Sept. 6, 2025



header


*Minnesota DNR News
*




*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
*

Sept. 6, 2025




*For more information:*

Contact Sara Berhow <[email protected]>, Parks and Trails Division, PR supervisor, 651-259-5627





________________________________________________________________________



Public Water Access on St. Croix River at William O’Brien State Park Temporarily Closed
william-obrien-public-water-access-september-6-2025

 

Water levels on the St. Croix River have dropped about 1.5 feet over the past week, necessitating closure of the public water access to the St. Croix River at William O’Brien State Park.

Boaters are advised to use alternate PWAs on the river while the PWA at William O’Brien State Park is closed. The closest access sites on the St. Croix River are at Osceola and the St. Croix Boom Site. A map of the St. Croix River State Water Trail [ [link removed] ] (mndnr.gov/ watertrails/stcroixriver/index.html ) that includes PWAs is on the DNR website.

A drop in the river level is common at this time of year. However, combined with the unintended Lake Alice drawdown that occurred over the weekend of August 9-10, 2025, this season’s drop in river levels created a sediment delta that clogged the back channel of the St. Croix River where the park’s PWA is located. The low river levels and the heavy sediment load are two issues that, independently, would not require closure of the PWA. However, combined they’ve made the boat landing unusable.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is working to determine the best course of action to address the increased sediment in the channel and reopen the PWA.

Updates about the PWA at William O’Brien will be shared in the visitor alerts on the park’s website [ [link removed] ] (mndnr.gov/obrien) as they are available.





________________________________________________________________________

minnesota department of natural resources [ [link removed] ]

*Minnesota Department of Natural Resources  |  mndnr.gov [ [link removed] ] *

Email us: [email protected]  |  Call 651-296-6157 or 888-646-6367

Follow us on Facebook [ [link removed] ]   Follow us on Twitter [ [link removed] ]   Follow us on Instagram [ [link removed] ]   Find us on LinkedIn [ [link removed] ]   Follow us on YouTube [ [link removed] ]

SUBSCRIBER SERVICES:

Manage Preferences [ [link removed] ] | Unsubscribe [ [link removed] ] | Help [ [link removed] ]  |  Sign-up for DNR e-mail lists [ [link removed] ]


________________________________________________________________________

This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud GovDelivery logo [ [link removed] ]
body .abe-column-block { min-height: 5px; } table.gd_combo_table img {margin-left:10px; margin-right:10px;} table.gd_combo_table div.govd_image_display img, table.gd_combo_table td.gd_combo_image_cell img {margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px;}