Franz Jevne State Park

About this park

Franz Jevne State Park, created by the Minnesota Legislature in 1967 on land donated by the Jevne family, is the smallest state park in Minnesota at just 118 acres, perched directly on the Rainy River along the international border with Ontario, Canada. The park protects one of the most scenic stretches of the Rainy River, and visitors can look directly across the water into Canada, a genuinely unusual vantage point found at very few other state parks anywhere in the country. True to its remote far-northern location along the Waters of the Dancing Sky Scenic Byway, Franz Jevne remains Minnesota's least developed state park: there is no visitor center, no staffed office, and camping operates entirely on a self-registration basis among 18 drive-in and three walk-in sites tucked into the riverbank trees. A boat launch gives direct access to the Rainy River for anglers pursuing walleye, northern pike, smallmouth bass, and lake sturgeon, and roughly 2.5 miles of hiking trails wind along the river through quiet, mostly undisturbed forest. Koochiching County's remote boreal landscape makes this an exceptional, if under-birded, destination for serious birders, with species like the Northern Three-toed Woodpecker, Boreal Chickadee, and Great Gray Owl all possible in the surrounding region. Located roughly 30 miles west of International Falls and 40 miles east of Baudette, Franz Jevne offers a genuine escape from cell service and crowds alike, appealing specifically to visitors seeking solitude rather than amenities.