Discovery Sites
How to get there: 900 Mound Avenue, Mankato MN
Off of US 169/MN 60 just west of Blue Earth River Bridge where the Blue Earth River flows into the Minnesota River.
What you will find: A city park with a zoo, biking, hiking, picnicking and river access.
Services at this site: Yes
Sibley Park is a dynamic community park that is rich in history. The park, established in 1887, is named for Minnesota’s first governor, Henry Hastings Sibley. The park sits at the confluence of the Minnesota and Blue Earth Rivers in Mankato.
The park offers recreational opportunities on the north side with softball, tennis, fishing, and a wintertime sliding hill. On the south side of the park are extensive landscape and gardens, a storybook farm zoo and playground, open space, and picnicking areas. The hilltop of the mound is being reclaimed through plantings and controlled burns to an Oak Savanna environment similar, to what originally existed, and features a pergola that overlooks the park and valley.
Historically, Sibley Park is the location of Camp Lincoln where Dakota warrior prisoners were kept after the U.S. – Dakota War of 1862 before their trials.
Things to Do: Discovery Site, Outdoor Activities, U.S. - Dakota War of 1862
