Tangled driftwood is abundant and massive. The 3,000-acre state park offers a swimming beach on the big lake and a boat access and harbor in the sheltered calm of Zippel Bay. This park's location on the northern border of Minnesota affords opportunities to observe an interesting variety of wildlife not common elsewhere in the state. Visitors have opportunities to observe coyote, black bear, mink, fisher, otter and even the rare pine marten, a relative of the mink and fisher. Timber wolf are occasionally seen or heard in the park.
Deer are common in the park and, on occasion, a moose is sighted.
Zippel Bay State Park is also a great place to get a crystal clear view of the Night Sky.