Group Travel Ideas in Minnesota’s Mississippi River Towns

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on location: midwest ❖

randy mink

MINNE SOTA A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT Scenic viewpoints, historical treasures and great shopping captivate groups traveling along the mighty Mississippi

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ake a list of Mississippi River cities, and places like New Orleans, Memphis and St. Louis immediately come to mind. Or you might think of Natchez and Vicksburg, Miss., or Mark Twain’s hometown of Hannibal, Mo. But what about Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Red Wing and Winona? While Minnesota may be the Land of 10,000 Lakes, the Mississippi also plays a key role in the state’s geography, history and economy. In fact, the river’s source—a tourist attraction in its own right—is in Northern Minnesota. Tour groups, especially those from overseas and outside the heartland, want to see America’s most famous river, and they have many chances on the Great River Road National Scenic Byway, which winds its way from the Bemidji area to Southeastern Minnesota. Minneapolis grew up on the river as a lumber and grain milling center. Though downtown’s riverfront factories 46 April 2010

have closed, the flavor of yesteryear lives on at the Mill City Museum. Housed in the ruins of a limestone building where General Mills made Gold Medal Flour until 1965, the museum offers nostalgic exhibits and vintage TV commercials that spotlight products like Bisquick, Wheaties and other staples of the American diet. The Baking Lab whips up bread and other goodies to sample, and the Flower Tower elevator ride sheds light on the milling process. Minneapolis’ once-blighted downtown riverfront is now a trendy place to hang out. Industrial buildings along the cobblestone streets in the St. Anthony Main district, easily reached from the Mill City Museum by the Stone Arch Bridge, have been converted into loft apartments, restaurants and clubs. A platform at Water Power Park makes a good perch for viewing the river and St. Anthony Falls, which settlers harnessed to turn the wheels that ground the wheat

into all that flour. Also on the downtown riverfront is the nationally acclaimed Guthrie Theater, which opened its new three-theater complex in 2006. Minnehaha Park, on limestone bluffs above the Mississippi, has many hiking trails including one that leads to Minnehaha Falls, made famous in Longfellow’s The Song of Hiawatha. Above the falls is a statue of Hiawatha and Minnehaha. (meetminneapolis.com) Saint Paul, the other half of the Twin Cities, also lies on the Mississippi. In fact, it boasts more miles of riverfront—26—than any other city along the entire stretch of Ol’ Man River. At Harriet Island, across from downtown Saint Paul, visitors can go back in time on a paddlewheeler cruise or at a melodrama staged at the Minnesota Centennial Showboat. On bluffs above the juncture of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, costumed soldiers and settlers make frontier days come to life LeisureGroupTravel.com

Padelford Packet Boat Company/Pat Laurel, Saint Paul CVA

Tour groups in the Twin Cities find plenty to do along the Mississippi River. Options include a Padelford Packet Co. cruise, the Guthrie Theatre and Historic Fort Snelling, where costumed interpreters portray life at an 1820s Army post.


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