Meadowlark Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 You can see our ages below... We are spending 3 nights in Duluth and 4 nights outside of Minneapolis in Minnehaha. We have lodging booked, but are wondering how to spend our days. If you're familiar with this area, I'd love some insider tips of what to do each day. Most of our meals will be cooked, but if there is a restaurant we absolutely shouldn't miss, we'll eat out a few times. The only things we know we're doing for sure are: Sailing in Duluth Canal Park/watching ships Glensheen Mansion in Duluth Mall of America Any other must-do's? Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Where are you staying in the cities? Minnehaha is not a city, but is a creek, waterfalls, and park and a road? I'm just wondering what area you are going to be in so I don't lead you too astay!? There is also a suburb called Minnetonka? Maybe near the airport/Mall of America? Other options for the cities - Renting canoes on the Minneapolis chain of lakes ( maybe kiddos are too young for that!?). https://www.minneapolisparks.org/rentals__permits/watercraft_storage__rentals/boat_rentals/ Science Museum (downtown Saint Paul) https://www.smm.org/ Mill City Museum (downtown Minneapolis) http://www.mnhs.org/millcity Walking the stone arch bridge and the historic St Anthony Falls area (downtown Mpls) https://www.minneapolisparks.org/parks__destinations/historical_sites/stone_arch_bridge/ Minnesota History Center (downtown St. Paul) http://www.mnhs.org/historycenter Paddle boat river tour - Minneapolis Queen. There is another in Saint Paul. https://www.twincitiescruises.com/ There is a good performing arts scene often with family friendly options. Lots of outdoor options if you'll be here while the weather is still good. I could PM you suggestions if you had dates you were going to be here. Glensheen in Duluth is AMAZING and one of my favorite things to do up there. With your littles, maybe pick the shortest tour and plan on spending some time on the grounds. You'll have a great time at the MOA (I was earlier this week!) and just tooling around Canal Park. Duluth also has a great children's and railroad museum. They also have a nice children's theater in the same building and we've seen cute shows there as well. If you need somewhere to just play and burn off steam in Duluth, Chester park is great. There's a playground and great little trail system along a creek. Hinckley MN is half way from Duluth to the cities and there is a Bakery and restaurant there called Tobies where everyone stops. Cinnamon rolls are famous. ? https://tobies.com/bakery/ Yay - have a fun trip! ETA - if you like historic homes the JJ Hill House in Saint Paul is quite magnificent. http://www.mnhs.org/hillhouse Also, your kids are great ages for the Saint Paul Children's Museum https://mcm.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted July 27, 2018 Author Share Posted July 27, 2018 1 hour ago, FuzzyCatz said: Where are you staying in the cities? Minnehaha is not a city, but is a creek, waterfalls, and park and a road? I'm just wondering what area you are going to be in so I don't lead you too astay!? There is also a suburb called Minnetonka? Maybe near the airport/Mall of America? Other options for the cities - Renting canoes on the Minneapolis chain of lakes ( maybe kiddos are too young for that!?). https://www.minneapolisparks.org/rentals__permits/watercraft_storage__rentals/boat_rentals/ Science Museum (downtown Saint Paul) https://www.smm.org/ Mill City Museum (downtown Minneapolis) http://www.mnhs.org/millcity Walking the stone arch bridge and the historic St Anthony Falls area (downtown Mpls) https://www.minneapolisparks.org/parks__destinations/historical_sites/stone_arch_bridge/ Minnesota History Center (downtown St. Paul) http://www.mnhs.org/historycenter Paddle boat river tour - Minneapolis Queen. There is another in Saint Paul. https://www.twincitiescruises.com/ There is a good performing arts scene often with family friendly options. Lots of outdoor options if you'll be here while the weather is still good. I could PM you suggestions if you had dates you were going to be here. Glensheen in Duluth is AMAZING and one of my favorite things to do up there. With your littles, maybe pick the shortest tour and plan on spending some time on the grounds. You'll have a great time at the MOA (I was earlier this week!) and just tooling around Canal Park. Duluth also has a great children's and railroad museum. They also have a nice children's theater in the same building and we've seen cute shows there as well. If you need somewhere to just play and burn off steam in Duluth, Chester park is great. There's a playground and great little trail system along a creek. Hinckley MN is half way from Duluth to the cities and there is a Bakery and restaurant there called Tobies where everyone stops. Cinnamon rolls are famous. ? https://tobies.com/bakery/ Yay - have a fun trip! ETA - if you like historic homes the JJ Hill House in Saint Paul is quite magnificent. http://www.mnhs.org/hillhouse Also, your kids are great ages for the Saint Paul Children's Museum https://mcm.org/ Thank you! We are renting a house near Lake Harriet. I'm not sure of the exact address but I remember that much. We are going to be in Duluth Aug. 10-13 and then the cities after that. I sort of looked up performing arts (big fan) but didn't see any children's shows, but I could've missed something. If you were to pick your favorite museum in either place, what would it be? I'm afraid we will probably just be able to do 1 and I'm not sure which one would fit our ages best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickerplum Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 You could check out the dinner theater in Chanhassen. We went a few times and it was fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 There are a couple of free museums in Duluth you could check out. UMD has a free art museum on campus called the Tweed that's fun to walk through, and there's the Karpeles Manuscript Museum in town which is also free (or at least it was a few years ago). If you don't mind a bit of a drive, Gooseberry Falls, which is like an hour north of Duluth, is gorgeous. There's a giant docked ship in Duluth that does tours if you have anyone in your family who likes boats, though I'm blanking on the name of it. The Vista Fleet does boat tours on Lake Superior, but I went on one and was bored out of my mind. There's also the North Shore Scenic Railroad, which I never made it onto but a lot of people really enjoy. The Great Lakes Aquarium is fun, but super expensive. There's also the Lake Superior Zoo, but the zoo doesn't have as much as they used to, though it's still worth an afternoon. Leif Erickson Park is a huge rose garden and would be a fantastic place for a picnic lunch. It's where my dh proposed. ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Arg my kid is in a children’s show closing the 5th! I could have sent free passes. I’ll look around! Lake Harriet area is great! There is a children’s book store near there called Wild Rumpus that has cats and chickens running around if you need a quick animal fix. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted July 27, 2018 Author Share Posted July 27, 2018 Just now, FuzzyCatz said: Arg my kid is in a children’s show closing the 5th! I could have sent free passes. I’ll look around! Lake Harriet area is great! There is a children’s book store near there called Wild Rumpus that has cats and chickens running around if you need a quick animal fix. Oh totally! How did you know my eldest is a future farmer who just LOVES chickens and cats? LOL. We'll have to check that out. Always up for a fun bookstore! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Well, if you go to the Red Herring Lounge in Duluth, you can visit my dd. ? We've enjoyed going to the train museum in Duluth, and taking the train tour along the North Shore. Across the state line into Wisconsin, you can tour the Fairlawn Mansion Museum. Really interesting history. I was wondering about Minnehaha too, since that's more of a neighborhood and park -- not an actual city, but I think I understand. Spending the day around Lake Harriet is fun. You can swim, there's often outdoor concerts at the Pavilion there, there's a trolly you can ride, and more. My favorite lake in the Twin Cities is Lake Como though (in St. Paul). It's a little quieter, and you can walk all the way around it and there's a nice restaurant at the old Pavilion. Como Park (near Lake Como) in St. Paul is fun. There's a zoo there, and it's free. They also have a really nice conservatory, where you can walk along little paths indoors and view different types of flowers and plant life. It's fun to spend a couple hours in downtown Minneapolis. It's really a lovely downtown, with lots of outdoor cafes now on Nicollet Mall. They have skyways that cover lots of ground too, so you never have to walk outdoors (great during our rough winters!). Kids often have fun in those. The Stone Arch Bridge is nearby and we love that area. The Minneapolis Institute of Art is a very nice museum and is free. If you're in the Twin Cities from August 23 on, you're in time for the State Fair which is BIG and so much fun. Our entire family works there. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Como zoo and area is a great idea! I don’t know how I let that get away from me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeLovePassion Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 Red Wagon Pizza is wonderful in south Minneapolis And then echoing previous suggestions...Como Zoo is great, and free, Minneapolis Institute of Arts is free. You could possibly catch a Twins or Saints baseball game. The Works Museum is not far away in Bloomington. This is a great site for the North Shore https://www.northshorevisitor.com/ This is a yummy place to eat in Duluth https://northernwaterssmokehaus.com/contact/ If you google for the MInneapolis St Paul magazine calendar, you can click on the days and see what's listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
history-fan Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 The weekend that you’ll be in Duluth: bayfront blues festival, day out with Thomas the tank engine , and Duluth bike festival. The website visitduluth.com lists many events. The William Irving is the ship museum that has tours. The university of mn campus in Duluth has a planetarium with weekend shows. Moose lake state park has an agate center that is small but a nice place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy the Valiant Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 OCTOBER BUMP: I'm bumping an old thread because I just got back from a Minneapolis / Duluth trip, and this thread was very helpful in planning our itinerary. THANK YOU! I also wanted to add . . . there is a town 2 hours away from Duluth that has an antique Carnegie library (1907) that has been converted to a bed & breakfast, Carnegie Hall. My book-loving, library-adoring, history-appreciating self is still sort of freaking out that we got to SPEND THE NIGHT IN A LIBRARY . . . and the entire experience was 100% fantastic. The place is sparkling clean, the breakfast was HUGE and beautiful and graciously served, and . . . you get to eat in the reading room. The proprieters will let you read the books, both old and new, and it's warm and welcoming and bright. I'm swooning, but seriously . . . I figured I'd add it to the already-helpful thread just in case anyone who loves libraries and history as much as we do just happens to be traveling through (or anywhere near) Ladysmith, WI. ❤️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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