PARK RAPIDS, MINN. – Sunshine and freshly groomed trails at Itasca State Park this week attracted families from across the globe — including the Meissners of Jena, Germany, who went off snowshoeing for the first time Tuesday afternoon.
"It doesn't feel like Christmas without the snow," said Sarah Meissner, who grew up in Ulen, Minn., and returns to the state each year with husband Stefan and daughters Laila, 7, and Ella, 5, to see family members over the holidays.
Back home in Germany, she said, it's 50 degrees and rainy. So they were thrilled with the foot of snow that shut down most of the state over the weekend.
After renting four pairs of snowshoes from the park's bustling visitor center, they pulled on snow pants, strapped on metal frame shoes and took off with map in hand to wander over miles of trails.
They shared paths alongside skiers like the Rowekamp family, who were staying at the park's University of Minnesota biological station. Family members came from Valley City, N.D., Rochester and the Twin Cities to spend the holiday together.
Fresh snow is a big draw at the Mississippi headwaters, where "the water is always moving and doesn't freeze," said Park Ranger Greg Lanners.
Most of the half-million visitors who annually frequent Itasca come in the summer. Though the numbers drop off in the cold, an influx of visitors typically follows storms like the ones that hit this weekend. All weatherized cabin suites were booked for the first few days of the New Year, and more visitors were expected.
"It totally depends on the snowfall," Lanners said. "If there's no snow, we don't get a lot of people. … We have a lull between fall and when we get snow. But it definitely picks up when we get snow. When there's snow, we get a lot of skiers, snowmobiles, snowshoers."
