Afton State Park, Minnesota

Only 20 miles from downtown St. Paul, Afton State Park offers an easy day trip for city slickers needing to get away. Not wanting to make it too easy, they placed the beach and campgrounds a strenuous 3/4-mile hike from the parking area—but trust us, it is so worth it. The blufflands open up to a view of the gorgeous St. Croix River Valley, where deep ravines and glacial moraines cut down to the river separating Minnesota from Wisconsin. Take in the landscape peppered with wild flowers and prairie grasses, keeping an eye out for deer, fox, badgers, and hawks, then retreat to one of their dozens of decked-out camp sites, group sites, or camper cabins.