Lake Bemidji State Park on the north shore of Lake Bemidji preserves a landscape formed about 10,000 years ago as retreating glaciers left rolling terrain, wetlands, and the lake itself. Human use reaches back centuries, from Dakota ancestors who hunted and fished here to Anishinaabe communities who settled in the area around 1750 and gave the lake its name. In the late 19th century, logging transformed the surrounding pine forests, but Minnesota created the park in 1923, preserving some old growth. New Deal work crews added rustic buildings in the 1930s, and today the park is valued for its varied habitats, wildlife, trails, and year-round recreation.