plan your visit
INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL GROUPS
Come explore! We love visitors of all kinds! Please be sure to read the rules posted at the welcome kiosk and sign the guestbook (located in the mailbox). We're open free of charge from dawn to dusk, though donations are appreciated. Enjoy your visit!
Come explore! We love visitors of all kinds! Please be sure to read the rules posted at the welcome kiosk and sign the guestbook (located in the mailbox). We're open free of charge from dawn to dusk, though donations are appreciated. Enjoy your visit!
GROUPS AND EVENTS
Want a perfect outdoor setting out of the hustle and bustle of busy public parks? Try the Neilson Spearhead Center!
If you plan to hold an event such as a school field trip, party, business meeting, or educational workshop, please contact us to make a reservation. Email [email protected], or call 218-444-8672.
Want a perfect outdoor setting out of the hustle and bustle of busy public parks? Try the Neilson Spearhead Center!
If you plan to hold an event such as a school field trip, party, business meeting, or educational workshop, please contact us to make a reservation. Email [email protected], or call 218-444-8672.
Convenience Facilities
- Year-round outhouse
- Year-round screened-in porch with shelter on three sides
- Fire pit
- Picnic tables
- Running water - by request in Summer
Wilderness Experience Facilities
- Boat launch on southern shoreline
- Canoe launch on eastern shoreline
- Extensive trail system
- Bog boardwalk
Neilson Spearhead CenterThe Mississippi Headwaters Audubon Society (MHAS) owns and manages a 466-acre tract of prime wilderness southwest of Bemidji, Minnesota surrounding Spearhead Lake.
The land that comprises the Neilson Spearhead Center (NSC) was acquired by George W. Neilson in the 1930s. In 1978, George Neilson’s daughter, Katharine Neilson Cram, donated the property to The Nature Conservancy, which later deeded it to the MHAS. |
Protected Forever
The MHAS board of directors acknowledges that the NSC is a very special place that should be protected into the future. In order to ensure this, the MHAS entered it into a perpetual conservation easement with the Minnesota Land Trust on April 6, 1999. Today the NSC property remains in MHAS ownership and the title ensures protection remains in place regardless of future land ownership.
Our stewardship responsibility includes maintaining the integrity of the natural communities present on the NSC property and providing opportunities for experiential education and research.
The MHAS board of directors acknowledges that the NSC is a very special place that should be protected into the future. In order to ensure this, the MHAS entered it into a perpetual conservation easement with the Minnesota Land Trust on April 6, 1999. Today the NSC property remains in MHAS ownership and the title ensures protection remains in place regardless of future land ownership.
Our stewardship responsibility includes maintaining the integrity of the natural communities present on the NSC property and providing opportunities for experiential education and research.
Visitor Rules:
Permission is required for events such as birthday parties, educational workshops, or business meetings to be held at the preserve. Please contact us at [email protected] for more information. Hunting, camping, and public swimming at the Neilson Spearhead Center is not allowed.
Permission is required for events such as birthday parties, educational workshops, or business meetings to be held at the preserve. Please contact us at [email protected] for more information. Hunting, camping, and public swimming at the Neilson Spearhead Center is not allowed.