profiles / Spotlight City
twenty feet from where it was made. If your palate craves a different style of fermentation, then maybe Carlos Creek Winery is the place for you. It’s open yearround with free self-guided tours, live music, and a wide variety of wines to taste, including wines from Minnesota’s own locally grown Marquette grape. As winter thaws and hibernation ends for the natives, you can explore a new abundance of activities come springtime. Once the ice is off the lakes, you’ll find family-owned Hangloose MN staff donning wetsuits and taking guests wake surfing or stand up paddle boarding. As temperatures rise, so does the excitement with SUP
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pilates, yoga flow, and boot camp. Before the grass is even green, numerous nine-and 18-hole golf courses open to novice and avid golfers alike. Enjoy the natural beauty of the surrounding wooded lakes where you will be sure to hear your club connect with the ball perfectly and watch it roll into the cup with ease. Try your luck at fishing one of the many nearby lakes. Fishing opener is traditionally early May if you want to jumpstart the season. If you’re an experienced enthusiast, you can rent your own boat—or, for the beginner, find a local fishing guide to help you navigate the depths of the lakes. Register for the Chain of Lakes Sprint
Triathlon the first weekend of May, one of the first in the state, to ignite your fitness before summer arrives. It starts with a swim in the heated Discovery Middle School pool, then a bike ride through the countryside along rolling hills on the Central Lakes Trail and finishes with a run through neighborhoods. As your visit to “Alex” nears an end, don’t forget to stop and take a picture with Big Ole, America’s biggest Viking measuring 28 feet tall and erected in 1965. You may not find your soulmate while water skiing the lakes of this memorable city like my parents did, but you are sure to fall in love with Alexandria. +
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