Angie Hong wants everyone to know there’s a park or nature preserve for them, and everyone can do something to help protect the environment. Those are two main messages from her new book, Exploring the St. Croix River Valley: Adventures on and off the Water.

“I hope it inspires people to get out to a few new places, and get involved in conservation work,” Hong said in a recent conversation.

Published by the University of Minnesota Press, the book is described as “an authoritative, accessible, and entertaining nature recreation guide to one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring areas in the Midwest.”

Hong is a longtime conservation educator and newspaper columnist, and more recently, a creator of popular conservation content on social media. She works for the East Metro Water Conservation program and lives in Stillwater. The book collects some of her popular columns as well as lots of new places and writing.

“There are so many places near Minneapolis and St. Paul that are still relatively unknown,” she said.

Exploring the St. Croix River Valley includes visits to some of Hong’s favorite natural places, which are mostly far from the flagship public lands of the region. Rather than the popular state parks, Hong features places like Standing Cedars’ preserves near Osceola and Belwin Conservancy’s lands in Afton.

She tells of paddles down the St. Croix with her young son, Charlie, and adventures with a group of girlfriends who refuse to take outdoor recreation so seriously. The book includes a short essay about a canoe trip down the river in which they wore long skirts, baubles, and scarves and had fun playing “fancy ladies.”

“A lot of times people think there’s a certain way to recreate in nature,” Hong said. “My friends and I dressed up silly and went down the river. There’s not one right way to do it.”

The book is organized by the different types of ecosystems found in the St. Croix basin, from forests to prairies. Hong admits that she is particularly fond of the prairies, which she sees as an unknown and underappreciated resource.

“I’m a sucker for prairie,” she said. “There used to be a lot of prairie here.”

Today, healthy prairies are only found in a few places, which she loves to visit and share with others.

“Everyone who I’ve taken out to the prairie has fallen in love,” she said. “The plants are lower, smaller, colorful, and there are so many insects and birds.

Hong believes outdoor recreation is an essential part of environmental conservation. In nearly 20 years working with people across the region and across political divides, she has found that a connection to land and water makes its protection possible.

“Most people overwhelmingly support conservation initiatives,” she said. “They often just need to know specific places and issues.”

Exploring the St. Croix River watershed is a great way to begin knowing and understand the resources and what’s needed to protect them.

“Maybe you go on the Namekagon and see the crystal clear water, when you can see fish, see the bottom,” she said. “It helps you understand the importance of clean water.”

Packed with photos, most of which were also taken by Hong, Exploring the St. Croix River Valley offers information and inspiration that is accessible to one and all. The book is available for purchase here.