Minnesota
Related: About this forumI would like to visit Minnesota some day....
I've never been. Where should I go and what should I see? I like art museums, bodies of water, nature, peace and quiet with the occasional big city visit. Also scouting out potential cities to move to someday. I'm 50 and don't want to grow old in Los Angeles. I most likely wouldn't be able to handle the Winters there, even though I love cold weather...
Thanks!
geardaddy
(24,926 posts)The Minneapolis Institute of Arts http://new.artsmia.org/
The Walker http://www.walkerart.org/
The Weisman http://www.weisman.umn.edu/
I'm more familiar with Minneapolis, but I'm sure St. Paul has some excellent art museums and I'll let St. Paulites suggest those.
If you like bodies of water, there are so many to choose from here. The North Shore of Lake Superior is an excellent place to drive, camp, and stay in a resort or B & B.
The Mississippi River valley is also great. Not to mention the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes and the thousands of other lakes in the state.
If you like camping, hiking or canoeing, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in northern MN is a must do.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)If you do two weeks you might cover 20% of the Minnesota experience. Every city has some type of historical museum or park relating to the settlement of that area. If you stay in the Metro area,select a Hotel Motel that has access to the Trains and Bus system. Walking the Loop of Minneapolis and St Paul is a hoot. If you are into the woodsey thing,head up to Duluth in July and early August. Do the North Shore this time of year. Perfect temps and wild flowers are fantastic as well as some of the little Dives and Dinners along the way. Don't forget to stop at the Light House for a few hours. You will think your in Big Surr. Lived there for 50 years and still go back each summer for two to three months to find new and different things to experience. Remember this,get your rental car off Airport if you decide to fly,super expensive on site.
TlalocW
(15,373 posts)And then go to their street dance/meatloaf dinner...
TlalocW
Frosty1
(1,823 posts)Come to the boundary waters!
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/canoeing/bwca/index.html
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
An aerial view of lakes and forests in the Boundary Waters.
PasadenaTrudy
(3,998 posts)Thanks everyone so far!
Bjorn Against
(12,041 posts)The Boundary Waters canoe area is quite unique as well as they do not allow electric motors, only canoes and foot travel. It is very beautiful if you are able to rough it you won't find a more quiet place. If you don't want to rough it quite so much Bear Head Lake State Park is nearby and they do allow cars but still have the beautiful scenery.
As far as big cities go Minneapolis and Duluth have a lot to do, and if you drive up the North Shore there is Grand Mara is which is a small town but it is one of the most beautiful small towns you will ever visit and has a very progressive culture with lots of art and culture.
geardaddy
(24,926 posts)It's a state treasure.
geardaddy
(24,926 posts)Minneapolis and St. Paul are nationally renowned for their theater offerings.
the_sly_pig
(740 posts)Drove up I35 to Duluth, always beautiful in the Fall. Duluth for Canal Park and Lake Superior.
Took Hwy 61 North to Grand Marais which is a sleepy art town. You can run around Superior National Forest or view the majesty of Lake Superior and star-gaze.
From there we went to Ely. I don't recommend taking Hwy 1 because it is a 55mph curvy disaster. Ely is a nice old Minnesota town. Anywhere around there you can enhance your enjoyment of fishing or look for a cabin or land for a cabin if you like hunting.
From there we went to International Falls. If you like throwing rocks at Canada you can stay at an old Holiday Inn and throw rocks across the rainy river. I didn't see any Canadians so throwing of the rocks is safe.
From there we went to Eveleth to see the USA Hockey Hall of Fame. Along the way we stopped at a mine where the iron content of the ore was such that you can weld two rocks together. You can also go down in the mine if you like subterranean adventure.
Eveleth, Virginia, Mountain Iron and Hibbing are called the quad cities in Minnesota. You can bounce around there and look at a midwest mining town that surface mines with gigantic mining equipment.
From there our family couldnt take eating out anymore. I would have killed for a home-made salad of some sort.
Nice river towns include Stillwater, Red Wing and Winona. Small towns and lakes abound just about anywhere you go.
Nice hockey tournament towns include Brainerd, Sartell, Saint Cloud and Alexandria. I'd give a shout-out to Wisconsin for cabins but then you'd have to live in Wisconsin. Not cool.
Finally, an old joke for you from a native mud-duck. Q: Why does the Mississippi flow south? A: Iowa Sucks!!!
scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)One of my most favorite places on earth is Gooseberry Falls State Park, which is about 14 miles or so up the road from the town of Two Harbors, which is up the road (Hwy 61) a piece from Duluth (I can't remember the exact mileage, but it's not all that far).
At Gooseberry, you can park by the visitor center and follow the trail to the falls. If you're feeling ambitious, you can hike along the river all the way down to the shore of Lake Superior. Or, if you want to go directly to the lakeshore, there's a parking area just below it, and you just scoot up a short path and there's the lake. If it's nice weather, bring a picnic - there are all these wonderful old, heavy-hewn wooden picnic tables that were built by the CCC/WPA in the 30s dotted around the upper part of the shore. Or if you want shelter from the elements, there's a gorgeous rustic lodge and picnic shelter built by the CCC/WPA of local stone and timber. (Take a left into a different parking area)
The shore off the first parking area is a gradually sloping mass of folded, cracked, and wrinkled basalt, studded with small bits of crystalline quartz and dotted with tiny pools of water and determined wildflowers. You can hang out and listen to the surf, or set out on the trail that follows the shoreline and winds its way through a grassy upland overlooking the lake, or clamber down the piles of gigantic tumbled boulders that verge the shore below the main trail.
Anyway, it's a wonderful place.
Edited to add:
Photo of the Lady Slipper Lodge on the shore of Lake Superior at Gooseberry Falls State Park.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)of iron ore and railroad history in it.
glinda
(14,807 posts)I would suggest the southern part of the State. It tends to be a little warmer year round but not by leaps and bounds. Redwing is lovely along with a few of the smaller cities and college towns that way. You can also cross over into some nice sights in WI. that way and not live with Scott Walker's dictatorship at the same time. It is a bit of a jaunt up to the Cities for more culture but not bad and surely an easy day trip.
Lydia Leftcoast
(48,217 posts)The best part of it is north of Two Harbors.
It can be distinctly cool even when the rest of the state is sweltering, so take a jacket.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)Generic Brad
(14,272 posts)You get your body of water. Close to public transportation. Near museums.
It is the best of all worlds. I am a L.A. resident from way back and I love it here.