Washington County
Barn Quilt Trail
The Washington County Barn Quilt Trail is a 16.4 mile (or 26.39 kilometers) route that winds through the beautiful communities of Scandia, Marine on St. Croix, and the Town of May in Minnesota.
The trail goes through farm areas, a state park, a downtown area, historical sites, and forested areas. Wherever a person is on the Barn Quilt Trail, it’s beautiful.
People can look at the barn quilts and enjoy a ride through the country; or they can take more time – maybe even an entire day - to explore stops along the way – like:
- William O’Brien State Park;
- downtown Marine and the businesses, historical sites, and parks;
- the St. Croix River;
- Hay Lake Monument; or
- museums – like Erickson Log Home which is behind the Hay Lake School, Stone House Museum, or Gammelgarden Museum.
- Excerpt from Minnesota Quilts - Creating Connections with Our Past by the Minnesota Quilt Project
A barn quilt is a large piece of wood that is painted to look like a quilt block.
The size of the barn quilts on the Washington County Barn Quilt Trail vary from 2'x2' to 7'x7'. The 2'x2' ones weigh about 15 pounds; the 4'x4' ones weigh about 30 pounds; and the largest ones weigh over 100 pounds.
After they are painted, these blocks are hung on the exterior of a barn, house, garage, or other building; or can be free-standing in a yard, pasture, or garden.
All of the barn quilts on our trail are comprised of simple geometric shapes, like squares, rectangles, and triangles. This makes them easier to create.
The quilts are painted in solid colors, and all the barn quilts share at least one color with another quilt on the trail.
The simplicity in shape and the vibrancy of solid colors make these blocks easily seen from afar. If they are too complicated, the details can be lost.