July 4, 2013: Pike Island/Fort Snelling State Park (Minneapolis)

Join the hiking group for a hike around Pike Island, at the conjunction of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, in historic Fort Snelling State Park in Southeast Minneapolis. Pike Island, at the mouth of the Minnesota River and adjoining Mendota, is named for Lieutenant (later General) Zebulon M. Pike, who in 1805 on the west end of this island made a treaty with the Dakota to purchase the tract on which Fort St. Anthony, later named Fort Snelling, was built in the years 1820-24. The Dakota word "B'dote" means confluence and is the name for this place. It has the additional meaning as the place of creation or beginning of the Dakota people and for the world and life itself. Transliterated, "B'dote" became the name "Mendota" for the nearby town, the bridge, and the city. Following the conclusion of the 1862 Dakota Conflict, after the battle of Wood Lake, 1700 Dakota were rounded up and marched to Fort Snelling, where they were confined on or abutting Pike Island in cramped conditions. There various epidemics took the lives of many internees, mostly women and children, before the interned Dakota were relocated to the Dakota Territory and then to Nebraska.

Directions: From the West (Minneapolis or the Western Suburbs): Take Hwy 62/Crosstown Highway east to Highway 55, then proceed south on Highway 55, towards the Mendota Bridge, to the "Fort Snelling Historic Sites" exit (between the V. A. Hospital and the Mendota Bridge). Follow the signs to the Fort Snelling Historic Sites and park in the Minnesota Historical Society Fort Snelling Interpretive Center parking lot. Meet at the river overlook near the interpretive center.

From the East (St. Paul): Head west across the Fort Road/West Seventh Street/Highway 5 bridge from St. Paul's Highland Park area and take the Highway 55 exit and proceed north on Highway 55. Take the "Fort Snelling Historic Sites" exit and follow the signs to the Minnesota Historical Society Fort Snelling Interpretive Center parking lot, park in the lot, and meet at the river overlook near the interpretive center.

Note: The Fort Snelling Historic Site is different from the Fort Snelling State Park entrance, which is off of the Post Road exit from Highway 5, just west of the main terminal exit to the airport.

Map to Fort Snelling Historical Site

Map to the hike start point: Bloomington Rd At Historic Fort Rd
St Paul, MN 55101

Pike Island information

Fort Snelling information

Fort Snelling State Park map

History of Minnesota Land Settlement (beginning at Fort Snelling)

Fort Snelling area history

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This webpage was last updated on July 2, 2013.