The park provided access to fossil material exposed by mining from the Cretaceous era Coleraine Formation.

[6] MNDNR noted that this change had been planned for quite some time, and that the park's closure was "consistent with the historical expectation that mining would return to this site".

[4] As of 2024, MNDNR is working with 'community partners' on the question of what to do with the various artifacts preserved at the park's museum building.

The landscape is home to grouse, deer, coyotes, timber wolves, and black bears.

The Hill Annex Paleontology Project is a research endeavor focused on the Cretaceous deposits found in Minnesota and has been active at the state park since 2014.

[11] Specimens found by this project also ammonites, crocodiles, and various species of fish, sharks, plant material, turtles, crabs, mollusks, snails, and clams.