Old Cut Foot Sioux Ranger Station does not offer reservations through Recreation.gov. Please take a look at the area details below for more information about visiting this location. Enjoy your visit!
Looking for a great picnic spot? Sit here next to the old Ranger Station along Little Cut Foot Sioux Lake and imagine the life of the early rangers. Listen for the last calls of the loons and enjoy the fall colors along the lake.
The original Cut Foot Sioux Ranger Station is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the eastern Forest Service region. Constructed in 1908, it is the first ranger station established on the east side of the Mississippi River. The ranger station gives us a glimpse of the remote setting and living conditions of early managers of the Minnesota National Forest.
In 1974, the original Cut Foot Sioux Ranger Station was placed on the national Register of Historic Places. In 1994, the cabin was dismantled and logs that were beyond repair were replaced. The Interior was patterned after the description left by Elizabeth Flint in her book The Pine Tree Shield. The book describes life of an early ranger and his wife. Reconstruction of the cabin was completed in 1998.