Minnesota Correctional Facility – Oak Park Heights

Minnesota's only maximum-security state prison (Level 5) for men, in Oak Park Heights, Washington County — it holds the highest-security population in the state system.

Overview

Minnesota Correctional Facility – Oak Park Heights (MCF-Oak Park Heights) is a state prison for men operated by the Minnesota Department of Corrections. It is in the city of Oak Park Heights, in Washington County in eastern Minnesota, near the St. Croix River along the Wisconsin border. The facility opened in 1982 and is the most secure prison in the state system.

The Minnesota DOC classifies people in custody by custody level, from Level 1 (minimum) through Level 5 (maximum), and a person’s level can change during incarceration. Oak Park Heights operates at Level 5, the highest level in the system, and houses people who are assigned the most secure custody status. The custody status and housing unit held at a given prison affect how a visit is arranged, so families confirm the arrangement that applies to the specific person before a first visit.

What Makes MCF-Oak Park Heights Different

MCF-Oak Park Heights is Minnesota’s only maximum-security (Level 5) prison. It holds people assigned the highest-security custody status in the state, including some who are transferred there from other Minnesota prisons for security or management reasons. The facility also operates a mental health unit for people with significant mental health needs and a medical infirmary equipped for around-the-clock care, which means it serves specialized populations from across the state in addition to its general maximum-security population. Because it is the system’s most secure prison, entry procedures and the visiting setup can be more restrictive than at lower-custody facilities, and they are confirmed with the facility in advance.

Visiting

The statewide MN DOC rules above — the approved visitor list, the dress code, ID, and item limits — apply at MCF-Oak Park Heights. The facility’s own arrangements:

Getting There and Parking

MCF-Oak Park Heights is at 5329 Osgood Avenue North, with a Stillwater mailing address (ZIP 55082), though the facility is in the city of Oak Park Heights in Washington County. It is in the eastern Twin Cities metropolitan area, near the St. Croix River and the Wisconsin border, and is reached by way of State Highway 36 east of St. Paul. The nearest large commercial airport is Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, southwest of the facility.

Parking is on site. Visitors confirm current entry procedures, the visitor-processing location, and what may be brought onto the grounds with the facility before arriving, because electronic devices and personal items are not permitted inside — visitors may generally bring only identification, a car key, and coins for vending machines.

Nearby Services

Oak Park Heights and the neighboring cities of Stillwater and Bayport have lodging, dining, and fuel, with a wider range of options across the eastern Twin Cities metropolitan area to the southwest. Emergency medical care is available locally, with larger hospitals in the Twin Cities. Visitors traveling a long distance generally find the most options for fuel, food, and overnight stays in the Stillwater area and along the Interstate 94 and Highway 36 corridors toward St. Paul.

Mail

Minnesota does not deliver friends-and-family mail to the prison. Since November 1, 2024, the Minnesota DOC has personal mail processed off-site by a private vendor, TextBehind, which scans or photocopies each item and sends the copies to the facility (electronic delivery to the person’s tablet is also available for a fee). Mail sent directly to a Minnesota prison is returned to the sender.

Address personal mail this way:

First Name / Last Name, and OID number MCF-Oak Park Heights, Minnesota (do not abbreviate Minnesota) P.O. Box 247 Phoenix, MD 21131

Items missing a first and last name or the OID number are rejected, and envelopes without complete information are discarded unopened. Mail between two incarcerated people, pen-pal mail, and photo orders also go to the TextBehind address.

Some mail still goes directly to the facility, not to TextBehind: legal mail; published materials, books, and subscription renewals; business mail from courts, counties, child support, and other government agencies; and vital documents such as birth certificates, Social Security cards, and IDs (TextBehind forwards these to the facility). Legal mail is sent to the facility’s own address, and incarcerated people use the facility address as the return address on outgoing legal mail.

Verify the current mailing rules and the facility’s address before sending anything.

Learn More

• Visiting a Minnesota prison — getting on the approved visitor list, scheduling, and what to expect at the visit.
• Sending mail — how the TextBehind scanning system works and how to address letters, photos, and legal mail.
• Phone & video — ViaPath phone calls and JPay Video Connect video visits.
• Sending money — depositing funds through JPay and where government or corporate checks go.
• Medical care — how health care is provided in Minnesota prisons and how to raise a concern.
• Transfers & intake — where people enter the system (men at MCF-St. Cloud, women at MCF-Shakopee) and how transfers work.