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

Mississippi River County Park, Rice (across the river from Bend in the River!)

DOG MODELS WANTED!

• offers: a short drive from St. Cloud (approx 20 mins), this location is very quiet compared to it’s cousin across the river. There are winding trails through the woods, a disc golf course, tall grassy area, and a boat launch to explore. If you have a dog who likes peace & quiet, this is a great option closer to St. Cloud.

• perfect for a session in: spring, summer, fall and winter
* the floodplains area is very cool, but will be brimming with mosquitos.

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

* Street parking is paid at all times. We can park in any of the ramps after 5 pm & it will be free! Weekends are free parking in the ramps as well! There are 5 parking ramps we can visit, plus 5 parking lots that have the same after 5 pm free rules.

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 stone 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. A great spot for a sunrise. This is a relatively small park, with a little walking but lots of stairs.

• 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 gnarled trees, 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: plantation planted pines, a beach area (Lake Ann), tons of trees, grassy areas, sandy areas, lupines in the early summer and loads of diversity in this massive park.

** There are TONS of trails I’ve yet to explore in this massive park. If you’d like to go scouting, I’d love to have you as a dog model!

** Ann Lake & Mahnomen National Recreation Trail are my two favorite spots in this vast vast vast area!

** The lupines bloom in later spring / early summer (mid June?) and would be a STUNNING backdrop! The Prairie Trail might be one of the best places to see a variety of wildflowers including lupines.

From St. Cloud: approx 40 min drive

• perfect for a session in: spring, summer, fall and winter