Snowshoeing in Bunker Hills Regional Park • Twin Cities Outdoors

(Andover/Coon Rapids, Anoka County • Park permit needed)

snowshoer in the woods — *Grab some snowshoes and head on over to Bunker…*

We don’t always get enough snow to make snowshoeing worthwhile here near the Cities, which is a major bummer. This winter, though, we do! And we have a couple months yet where we could get more, so yay!

Snowshoe Off the Beaten (and Groomed) Path

The great thing about snowshoeing at Bunker is you have the entire park to roam. Yes, you need to stay off the ski trails, and of course you’ll want to stay off the plowed trails and roads.

But otherwise we have almost 1,600 acres to traipse around in. Some of it is terrain we can’t cover any other time of year—the marshes and ponds. Since they’re frozen over during the winter they’re fair game.

snowshoeing over a marsh — *Crossing a frozen marsh*

There’s lots of room for exploring here. Park at different places each time and you can snowshoe in different areas of the park every time you go.

Woods and Wildlife

Since most of the leaves were off the trees (there’s a lot of oak, which keep a third of their leaves over the winter) we could see through the woods easily. We scared up five deer at one point (who, unfortunately, ran off before I could get my camera swung ‘round).

It’s always fun to see the animal tracks in the snow, too. Rabbit, fox, squirrel, deer…

Know the Park or Bring a Map!

Bunker Park is vast, with plenty of hills and trails that go every which way. It’s easy for even a seasoned Bunker visitor like me to get turned around in the winter. If you’re new to the park you’ll definitely want a map.

You can pick one up at the Activity Center (open during the week) or the Campground Office (open on the weekends). Or download Bunker’s PDF winter map to your phone.

bunker hills park — *The boardwalk was solid ice under the snow! We’re glad we had snowshoes with crampons.*

Rent snowshoes on the weekends

If you don’t have your own snowshoes, rentals are available at the Campground Office whenever it’s open. Give it a try! Renting is cheap (only $5 for up to 3 hours, 2022 prices) and snowshoeing is super easy to learn. Click here for hours and latest details.

How to get to Bunker Hills Regional Park

The South Entrance to Bunker Hills is on Highway 14 in Coon Rapids, at Foley Blvd. As you turn into the entrance you’ll pass the golf course on your left and a neighborhood on your right. Keep going straight through the stop sign and you’ll see signs for the Campground Office. It’s nearest to the South Entrance.

The main North Entrance is off Bunker Lake Blvd. in Andover, just east of Hanson Blvd. The entrance for the Activity Center is east of that a mile or so, also off Bunker Lake Blvd.

Twin Cities Ski & Shoe Guide

Published in 2021, our 55-page digital Ski & Shoe Guide is the easiest way to find cross country ski and snowshoe trails in all seven counties of the Twin Cities metro area.

Click here for the details…

Sharon Brodin

Founder & Publisher of Twin Cities Outdoors at Brodin Press LLC

Sharon loves to hike, paddle, camp, snowshoe and cross country ski...and she bikes sometimes, too! Besides maintaining Twin Cities Outdoors and her other blog, Heaven and Nature, Sharon works on client writing and design projects.