Most of Banning State Park near Sandstone will close to the public starting Monday, Nov. 9, as crews begin a construction overhaul meant to catch the park up to a surge in visitors. The closure covers day-use areas and the campground, which has already been shut since Sept. 8, and is expected to keep large parts of the park off-limits into 2028.
According to the Minnesota DNR, the agency closed the park's campground on Sept. 8 to begin work on replacing its shower building and upgrading accessibility at several campsites. The DNR says the day-use area is planned to reopen in October 2027, while the campground is expected to come back online in May 2028. Northern News Now described the Nov. 9 shutdown as the park closing entirely except for the climbing area and snowmobile trail, while the DNR's own language characterizes it as most of the park closing to the public — a distinction worth noting for anyone mapping out a visit.
Why the Park Needs This Much Work
Clarissa Payne, Banning State Park supervisor, said the facilities simply haven't kept pace with how many people are showing up. “Our annual visitation has tripled since 2020,” Payne said, per the DNR, which also attributed the broader strain on the park's infrastructure to that surge in current visitor numbers.
That boom has pushed demand well beyond what the park's day-use lots, trails and bathrooms were built to handle, according to the DNR's account. The new day-use plans include accessible picnic areas, expanded parking, an additional lot at a trail crossing, accessible trails and parking areas, and accessible vault toilets and water spigots, the agency said. Campers will eventually return to new showers and improved accessibility at some campsites once that portion of the project wraps up.
What Stays Open, and What Doesn't
Not everything at Banning is going dark. The DNR said the Eldon climbing area and the designated snowmobile trail on the park's north and west sides will remain open throughout construction, along with parking near the climbing area on the south end in Sandstone. There will not, however, be parking available near the snowmobile trail during the work, the agency noted.
Public water access to the Kettle River inside the park will also close during construction, but the DNR said boaters and paddlers can still reach the river from the park's north end at Highway 23 or from the landing at Robinson Quarry Park in Sandstone. Banning sits near Sandstone and spans more than 6,000 acres along that river, according to the DNR.
What's Funding the Rebuild
The campground portion of the project draws $2 million from the Parks and Trails Legacy Fund, the DNR said, while $500,000 in Get Out MORE funding — a state effort aimed at modernizing outdoor recreation experiences — is covering day-use area improvements. As Bring Me The News reported, the overall project is expected to take nearly a year. The rebuilt campground building will include modern restrooms, accessible single-occupancy showers, two family-assist restrooms, an adult changing station and dishwashing stations, the DNR said, and the facility's 33 sites and camper cabin are expected to stay closed for the entire 2027 camping season. Campers looking for alternatives during that stretch previously had St. Croix State Park, Moose Lake State Park and several state forest campgrounds suggested by the DNR as nearby options.
