busiest day-use state parks, with over one million visitors a year. It is critical to plan ahead and communicate with park staff in advance, as unscheduled field trips can quickly overload the park's available facilities such as bathrooms, lunch space and school bus parking.

By planning your school's trip in advance, you also gain the opportunity to work with one of our staff naturalists, who are able to provided age-appropriate programs highlighting the park's rich cultural history and vast natural resources.

Preparing everyone for the field trip

Pair chaperones and share the schedule

Please distribute a schedule to all of the teachers and chaperones in your group prior to your arrival. This facilitates smooth transitions between programming and lunch, and assures each student is able to participate in each activity.

Pair chaperones with groups prior to your arrival. We recommend a student to adult ratio of ten to one. Teachers and chaperones may be asked to help with materials and supplies, behavior control and other duties as needed.

Remind your students that this is a public park, and they will be sharing it with dog walkers, bird watchers, bike riders and many others.

What to bring and how to dress

Students will engage in active indoor and outdoor learning, and should be dressed for the weather. We recommend everyone wear sturdy, weather-appropriate footwear and layered clothing at all times of year.

  • In winter, wear snow boots.
  • Flip flops are not recommended at any time of year.
  • Bring a filled water bottle - water fountains are limited.
  • Everyone involved should be tick conscious at all times of year...ticks are active throughout the winter if conditions are right!
  • Student nametags are appreciated but not required.
Eating lunch in the park
  • Outdoor picnic tables are available at the visitor center, Picnic Island and Snelling Lake beach. When the weather is bad, limited covered outdoor facilities are available only to naturalist-led trips.
  • Running water and flush toilets are available year-round at the visitor center and the ranger station, and seasonally at Picnic Island and the Snelling Lake beach.
  • There are no refrigerators or microwaves for school group use.
  • Be prepared to store lunches on your bus.
  • Please bring large waste bags to hold your group's trash, and deposit the bags in the most convenient dumpster to where they ate lunch.
  • If a member of your group requires an accommodation, please let park staff know.
Accessibility and accommodations
Fort Snelling State Park strives to make field trip experiences accessible to students of all backgrounds and abilities. With advanced notice, we can provide a wide range of accommodations including sign language interpreters, a wheelchair or track chair for use on site, and private rooms for tube feeding or nursing mothers.

The park's trails cover a wide variety of conditions and grades. We are happy to help identify which trails will work best for your group.

Please call us to discuss any accommodations your group may need.

Getting to the park
The park address is 101 Snelling Lake Road, St. Paul, MN 55111. The entrance is located directly across Highway 5 from the MSP airport. Download a park map.

Driving directions

Please be sure chaperones and bus drivers have the directions before they hit the road.

  • As you approach the park from either direction on Highway 5, look for the brown state highway signs directing you to Fort Snelling State Park and the Post Road exit. Do not follow the signs to Historic Fort Snelling – this is a different site!
  • From Post Road, follow the signs down the hill into the park. 
  • Stop at the ranger station for your free one-day bus entrance vehicle permit for educational groups. All additional vehicles must have a valid Minnesota state parks vehicle permit.
  • Allow fifteen minutes of travel time between the ranger station and the visitor center.
  • Running late? Please call to let us know as soon as you can!
Behavior in the Thomas C. Savage Visitor Center
We are so glad you are here! Remember, the visitor center remains open to the public even while your school group is on site. Please try to leave the space in the same condition it was when you arrived.

  • Try to keep students contained to the program area and conscious of their volume while indoors.
  • School groups are not permitted to eat inside the visitor center.
  • Shoes must be worn at all times.
  • If students would like to visit the gift store, an adult must accompany them at all times.
Cancellations
Park naturalists rarely cancel programs due to the weather - they are ready to teach rain, shine or snow! If inclement weather occurs during a program, they will adjust the activity and spend more time indoors or under shelter.

Park staff will contact you as soon as possible if a program needs to be canceled in advance.

If you need to cancel, contact the naturalists as soon as possible. Please understand they may not be able to reschedule – their schedules fill up quickly!

Back to top