OT: Minneapolis/ST. Paul

[mom0299]

DH and I are going to Minnesota at the end of the month for my aunt and uncle's 50th anniversary party. We will arrive early on Friday and leave late on Monday. We have plans for dinner at my cousin's house on Friday night and the party is Saturday afternoon. We'd like to do some other sight-seeing while we're there. We've been to the Mall of America. What else is there to do? We are staying in Eden Prairie and the family activities are in Hastings so we will primarily be south of the cities. Does anyone have any suggestions? This is DH's second time to MN.

 

[BlondeAlligator]

The zoo there is fantatsic...don't know how far it would be from where you'll be staying but it's large and has some wonderful exhibits. I think it's in Eagan.

 

[jenseib]

I just went there 2 weeks ago, but our destination was the mall of amercia and that is the only thing we did.

 

[jlm]

I actually live here. There is tons to do! Stillwater, Afton area is North of Hastings and very beautiful. Stillwater has a lot of shops and cafes, very art deco.
The MN zoo/omni theater is in Apple Valley and the Como Zoo (free except for donations) is in Falcon Heights-in between Mpls and St Paul. If you like thrill rides Valley Fair is in Shakopee. Lake Calhoun has paths around it, and Lyndale park is located there. The sculpture gardens are nice. We have a science museum, I think Star Wars is there right now. We have tons of golf courses if you are into that.
Hope this helps!!

Jen

 

[Goofydiane]

Jen covered the highlights. I live west of Eden Prairie and there is the Arboretum about 7 miles west. Como Zoo is a free zoo in St. Paul and the MN Zoo is in Apple Valley. Both are great to visit.

In addition, MN is the land of 10,000 lakes and 1,000,000 mosquito's and boating is always a great activity.

 

[crisi]

I'd consider doing Minnesota history - visit Ft. Snelling, the Alexander Ramsey House, the Gibbs Farm (all on the St. Paul side of the world), maybe the Hill House (I find that less interesting since most of the furniture is gone). In Minneapolis there is a Mill museum I haven't been to - but talks about the milling of flour.

http://www.mnhs.org/about/index.html (all the sites mentioned except the Gibbs farm are Minnesota Historical Society Sites).

Gibbs Farm is a Ramsey County site:

http://www.rchs.com/gbbsfm2.htm

 

[mom0299]

Those are great suggestions. I actually remember going to the Como Zoo when I was young. My uncle had actually recommended Stillwater, so we may try that one. We also really like history, so these are great suggestions.
Thanks again!!!

 

[abdmom]

I live close to Eden Prairie. Stillwater is quite far - there's very interesting sights that are much closer - I wouldn't go there for this trip since you only have a couple of days. Be aware that many people go to their cabins in northern MN or WI for the weekends. Especially on Sunday afternoon/early evening, you don't want to be caught in traffic. That could eat up a lot of time.

I second the recommendations for the MN Zoo in Apple Valley and the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, especially since it has the Star Wars exhibit. There is also a Children's Museum in St. Paul that is walking distance from the Science Museum - you could do both. The Xcel Energy Center - site of the Republican Convention in September, is across the street from the Science Museum.

The Arboretum is nice. The Eden Prairie Mall is nice if you are interested in shopping or a movie. You are probably only a couple of minutes away. Valleyfair, a Cedar Fair amusement park is very close by, about 10-15 minutes- very good if you like roller coasters.

 

[mom0299]

Thanks, abdmom. I will take all of that into consideration.

 

[crisi]

I live close to Eden Prairie. Stillwater is quite far - there's very interesting sights that are much closer - I wouldn't go there for this trip since you only have a couple of days. Be aware that many people go to their cabins in northern MN or WI for the weekends. Especially on Sunday afternoon/early evening, you don't want to be caught in traffic. That could eat up a lot of time.

I second the recommendations for the MN Zoo in Apple Valley and the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, especially since it has the Star Wars exhibit. There is also a Children's Museum in St. Paul that is walking distance from the Science Museum - you could do both. The Xcel Energy Center - site of the Republican Convention in September, is across the street from the Science Museum.

The Arboretum is nice. The Eden Prairie Mall is nice if you are interested in shopping or a movie. You are probably only a couple of minutes away. Valleyfair, a Cedar Fair amusement park is very close by, about 10-15 minutes- very good if you like roller coasters.

Stillwater isn't that far from Hastings. Eden Prairie is however, a long way from Hastings and Stillwater is past there.

(If you are staying in a hotel in Eden Prairie and the activities are in Hastings, you might want to find a hotel closer to Hastings)

 

[JulieRobin]

I live in Minnesota and there is always so much to do and see. The other posts are good suggestions. The Minnesota Zoo is fantastic and has a new exhibit. w3.mnzoo.com (I can't post links, but you get the idea of the web address)

There is a vineyard in Hastings and it is VERY family friendly (or very romantic if it is just the two of you). It is a lovely place to go and relax, as it is a park-like atmosphere. The family or just you tow can go there and have a picnic, play yard games, or just look around. w3.abvwines.com

The arboretum is another good suggestion. w3.arboretum.umn.edu/summerevents.aspx

What type of activities do you like? Hiking, arts, water sports? I'm happy to give you loads of suggestions. I will try keep the suggestions to the southern suburbs.

 

[mom0299]

I live in Minnesota and there is always so much to do and see. The other posts are good suggestions. The Minnesota Zoo is fantastic and has a new exhibit. w3.mnzoo.com (I can't post links, but you get the idea of the web address)

There is a vineyard in Hastings and it is VERY family friendly (or very romantic if it is just the two of you). It is a lovely place to go and relax, as it is a park-like atmosphere. The family or just you tow can go there and have a picnic, play yard games, or just look around. w3.abvwines.com

The arboretum is another good suggestion. w3.arboretum.umn.edu/summerevents.aspx

What type of activities do you like? Hiking, arts, water sports? I'm happy to give you loads of suggestions. I will try keep the suggestions to the southern suburbs.

Julie Robin,
Thank you! The vineyard sounds nice. It is just DH and myself. Do you have any details about that? We do like hiking which would be fun. I'd love to hear more suggestions.

 

[jenseib]

I live close to Eden Prairie. Stillwater is quite far - there's very interesting sights that are much closer - I wouldn't go there for this trip since you only have a couple of days. Be aware that many people go to their cabins in northern MN or WI for the weekends. Especially on Sunday afternoon/early evening, you don't want to be caught in traffic. That could eat up a lot of time.

I second the recommendations for the MN Zoo in Apple Valley and the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul, especially since it has the Star Wars exhibit. There is also a Children's Museum in St. Paul that is walking distance from the Science Museum - you could do both. The Xcel Energy Center - site of the Republican Convention in September, is across the street from the Science Museum.

The Arboretum is nice. The Eden Prairie Mall is nice if you are interested in shopping or a movie. You are probably only a couple of minutes away. Valleyfair, a Cedar Fair amusement park is very close by, about 10-15 minutes- very good if you like roller coasters.

I hit that traffic two weeks ago. We were staying in
tomah WI, and left Sunday afternoon. It took us 5 1/2 hours to get from thre to the other side of Chicago. And actually Chicago wasn;t too bad. But it was stop and go the whole way down in WI. Just awful. We make this trip to Tomah about once a year and we never ran into this traffic before.

 

[JulieRobin]

Hi -- The vineyard is called Alexis Baily Vineyard and:
Open Hours
The winery is open for visitors to sample and purchase our wines. Wine tasting is $2 - $5 per person / $7.00 per person for special events. [Julie says -- it is SO fun]

There is no formal tour, however, you will find that one is not necessary when you visit. There is always someone available to answer questions about our wine making and grape growing, to show you around, and to take you through a wine tasting of our wines.

Summer Hours
May until Thanksgiving
Fri/Sat/Sun 11 AM to 5:30 PM

For more info check out their website abvwines.com/visit.htm

It would be a fun thing to do if you have the time.

A hike (it is a light hike) through the Aboretum would also be nice. They have lots of walking paths.

Web site www .threeriversparkdistrict.org and check out the trials. It is beautiful for a nice walk.

Places to eat in Eden Prairie... TONS! go to the chamber of commerce website epchamber.org/Directory/catid-129.aspx

Lots of shopping, too.

If you feel like being near a lake and taking a drive, head to Lake Harriet. Near there you will find beautiful gardens to stroll though. They have an amazing rose garden and fountains, etc. It is beautiful. It is about 1/2 hour northeast of Eden Prairie in Minneapolis -- Website minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=4&parkid=350

You might have a jam packed weekend, but hopefully you will be able to see some of the great hidden gems of Minnesota. The Vineyard is one of them IMO. Since you are staying in EP I would say try to go to the Arboretum (not too far from EP), and the Vineyard on the day of the party in Hastings (if that is possible).

Do you like to gaze at old houses? The Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun area is fun to get lost. So is Summit Ave in St. Paul. Large old homes.

I like strolling through Linden Hills near Lake Harriet. It has unique shops, a VERY unique bookstore and good coffee. linden-hills.com/

Julie

 

[mamaLori05]

I hit that traffic two weeks ago. We were staying in
tomah WI, and left Sunday afternoon. It took us 5 1/2 hours to get from thre to the other side of Chicago. And actually Chicago wasn;t too bad. But it was stop and go the whole way down in WI. Just awful. We make this trip to Tomah about once a year and we never ran into this traffic before.

Not to high jack the thread or anything, but I live in Wisconsin and the traffic you ran into two weeks ago could have been because of all the road closings from the flooding. We had several roads closed by us, including I-94 for MILES!!!!! Since I-94 was closed, that traffic was routed to I-43 causing back-ups on there. If you were on one of those two freeways, that may have been the reason for the back ups. Not totally sure, but that would have been around the same time frame.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

Didn't see mentioned, but if you go to Stillwater, there are also river cruises/paddlewheel boats there. My cousins' DH plays for a jazz band on one of them for their cruises.

 

[jenseib]

Not to high jack the thread or anything, but I live in Wisconsin and the traffic you ran into two weeks ago could have been because of all the road closings from the flooding. We had several roads closed by us, including I-94 for MILES!!!!! Since I-94 was closed, that traffic was routed to I-43 causing back-ups on there. If you were on one of those two freeways, that may have been the reason for the back ups. Not totally sure, but that would have been around the same time frame.

I 94 was open, but the week before it was closed I know ,as my DH came through there on his way back from Ottertail,MN. He actually made better time getted rerouted than we did on I94 a week later.

One of the girls we met up with from our home time had stopped on the way up to go potty and eat in Madison, and they had the road blocked back to the highway from flooding and she was rerouted on her way up to get back on I 94. I thought it was weird that they had the off ramp open, but not the on ramp.