Abandoned by mining companies more than thirty years ago, this area of former mining pits and rock deposit stockpiles now boasts regenerated vegetation and clear lakes that draw a wide range of recreation enthusiasts. Twenty-five miles of natural shoreline can be explored by boat or canoe, and anglers can cast a line for trout, northern, bass, crappie, or sunfish. Most of the recreation area's 5,000 acres are undeveloped. Off-highway vehicles are not permitted within the boundaries of Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area.

Wildlife
American Bald Eagles frequent the area and visitors occasionally observe white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare, raccoon, red fox, coyote, mink, muskrat and beaver. Other birds sighted in the recreation area include great blue heron, kingfishers, loons, turkey vultures, ruffed grouse, and red-tailed hawks. This is also great country for waterfowl and Cuyuna Country marshes and lakes are host to many species of ducks including redhead, northern shoveler, mallard, ring-necked, blue and green-winged teal, wood duck, several types of mergansers, snow geese, Canada geese, and white-fronted geese.

History
Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area is named for Cuyler Adams and Una, his Saint Bernard. Adams noticed deflections in his compass as he surveyed the land, and went on to discover iron ore in the area in 1904. By 1909 approximately 2,000 drill holes had been completed and the new town sites of Cuyuna, Crosby, Ironton, Manganese, Riverton, and Trommald were established. Twenty to thirty mines operated in the area during the mining boom of World Wars I and II, with nearly twenty mines still operational in the early 1950s. Foreign competition and taconite mining on the Mesabi Range caused a nearly complete shutdown of the Cuyuna area in the early 1960s. Abandoned mining operations left behind a landscape dotted with mining pits 100- to 525-feet deep, and rock stockpiles 200-feet high. Through the efforts of the Iron Range Resources Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB), Crow Wing County, local governments, two joint powers boards, volunteer groups, and the Department of Natural Resources, the area has become an outdoor recreation attraction and officially became a Minnesota State Recreation Area in 1993.

Geology
Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area is located in the St. Louis Moraines Subsection that was formed at the leading edge of repeating glacial advances. Its range of hills contain coarse gravel-like materials and boulders pockmarked with countless lakes, ponds, and bogs. Glacial drift in the area ranges from 100 to 200 feet in depth.

Landscape
Over the last 20 years, the landscape that was dotted with mining pits and stockpiles has changed. The deep pits are now filled with crystal clear water and a variety of vegetation now covers the area. The result is 25 miles of natural shoreline with a considerable area of forested land containing trembling aspen, paper birch, basswood, red oak, ironwood, and big-tooth aspen. The marsh areas contain bulrush, cattail and sedge. These communities provide a home for a wide variety of wildlife. The area contains six natural lakes, plus an additional 15 deep lakes that were former mine pits. Trout, northern, bass, crappies, sunfish and walleyes inhabit the area's lakes.