Starting Tuesday, Sept. 3, Father Hennepin State Park in Mille Lacs County will temporarily close to the public during a project to replace the park’s wastewater system. The park will reopen as soon as the project is complete, which is expected to be early November.

“We are seeing increased use from state park visitors with large camping rigs which place higher demand on the wastewater system,” said Ann Pierce, director of Minnesota Department of Natural Resource’s Parks and Trails Division. “The park’s current wastewater system has reached the end of its life, and upgrades will ensure amenities for visitors are in good working order and set up for future success. The new wastewater system will also be better able to handle severe weather events, something the current pond system is not well equipped for.”

Construction requires excavating the park’s entrance road to install pipes to connect to the City of Isle’s municipal wastewater system. Due to this work on the entrance road, there will be no public access to the park for day or overnight use during construction.

The park’s public water access on Lake Mille Lacs will be closed during construction.

Additional information, including a list of alternate public water access sites and nearby state parks, is available on the park webpage of the DNR website. Construction updates will be available on this page as the project progresses.