Visiting from California.. After seeing Stone Bridge and walking around the trail, someone told us…read moreabout the St Anthony Falls and 3 days before we arrived the state had an overflowing rain so the waterfall was wonderful. Great views, but it was very windy but was so worth it. One of my favorite places in Minnesota also Minnehaha Falls is beautiful too. Recommended it.

This is an amazing water feature! The path to the falls is lined with information panels and…read morehistorical exhibits. The falls have an overview deck above them where you can get pretty close to the main falls. If you want to learn more, visit the visitor center on the west side of the river or try scheduling a tour of the lab. It's all free to visit.

We stumbled upon Interstate State Park from the Wisconsin side and somehow found our new favorite…read moreplace. Absolutely stunning. The trees, greenery, rock formations, and trails are gorgeous, and everything was incredibly well maintained. The Ice Age Trail was perfect with kids and had just enough adventure without turning into a family survival exercise. We already can't wait to go back. Five stars and a new pair of hiking shoes may now be required.

Only an hour from the metro area, this park offers incredibly beautiful views with a variety of…read moretrails for all hiking levels. I personally prefer visiting parks earlier in the day to avoid foot traffic, but even as we left around noon it didn't feel as crowded despite how many people were there. No matter which side of the park (MN or WI) you find yourself, you will not be disappointed!

Fun place to walk the dogs and to try a new park. Plentiful parking, a nice building to learn more…read moreabout the area. Easy trails and fun to see the water pouring over the dam. There were some spots that fisher people had left miles of line and hooks - not great for walking dogs. I picked those up and put them in the line and hook receptacle which was an easy walk from all the fishing leftovers I picked up. Please do better if you're fishing than doing the cut and run. There are parks on both sides of the river if you're up for an adventure. Not too much foot traffic when I was there, but lots of bikes, most with bells to alert me they were coming which is appreciated.

The staffs is super helpful, the reason for the low rating is the upkeep is on the poor side the…read moreweeds along the fence rail makes fishing horrible , let alone trying to look through it . And speaking of fishing , this place "USE" to be phenomenal, now it's all fish out , tons of snags, with all those budget and constructions , there's very little to poor fishing area , the docks are old , too bad they never use some of that money to build a stone pier that extend from one side to the other below the dam. Worst now is that the STOP the road from reaching the other fishing dock so it's a very long walk from both side of the parking lot. So much of the land scapes are looking more like over grown weeds then a work of art . I do have to give them credits for supporting the troops.

This is probably the only visitor center in the state park system to have it's own Yelp page…read more That's because it's the premier center for a busy park and is open from 8-4. There is a larger gift and clothing center, helpful information from a friendly employee, maps. A good place to stop before and after your park activities.

Thomas C. Savage Visitor Center is situated near the Mississippi River, historic Fort Snelling, and…read moreseveral trails. The building is beautifully crafted, so it blends in perfectly with its surroundings. The bathrooms are clean and they are open after the lobby closes.

The refuge is a great place to explore nature. There are many trails to hike both short and long…read more The Visitor's Center has a wonderful display and activities. There is also a viewing area where there are bird feeders. A favorite is the turkeys that stop by! The staff here are helful and friendly. They also plan community events that are always fun and educational.

Hooray, I finally came here when the visitor center was open! I've been a couple of times in the…read morepast just to do some hiking on the trails, but I'd never gotten to see the inside as the hours are somewhat narrow being just Wednesday through Sunday. It looked really grandiose from the outside, so I'm unsurprised the inside was quite modern and comfortable. It's comprised of many available seating areas where you can sit and relax (I especially recommend the seating facing the bird feeders, though there's also a cozy fireplace), or simply wander and explore the exhibits they have up with information on them about the history of the refuge, the work its done and is doing, and the animals that inhabit it. This is important work! I'm so glad they're doing it. Unsurprisingly there is a gift shop with expected trinkets such as stickers, pins, patches, plushies, postcards, jewelry, hankerchiefs, and lots of books. So if you'd like to support the refuge and get a little something for yourself, that's a great way to do it. There is additionally an art gallery with revolving local Minnesota artists that take inspiration from nature, an auditorium playing a looped track, and plenty of space for kids to play (including corn hole and giant puzzles). There is a conference room (downstairs) and a community room (upstairs), and considerable office space (not open to the public, obviously). Two water bottle refill stations. Clean bathrooms (separated by gender, but there's also a bonus unisex, accessible one). These folks do LOTS of events throughout the year, most of them completely free to attend (some require RSVP, others don't), so I recommend keeping an eye out for something that interests you. Plenty of free parking is available on site. There are picnic tables around the visitor center, as well as an outlook with binoculars. If you go down along the left side the visitor center, it will take you to the trails if you're here to do some hiking. :)

This visitor center is just inside the lobby of the Science Museum of Minnesota, so you do not need…read moreto pay the museum admission fee. This is a smaller center with a few exhibits. One is a virtual canoe paddle simulating traveling on the water, while another is a virtual soaring exhibit. There's a hands on knot-typing exhibit. There is no associated gift shop with the visitor center. The science museum does have a gift shop in the lobby, but it doesn't have any National Park Service branded items such as medallions, clothing, etc. I would say that the visitor center should not be the highlight of your trip - visiting and experiencing the river itself should be! There are a fair number of NPS guided talks, tours, and paddling programs every week, so plan your visit around those or go through a tour company.

Located in Science Building to the right as you enter. Small area but full of information and…read moreactivities for the kids. It shares the space with Science Museum, no cost for National Park exhibits, but it does cost to go inside the actual Science museum. You can walk around lobby and see some additional cool stuff for free. The restrooms are clean. Parking can be rough & somewhat confusing. We parked over by Square near Public Library (also worth a visit). The square area park is also very nice with some sculptures of beloved "Peanuts" characters. The 5 "Star" Rating is mainly based on interaction with Ranger Nathaniel. He was awesome, very informative and showed us on the map areas that would be of interest based on our conversation. All his suggestions were spot on "Thanks Nate". We found the Heron Rookery. Ranger Nathaniel was fantastic & made our visit very rewarding.

Avoid the Twin Cities at all costs. Poorly planned / coordinated May - October construction season…read moremakes getting around impossible. Too cold November - April.

The Yelp Elite event was absolutely fantastic. This community is amasing to be apart of with som…read moremany incredible events, freebies, and activities. Mikhala is always coming up with a wide range of events around the Twin Cities and partnering with local businesses. My first event with this group was the Twin Cities Yelp Elite'ers at the Fair!

Minnesota has always impressed me with the effort it puts into its green spaces, parks, trails and…read moreespecially its playgrounds. There are a lot of good ones scattered throughout the Twin Cities, but the Hyland Play Area is operating on a different scale. The first thing that hits you is simply the enormity of it. A landscape photo barely does it justice. This isn't a playground with a couple of oversized structures--it's an entire playscape built around elevation, exploration and seemingly endless ways for kids to disappear upward and reappear somewhere completely different. There are distinct areas that make it approachable for kids of different ages, select water features, and plenty for younger children to explore without making the bigger kids feel like they've outgrown it. But the stars are those towering structures and enormous climbs spread throughout the park. If you've got a kid who needs to "get their zombies out," this ought to do it. A determined child could probably accumulate the equivalent vertical ascent of Minnesota's Eagle Mountain before lunch. What impressed me almost as much as the playground itself was how well the space handles people. There can seemingly be hundreds of kids here and somehow it doesn't feel like hundreds of kids. The scale absorbs everyone. Instead, you get this constant background soundtrack of giggles, playful screams and kids absolutely exhausting themselves. And somebody clearly thought about the adults. There are huge umbrellas providing shade along with benches, tables and places to settle in while the kids go explore. You quickly understand why the crowd is such an interesting mix: stay-at-home parents making a morning of it, grandparents with their grandchildren, friends meeting up with their kids, and even remote workers squeezing in some laptop time while periodically looking up to make sure everyone is still accounted for. It's less "take the kids to the playground for 30 minutes" and more pack some food, bring water and make this the destination. We're only reviewing the play area for now, but based on this alone, Hyland deserves the five stars. It's enormous without feeling chaotic, ambitious without forgetting the little kids, and thoughtfully designed for the adults who inevitably spend half their day here too. Minnesota does parks exceptionally well. This is one of the ones worth going out of your way for.

Hyland Lake Park is one of my favorite places to rent a kayak and fish for bass in the Twin Cities…read more The lake is never too busy and the bass are always biting :) I easily rented a single-person kayak online and walked up to the rental booth to pick up my life jacket and paddle - off I went! There is a nice sandy beach, and other boats available to rent (including paddle boats!) This is a must-stop for your summer itinerary in Minnesota!

A lovely, adorable little spot near downtown Minneapolis, away from the city hubbub. At 15-acres,…read moreit's by no means a sprawling adventure, but it's incredibly peaceful and teaming with life. There's a one way road leading to the entrance, with a small standard parking lot (including a couple of handicap spots), but additional parallel parking available as overflow for busy days as well. There is also a walking path that can be followed to the sanctuary's entrance as well, as it is fully gated, and the entrance is down the steps from the parking lot. There is a volunteer booth just outside of it where you can grab a map if desired, as well as additional pamphlets with info about events taking place, charitable donations to the garden, etc. Depending on the hour, there may be a helpful volunteer there to answer any questions you may have. Once you step inside you'll be greeted by a path to the left and a path to the right. Immediately to the right are some privies (fairly primitive, but there is running water for the sink to wash your hands), which are all-gender. There are also benches here, as well as throughout the trails at quite regular intervals. This place is meant less for extensive hiking and more for soaking up nature (I recommend bringing a book, journal, or plan to meditate). The trails loop, with various off-shoots you can explore. The terrain has some mid-level elevation changes, and the paths are either a soft mulch or wooden boardwalk, which make for very pleasant walking on the feet. In particular, my favorite section was the sunnier wildflower segment, which had many pollinators (mostly bees) flying about. It was great for photos. Also neat is the nature center, which is a repurposed old house. Inside is a crafting table for kids to color, as well as additional info on the sanctuary and the kinds of birds and plants you'll encounter there. We encountered a number of volunteers/employees while there who were busy working to beautify the space or providing info to guests. Our visit only took around an hour, but I'm already planning to visit again, most likely in the fall when the leaves begin to change color. I'm certain it'll be even more gorgeous then!

Wow! Mother Nature was showing off here today! We "hiked" for about 1.5 miles. It was an easy…read morewalk with not much elevation changes, but the trail is not paved, and covered with leaves and hay, so it could be slippery after a good rain. The trails are well marked and there was even a volunteer at the entrance telling us all about the flowers and birds we could expect to see during our visit. It was lovely and I'm already planning to bring my family back here soon.

Knowmad gets my highest recommendation from our initial phone conversation to having a Knowmad…read morespecialist see us off at the airport for our return trip home. We spent an unforgettable 10 days hiking the (express!) Inca trail to Machu Picchu and visiting Lima, The Sacred Valley, Aguas Calientes and Cusco. I could write 10 pages about how much we loved traveling with Knowmad so I'll try to stick to the highlights. My husband and I usually handle all of our own travel planning, but when we came across Knowmad while researching how to visit Machu Picchu we realized we would probably get a lot more out of a trip to Peru traveling with specialists from the country. This was 1000% true and working with Knowmad made planning our trip so easy and fun. Our travel specialists Renee and Shannon found a way for us to do everything we wanted to do (and so much more!) while staying within our budget. They were remarkably thorough with answering my countless questions and we could not have been more prepared for our visit, with very minimal effort on our end. Once we met up with our Knowmad guide, Fernando, in Cusco every day of our trip was amazing and we learned so much about the Inca culture and the Andes while having a ton of fun and going at our own pace. By the time we made it to Machu Picchu it was so much more meaningful because we had an understanding of what makes it such a special and mystical site. The Inca trail was absolutely breathtaking (and I'm not talking about the altitude ) and we couldn't have done it without Fernando as our fearless guide. He looked out for us every step of the way and made us feel like family throughout our time with him. Our trip wouldn't have been nearly so memorable without him. Another highlight was our e-bike ride through the Sacred Valley with our awesome guide Kirvi, who was so kind and on top of making sure we were safe and even getting some awesome photos and videos along the way. Our driver Abraham made us feel so welcome and kept us moving along and safe throughout our trip. The restaurants and hotels Knowmad arranged for us were excellent, and our picnic in the Sacred Valley and Pachamanca experience were unbelievable. Thank you Knowmad for making our trip such an incredible experience we will never forget!

Knowmad planned our trip to Argentina in March. They listened to what we wanted and then arranged…read morea flawless trip. They were also very responsive whenever I had questions. I highly recommend them if you wish to have a special excursion to a South American country.