Southern MN Day Trips: Blue Mound State Park

My husband and I wanted to add some adventure into our lives so we decided to start taking day trips with our family once a week. Once we started, we found out that there are tons of places to visit all within a 30min-2 hour long drive. This is definitely doable with 3 kids and a 32 week pregnant momma! It gives us something to look forward to and helps motivate us to get more work done during the week.
One of our first day trips was a visit to Blue Mounds State Park located in Luverne, MN. It was about a 2.5 hour long drive. Our day started off in the lake. Since we went on a weekday, we had the lake to ourselves most of the time! John caught some minnows and the kids made little swimming holes for them. We also saw some turtles on the shore of the lake. After swimming, we went on a short hike to some small cliffs. First thing the kids started doing was climb up them. Our youngest, 2.5 yrs old, just climbed up and never even looked back and did not want any help! The girls climbed up and believe it or not, I did to, even with my pregnant belly. Something about climbing and being out in the wide open makes you feel so free and is a great place to relax and slow down.
We had to watch  out for cactus, I was the only one who stepped on one. Probably because I was watching out for the kids!