travel beyond the obvious
Travel guides, information, photographs, and stories about the American state of Minnesota, with ideas for an urban vacation in Minneapolis, a wilderness escape in one of many state parks https://explorationvacation.net/exploring-usa/minnesota/exploring-minnesota-state-parks/ a jaunt along the North Shore https://explorationvacation.net/exploring-usa/minnesota/exploring-minnesota-lake-superiors-north-shore/ and more throughout the state.
Every February, the Hudson Hot Air Affair brings a variety of balloons and hardy ballooning enthusiasts to Hudson, Wisconsin, for a weekend hot air balloon festival. While the weather isn’t always suitable for actually taking Read More …
Lovely Green Heron Bed and Breakfast on Lake Pokegama offers all the advantages of having your own place on a northern lake, but without the work. And both breakfast and happy hour are included! In Read More …
Probably the largest locomotive ever built, a Union Pacific Big Boy steam engine is a sight to behold. And this year, for the first time in almost six decades, you can see one in action Read More …
At the edge of the prairie where Minnesota and North Dakota meet, Moorhead’s Hopperstad stave church (a replica of the medieval Hopperstad stavkirke in Vik, Norway,) transports visitors to era of the Vikings when Christianity Read More …
Buffalo River State Park offers hiking trails through native prairie and a hardwood forest along the Buffalo River, camping, and a man-made swimming hole. The park is located just east of Moorhead at the western Read More …
Hill Annex Mine State Park preserves northern Minnesota iron mining history. Park tours show visitors part of a former open pit iron ore mine, complete with vintage buildings and equipment. But go see it now. Read More …
For gardens that show off a wide variety of plants, the best gardens in Minneapolis are hidden in a quiet neighborhood just north of Lake Harriet in Lyndale Park. While the lake draws many visitors, Read More …
Lake Minnetonka is well-known to boaters in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Area. But fewer people are aware of the spectacular garden that hides just beyond the shore. With 16 acres of formal plantings and manicured Read More …
To visit Great River Bluffs State Park near Winona, Minnesota, is to enter a world where rugged bluffs are covered with a mix of woodlands and rare goat prairies and easy hiking trails lead to Read More …
Just south of Minneapolis, a serene Japanese garden is nearly hidden alongside Normandale Community College. Here, students and the public can find an oasis of calm in the Normandale Japanese Garden.