Change is on the table at Minnesota’s famed Mississippi headwaters, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wants parkgoers to help call the shots. The agency is seeking public input on draft amendments that would reshape visitor amenities at Itasca State Park, the state’s first and oldest park, with an open house set for March 24, 2026, and a public comment window running through April 10, 2026.
What the draft plan would change
According to the Minnesota DNR, the proposed amendments arrive in two main pieces. One would ramp up winter recreation and overnight options by adding cross-country ski trails, creating new campsites, and converting Nicollet Cabin and the Lake Ozawindib pumphouse into overnight lodging. The plan also calls for taking down the existing Nicollet Court lodging building near Douglas Lodge and replacing it with a picnic pavilion and gathering space.
Lake health and a long-neglected building
Officials say the access changes are designed to protect Lake Itasca by cutting stormwater runoff, restoring shoreline habitat, and consolidating drive-in boat launches to a single inspected site to help keep aquatic invasive species out, according to the Minnesota DNR. Concerns about the lake’s health have added some urgency to the rewrite: the Minnesota Star Tribune reports that the DNR recently graded Lake Itasca a C+ and says park managers are trying to strike a balance between recreation and water-quality protections. The Minnesota Star Tribune also notes that Nicollet Court, built in 1922 and shuttered for years, was removed from the National Register in 2025, with demolition planned for 2027 and the new pavilion estimated to cost about $2.2 million.
How to weigh in
The draft amendments are posted for review, and the DNR is collecting written feedback through 11:59 p.m. on April 10, 2026. Comments can be emailed to [email protected], phoned in at 651-259-5598, or mailed to Jade Templin, Parks and Trails Division, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155, according to the Minnesota DNR. The agency will host an open house on March 24, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Jacob V. Brower Visitor Center in Park Rapids, and paper copies of the draft documents are available at the visitor center and the DNR regional headquarters in Bemidji.
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