Banning State Park
| Banning State Park | |
| Minnesota State Park | |
 Wolf Creek Falls
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| Country |  United States |
|---|---|
| State |  Minnesota |
| County | Pine |
| Location | Sandstone |
| - elevation | 1,122 ft (342 m) |
| - coordinates | 46°9′53″N 92°51′16″W / 46.16472°N 92.85444°WCoordinates: 46°9′53″N 92°51′16″W / 46.16472°N 92.85444°W |
| Area | 6,237 acres (2,524 ha) |
| Founded | 1963 |
| Management | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources |
  Location of Banning State Park in Minnesota
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Banning State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, stretched along 10 miles (16 km) of the Kettle River near Sandstone in Pine County. The centerpiece of the park is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of churning rapids, some up to Class IV. The daring kayakers and canoeists who shoot Blueberry Slide, Mother's Delight, Dragon's Tooth, Little Banning, and Hell's Gate each spring attract spectators to the park. Landbound visitors can hike along the state's first Wild and Scenic River amid dramatic sandstone rock formations, large potholes carved by the river, and the remains of a historic quarry. Other features are Wolf Creek Falls and Robinson Ice Cave. The park is located directly off Interstate 35.
The park lies in a shallow, narrow valley worn by the Kettle River. The topsoil is very thin and in the center of the park the river has cut down through Precambrian sandstone known as the Hinckley Formation and on into the bedrock, resulting in a gorge—up to 40 feet (12 m) tall at Hell's Gate—and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of rapids.
The park is also notable for its numerous glacial potholes, smooth shafts scoured into rock. These were formed at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation when the river was swollen by the melting ice, and powerful eddies sent debris swirling around and around, literally drilling shafts into the streambed. The Log Creek Arches in the northern section are potholes whose bottoms have been worn away on one side.
Robinson Ice Cave is a 200-foot (61 m) deep cave in the bluffs between Wolf Creek Falls and Sandstone. The cave is not open to the public and the entrance is gated to protect the little brown bats, big brown bats, and Keen's myotis bats that hibernate in it. In winter large stalagmites of ice often form on the cave floor, but in a strict sense it is not an ice cave because the ice does not persist year-round.
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Wikipedia