Seven Mile Creek County Park

Seven Mile Creek County Park is the only county park in Nicollet. It is 628 acres in size, and home to 8 miles of multi-use trails. Picinic areas, volleyball courts, a ball diamond, and a boat landing to the Minnesota River make the park a popular destination for outdoor recreation seekers. Some of the natural attractions include the thickly forested riparian zone bordering Seven Mile Creek, impressive sandstone bluffs at the park's entrance, and a spring-fed trout stream in the lower stretch of the creek. Created in 1967, the park hosts over 150,000 visitors annually. The creek for which the park is named was called Seven Mile by early settlers because the crossing was roughly 7 miles from the county courthouse by way of a trail that is now Highway 99.

Did we say a Trout Stream? In South-central Minnesota?! Click the fish to find out more.

 

Fishery Rehabilitation Project

In an effort to improve trout habitat in Seven Mile Creek, stream management structures have recently been installed in the channel whithin the park. Three J-hook vanes and 2 cross vanes were constructued out of heavy boulders anchored in the streambed. The purpose of these structures is to control the flow of water in the creek in order to create deeper pools for trout habitat and to prevent bank erosion at meanders. Future plans for continued improvements include planting willows on the banks of Seven Mile to decrease the rate of erosion and provide cover for trout seeking shade and shelter. Here you can see what these structures actually look like and how they work.

By clicking on this image, you can view a map of Seven Mile Creek within the park, which shows the location of newly installed cross vanes and j-hook vanes, as well as the areas where willows are to be planted.

 

 

The Seven Mile Creek Watershed Improvement Project is an action plan intended to provide for the sustainable future of SMC Watershed.