Have You Heard of Minnesota’s ‘Lost 40′ Forest?

My wife and I love getting out and hiking around our country's many incredible parks and trails, whether we're on vacation or here at home. Which is why Minnesota's 'Lost 40' Forest sounds so intriguing. Have you heard of it?

According to OnlyInYouState, Minnesota's 'Lost 40' is a way-cool section of woods in the Lost 40 Scientific and Natural Area near in the Chippewa National Forest near Tower, Minnesota, in Itasca County. It's managed by the Minnesota DNR.  And here's the cool part-- it's one of a few areas in Minnesota that contain 'old growth'.

Which means it's a "natural forest that has developed over a long period of time, generally at least 120 years," according to the DNR. And here's the cool part about the Lost 40: it was created by accident!

That's right, it was a mistake. "An 1882 surveying mistake led the 40 acres to be accidentally mapped as a body of water, and subsequently left alone during Minnesota's logging craze," OnlyInYourState says.

If you hike the one-mile trail through the Lost 40, you'll encounter some amazing sights, the story says, like trees that are so big-- like between 22 and 48 inches in diameter-- that you can't wrap your arms around them.

We took a trip to the Redwoods National Forest in California last year and hiked our way around some incredible sights there, including some redwoods that were estimated to be nearly 1,500 years old. Now those were some big trees! And while these trees aren't quite THAT old, it still sounds like a pretty cool place-- and you don't have to fly to the West Coast to see it.. Check it out: