St. Croix Boom Site, Log boom heritage site in Stillwater Township, US.
The St. Croix Boom Site is a former log sorting and holding facility on the bank of the St. Croix River in Stillwater Township, Minnesota. The grounds are now a public park with a riverbank path, a restored office building, and open areas where the old work piers once extended into the water.
The site was established in the mid-1800s when the St. Croix River became a main route for moving timber cut from forests further north. By the early 1900s, the local forests were largely gone and the operation shut down, leaving behind a few structures and the cleared riverbank.
The word "boom" in the site's name does not refer to a sound but to a chain of floating logs used to corral timber in the river. Visitors standing at the water's edge can imagine how thousands of logs once covered the surface from bank to bank.
The park is open to visitors with parking and picnic areas near the water, and no entry fee is required. Paths and stairs leading down to the riverbank can become slippery after rain, so wear shoes with a good grip.
At the height of operations, so many logs filled the river that workers walked across them to sort and guide the timber, a practice that required real skill to avoid falling into the current. The St. Croix Boom Site processed more logs than almost any other boom site in the country during its peak years.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
