On the beach, a lone canoe paddle half-covered with fallen leaves shows the name "Christa" engraved on its blade.
Next to a gravel parking lot, a fiberglass basketball backboard is split vertically into two jagged pieces, next to a bent hoop and a pile of broken concrete slabs.
In nearby buildings, the windows, appliances, heaters, bunk beds, and even a fireplace mantel have been pulled for salvage.
Camp Kingswood, a 65-year-old Bible camp and retreat center in Minnetrista, is fast becoming history. Demolition crews began last week to erase all traces of the camp's lodges, sleeping cabins, wells, septic system, ropes course and other features.
Three Rivers Park District purchased the camp late last year from the Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church for $2.25 million and plans to return the land to nature.
The 106-acre area includes pristine woodland surrounding one of the cleanest lakes in the metro area and is the district's first major park purchase in suburban Hennepin County in two decades.
"What sold us on this property is that it's unique for its natural resources," said Margie Dahlof, Three Rivers associate superintendent for strategic initiatives. The camp also contains a stunning trail corridor through the forest, she said, that might eventually be developed to link with several other trails and parks in the area.
The park is closed because of the demolition and landscape restoration, Dahlof said, and will remain so until the middle of 2014. A Department of Natural Resources public boat launch on the lake's eastern shore is not part of the acquisition and will remain open, she said.