These are our favorite places for sessions in the St. Cloud area.
(Are you in Minneapolis or St. Paul? Check out the Twin Cities favorite places page)
Quarry Park, Waite Park
• offers: a “floating” bridge, large grassy area, a variety of trees, old granite quarries with water, as well as chunks of granite, an old building, lots of walking paths through the woods – a great way to incorporate a ton of variety with a mild amount of walking
• perfect for a session in: spring, summer, fall and winter
* beware of mosquitos in spring-summer, they are big ones!
** there is a $5 fee to park inside the park
Bend in the River Park, Rice
• offers: a short drive from St. Cloud (approx 20 mins), this location is a favorite with its many outbuildings including an old white house, a large barn and some rusty tin sided sheds, a walking path that meanders along the Mississippi River, a lower path that drops to the river, and a large tall prairie grass area – a great way to have a ton of variety with a small amount of walking.
• perfect for a session in: spring, summer, fall and winter
* fall is the busiest time for this location, weekday sessions may give us more room and will be quieter
Downtown St. Cloud
• offers: very urban, tons of doorways, brick walls, classic brick alleys, murals and tons more all within walking distance from where ever we park. St. Mary’s Cathedral has awesome doors and brickwork. The parking ramp under the convention center has a wicked modern look, as do the stairs. We can even stroll to the university campus or along the Beaver Island Trail.
• perfect for a session in: spring, summer, fall and winter
* parking is free on weekends and weekdays after 6pm, though sometimes it can be a challenge to find a spot – I like the Paramount parking ramp best
Millstream Park, St. Joe
• offers: A short drive into a quaint area. Millstream is a big park, with grassy areas, forrest areas, a pond and little streams plus a quaint bridge. Lots of diversity with some walking.
• perfect for a session in: spring, summer, fall and winter
* This is a frisbee golf course as well so we will need to be mindful of the course. If its winter, be prepared to tromp through snow!
Hester Park, St. Cloud
• offers: Right by the hospital! Really cool archway and TONS of stairs! Some cool gnarled bushes, big trees and wide grassy areas. There’s a playground (we can use it for color) plus a GINORMOUS hill that leads us down to the river.
• perfect for a session in: spring, summer, and fall
* Park may get busy in the summer. Winter the GINORMOUS hill turns into a sledding hill & area may be too hard to traverse.
Up for a drive? Let's go adventuring!
Montissippi Regional Park, Monticello
• offers: Featuring plantation planted pines (say that 3 times fast!), a paved walking path that meanders around the trees, a plethora of trees and grassy areas and a public water access on the river
From St. Cloud: approx 30 min drive
• perfect for a session in: spring, summer, fall and winter
* there are tons of raspberry bushes (lots of thorns) and poison ivy in the pines, we will take extra caution in this area
Sherburne Wildlife Refuge area
• offers: ample hiking trails around the lake, massive trees, and a lovely beach. Just up the road is a daycamp with a bright red building (if there’s no one there we can borrow it). Backtracking a bit down the road away from the lake will get us to an awesome patch of plantation planted pines. There is a fair amount of walking/hiking plus some driving to get from the plantation planted pines to Lake Ann.
** Ann Lake & Mahonmen Trail are my two favorite spots in this vast vast vast area!
** The lupines bloom in later spring / early summer and would be a STUNNING backdrop!
From St. Cloud: approx 40 min drive
• perfect for a session in: spring, summer, fall and winter
Deer Lake Orchard, Buffalo MN
• offers: one of the cutest, quaintest red barn, a vintage bicycle, a kissing booth door, decorative planters, goats, pumpkins and of course apples!
From St. Cloud: approx 50 mins drive
• perfect for a session in: summer & fall (they open in August)
** Peak apple season may make the orchard super busy.
Sunflower Ranch, Big Lake MN
• offers: SUNFLOWERS! For a two week span there will be a ton of stunning sunflowers in bloom. Plus there is a vintage green truck, a lovely old house, and fences that wrap around the property.
From St. Cloud: approx 30 min drive
• perfect for a session in: summer for sunflowers, fall and winter
Do you have any favorite spots to explore? Introduce them to us! We’re always up for a grand adventure in exploring new places!