October 1, 2015: Battle Creek Regional Park Hike (St. Paul)

Join the hiking group for a hike among the Sandstone cliffs and steep slopes of St. Paul's jewel, Battle Creek Park.

Battle Creek, named for the battle of Kaposia in 1842, between the Ojibwe and Dakota, flows into Pig's Eye Lake from the high land east of the river valley. Another great ravine there, having numerous tall white pines, is named Pine Cooley, from the French word "coule," meaning "a ravine or run."

Kaposia, the Dakota village of the succession of hereditary chiefs named Little Crow, early on was located on the east bank of the Mississippi near the Grand Marais, where Pike saw it in 1805 and Major Stephen H. Long saw it in 1817. Subsequently, it was moved to the vicinity of the mouth of Phalen Creek or near the site of the Union Depot in St. Paul, according to the narratives of General Lewis Cass and Henry R. Schoolcraft in 1820, Major Long and William H. Keating in 1823, and Charles J. Latrobe in 1833. Again in 1835, it was near the Grand Marais according to explorer George W. Featherstonhaugh. After the 1837 treaty, by which the Dakota ceded their lands east of the Mississippi, the Kaposia band had their village at its west side, occupying a part of South Park, a suburb of South St. Paul in Dakota County. It was also its site at the time of the battle. The approach of the Ojibwe during for the attack, and their retreat, were by way of the ravines of Battle Creek and Pine Cooley.

Directions:Take I-94 to east of St. Paul, and take the McKnight exit south to North Park Drive. Turn west (right) on North Park Drive and park on the street. The group will meet near the intersection of McKnight and North Park Drive.

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This webpage was last updated on September 25, 2015.