The Richard J. Dorer Memorial Hardwood State Forest is a 1016204 acre reserve of current and former forest in Minnesota's Driftless Area. Only 45000 acre of the land is state owned, with the remainder owned by private individuals and community groups, governed by easements. Non-contiguous units are spread over seven counties ( Dakota, Fillmore, Goodhue, Olmsted, Houston, Wabasha, and Winona Counties), generally in areas just west of the Mississippi River, but extending much further west into the valleys of the Root and Zumbro Rivers. A wide variety of recreational activities are offered: camping, fishing, horseback riding trails (including horse picket lines and corrals); an extensive network of hiking and nature trails (including a wheelchair-accessible trail), and off-highway vehicle trails. It is named in honor of a former Commissioner of Conservation.

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