Minneapolis/St. Paul

**anonymous_saver** · 05-01-2007, 08:44 AM

There are many lakes/parks that are located in Minneapolis/St. Paul. In particular, Lake Calhoun is a popular one. If you wanted to spend a bit of money, you could rent a canoo or a paddle boat and enjoy some time on the water. Minnehaha Falls is another good choice.

Additionally, Como Zoo is a FREE public zoo that is located in St. Paul.

Minneapolis Institute of Arts is a famous museum as well, and is FREE!

Walker Musuem is another choice but costs a small fee (I think somewhere around $5 per person).

**kashi** · 05-01-2007, 11:54 AM

Cool!

The previous poster gave you some excellent suggestions. I particularly enjoy Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. The zoo part is fairly small, so a toddler can wander around it without getting too tired. It is free, but they do suggest an optional donation of $2 per person. Como Park also has a lake with nice walking trails around it.

The Minnesota Children's Museum in St. Paul is also fun. Admission is $7.95 per person, though.

I personally really enjoy the Science Museum of Minnesota. Admission prices vary based on what you choose to do. You'd have to pay for parking as well.

Twin Cities Restaurant Reviews

Depending on what time of year you'll be here, and whether or not you'll have transportation, there are lots of beautiful apple orchards (with petting zoos) nearby. Stillwater is a quaint antiquing town on the Wisconsin border. There are lots of free concerts around the cities in the summer.

I'm sure I can come up with lots of other ideas. What sorts of things are you into? Any idea when you'll be in town?

**sweeps** · 05-01-2007, 01:47 PM

Thanks for the suggestions. What about swimming and/or water parks?

We want to go to the Mall of America. Any coupons or suggestions for saving money there?

**gackle** · 05-01-2007, 06:23 PM

The wife and I went to Minneapolis for a weekend getaway about a year ago in December. Temp was -4 when we arrived, but we had fun (especially when the airfare was $134 rt from DFW!). The Mall of America is great to walk around - you could spend half a day there or more. I don't have any money saving tips for the Mall, but we did find clothes there that you couldn't find in the Dallas market so we took advantage of that.

Downtown Minneapolis has an extensive skywalk system that connects the buildings. Target's home store is downtown and is two stories tall.

As stated in a previous post, we also stopped by Minnehaha Falls. Free (I think parking is 50 cents, but we parked along a jogging trail by Hwy 55 for free) and beautiful.

**kashi** · 05-02-2007, 08:22 AM

I know there is one water park in Shoreview (north of the cities) - Tropics Indoor Water Park. It would be helpful to know which part of the city you plan to stay in, though, because you probably don't want to drive to Shoreview if you're staying in Eagan, for example.

Valleyfair is an amusement park with rollercoasters, an Imax, and a water park - that's south of the cities. Pretty fun. I know you can get ticket discounts once the season starts; check their website.

Mall of America has free parking ramps and an indoor amusement park. Apparently they are having Toddler Tuesdays this spring as well. Definitely hit the mall on a weekday if you can - it's madness on the weekends. The Underwater Adventures Aquarium is pretty neat. You can print off a discount coupon on their website. I guess there is a Waterpark of America nearby as well, but I've never been to it.

**Mommysavers** · 07-03-2007, 04:36 AM

My kids like the Hyland Park Nature area because of their Chutes and Ladders park. It's free!

Minneapolis/St. Paul