The Pine Island State Forest is a Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 state forest

State forest

A state forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign state.The precise application of the term varies by jurisdiction...

 located primarily in Koochiching County

Koochiching County, Minnesota

Koochiching County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 13,311. Its county seat is International Falls. A portion of the Bois Forte Indian Reservation is in the county. A small part of Voyageurs National Park extends into its northeast...

, although portions extend into Beltrami

Beltrami County, Minnesota

Beltrami County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 44,442. Its county seat is Bemidji. Portions of the Leech Lake and Red Lake Indian reservations are in the county. The northernmost portion of the Mississippi River flows...

, Lake of the Woods

Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota

Lake of the Woods County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 4,045. Its county seat is Baudette. The county contains the Northwest Angle, the northernmost point of the Lower 48 States, and includes the U.S. portion of Lake of the Woods, shared with...

, and Itasca

Itasca County, Minnesota

Itasca County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is named after Lake Itasca, which is in turn a shortened version the Latin words veritas caput, meaning 'truth' and 'head', a reference to the source of the Mississippi River. As of 2010, the population was 45,058. Its county seat...

 counties. The forest borders the Koochiching State Forest

Koochiching State Forest

The Koochiching State Forest is a state forest located near International Falls in Itasca, Koochiching, and St. Louis counties, Minnesota. The forest borders the Pine Island State Forest to the west, the Big Fork State Forest and George Washington State Forest to the south, the Nett Lake Indian...

 to the east, the Red Lake State Forest

Red Lake State Forest

The Red Lake State Forest is a Minnesota state forest located primarily in Beltrami County, although portions extend into Koochiching County. The forest borders the Pine Island State Forest to the east and Upper Red Lake to the west...

 to the west, and Big Fork State Forest

Big Fork State Forest

The Big Fork State Forest is a state forest located in Koochiching and Itasca counties, Minnesota. It is primarily managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The landscape is full of moraines, lakes, and wetlands...

 and Chippewa National Forest

Chippewa National Forest

Chippewa National Forest is a National Forest located in northcentral Minnesota, United States, in the counties of Itasca, Cass, and Beltrami. Forest headquarters are located in Cass Lake, Minnesota. There are local ranger district offices in Blackduck, Deer River, and Walker.-History and...

 to the south.At an area of 878040 acres (355,330.5 ha), it is the largest state forest in Minnesota.

The location of Lake Agassiz

Lake Agassiz

Lake Agassiz was an immense glacial lake located in the center of North America. Fed by glacial runoff at the end of the last glacial period, its area was larger than all of the modern Great Lakes combined, and it held more water than contained by all lakes in the world today.-Conception:First...

 in the area led to the flat topography

Topography

Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...

 of the forest, which is dotted with wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

s and bog

Bog

A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....

s, a sandy loam is throughout. The vast expanses of old-growth northern whitecedar

Thuja occidentalis

Thuja occidentalis is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is widely cultivated for use as an ornamental plant known as American Arbor Vitae. The endemic occurrence of this species is a northeastern distribution in North America...

 and pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

 were extensively logged

Logging

Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...

 in the early 20th century. Nowadays, the landscape is dominated by black spruce, tamarack, and northern whitecedar in the lowlands; aspen

Aspen

Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...

, pine, and balsam fir predominate in upland sites.

Popular outdoor recreation

Outdoor recreation

Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity is leisure pursuits engaged in outside, especially in natural or semi-natural settings out of town...

al activities in the forest are largely centered around the Big Fork River

Big Fork River

The Big Fork River is a river of Minnesota. It flows into the Rainy River.-See also:*List of rivers of Minnesota-References:**USGS Hydrologic Unit Map - State of Minnesota...

, and include swimming, fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

, canoeing

Canoeing

Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....

, kayaking

Kayaking

Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...

, and boating

Boating

Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...

. Trail

Trail

A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...

s are designated for a variety of uses, including 168 miles (270.4 km) for hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

. In the wintertime, trails are designated for snowmobiling, with 2.5 miles (4 km) designated for cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

. Snowshoe

Snowshoe

A snowshoe is footwear for walking over the snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot does not sink completely into the snow, a quality called "flotation"....

ing and hunting

Hunting

Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...

are available throughout the forest.