Minnesota State Tree

The Red Pine or Norway Pine is the Minnesota State Tree It is native to northeastern North America. In the Upper Midwest it is often known by the name Norway Pine even though it is not native to Norway. One of the best places to see these trees is in Itasca State Park and some of our other Minnesota State Parks.

This evergreen tree is characterized by tall, straight growth. The crown is conical in young trees, becoming a narrow rounded dome with age. The bark is thick and gray-brown at the base of the tree, but thin, flaky and bright orange-red in the upper crown. Some red color may be seen in the fissures of the bark. Red Pine is self pruning; there tend not to be dead branches on the trees, and older trees may have very long lengths of branchless trunk below the canopy.

One of the Oldest Norway or Red Pines is in Itasca State Park

A news report from that day read:

The 115-mile-per-hour winds blew so ferociously during the July 9–15 storms that old-growth red and white pines snapped like pencils, and whole stands of trees looked like straw scattered across the landscape. More than 7 million trees were bent, broken, or uprooted, and in August a total of 15 counties and the White Earth Indian Reservation were declared federal disaster areas by the President.

My husband, sons, brothers-in-law and nephews spent weeks just clearing the road in to our cabin in the woods. Even now, 13 years later, there are many trails that we used to walk that are still blocked as a result of the blow-down.

Much beauty remains, however, and nature's new growth is evident everywhere in the forest. One of my favorite places to walk among the still-standing majestic pines is in Preacher's Grove in Itasca Park.

Norway Beach, near Cass Lake, MN, is another of my favorite "Red Pine places." I lived a number of my childhood years in Cass Lake and have wonderful memories of picnics on the sugar sand beach that is right along the emerald green forest. We would swim in the crystal clear waters of the lake (also named Cass Lake--like the town) and watch spectacular sunsets as we dried off on the warm sand.

These old growth forests contain some of the few stands of virgin pine left anywhere in the country. Don't miss a trip to this beautiful area when you visit Minnesota.

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