best of minnesota

Statewide hiking trail: Superior Hiking Trail

Friday May 11, 2012

A wonderful addition to a state dominated by water, the Superior Hiking Trail is probably Minnesota's best known trail. It's a 286-mile footpath that follows the rugged ridge along Lake Superior from Duluth to the Canadian border. Thanks to the trail's numerous access points, you can hike for a day or grab your backpack for a multi-day adventure. Pick from 89 backcountry campsites, with no fees, reservations or permits required. Remember: This is a rugged trail, especially for flatlanders. But you won't have to hitchhike back to your car: Several shuttle services are available along the North Shore.

• shta.org

Runner-up: Border Route Trail

Metro area hiking trail: Afton State Park

Friday May 11, 2012

There's a zillion places to hike in and near the Twin Cities. A favorite is the 20 miles of trails that wind through oak savannas and ravines along the bluffs of the St. Croix River at Afton State Park. Wander through restored prairies or along beaches, then hike to the edge of vistas overlooking the river valley, where you might spot bald eagles soaring overhead. Most visitors do day-hikes, but 28 backcountry campsites are available for the more adventurous. There are picnic and swimming areas, too.

• www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/afton

Runner-up: Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve

Walk-in cabin camping: Wild River State Park

Friday May 11, 2012

So you're not thrilled with sleeping on the ground in a tent, and you can't afford your own cabin in the woods? Step into a "camper cabin,'' a rustic, one-room cabin that provides a roof over your head, a table, benches and wooden bunks. Bring your sleeping bag. And sense of adventure. There's no Jacuzzi, big-screen TV or even running water or a bathroom (public toilets are nearby) -- but the sights, sounds and smells of nature are at your doorstep. Seventy-nine cabins are available at 25 of the state's 75 state parks and recreation areas. Our favorites are the six cabins at Wild River State Park, just north of the Twin Cities. Most are just a few hundred feet from the sparkling St. Croix River. Cost: $45 without electricity; $50 with.

• dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/camper_cabins.html

Runner-up: Glacial Lakes State Park

Shop for a new bike: Angry Catfish

Friday May 11, 2012

The concept of the bicycle store-cum-coffee shop-cum-social gathering spot isn't new. Several impressive examples have cropped up recently in the Twin Cities. But this shop, which is tucked into a residential area of south Minneapolis, stands out as much for its coffee as for its bicycles. In fact, a lot of customers stop in only for the coffee. But that doesn't mean the bicycles get short shrift. The shop focuses on high-end performance bikes, including custom-built models.

• 4208 28th Av. S., Mpls.
• 612-722-1538
• angrycatfishbicycle.com

Secondhand bike shop: Cycles for Change

Monday May 14, 2012

Good deals and good deeds intersect at this nonprofit shop, where neighborhood kids can get a free bike by working volunteer hours. The shop, which recently changed its name from the Sibley Bike Depot, also teaches bike repair classes to students at nearby Gordon Parks High School. Bikes are donated to the shop, and the volunteers and students refurbish them for resale.

• 712 University Av., St. Paul
• 651-222-2080
• cyclesforchange.org

Bike repair shop: Freewheel Bike Shop

Friday May 11, 2012

The Twin Cities' intense, immense bicycle culture has spawned different tribes fiercely loyal to various repair shops, but we've got to go with Freewheel for three reasons: First, the staff gets consistently high marks for catering to both serious connoisseurs and casual pedalers. Second, you can have the staff do your repairs, or rent tools and do it yourself. And with the opening of its Eden Prairie store a year ago, Freewheel has three locations including Minneapolis.

• 612-339-2219
• freewheelbike.com

Place to find a personal trainer: The Marsh

Friday May 11, 2012

This spa brags that it has the most highly educated staff in the industry. Claims like that are hard to prove, but it might be even harder to find another facility that can match the plethora of diplomas on its walls. An inordinate number of the trainers have master’s degrees, and their boss, Joel French, has a Ph.D. The trainers can bark commands at you, if that’s what you want, but that’s not their typical manner. The European-style spa prefers a comprehensive approach to fitness that puts as much emphasis on the “why” as the “what.”

• 15000 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka
• 952-935-2202
• themarsh.com

Yoga trend: Aerial yoga

Friday May 11, 2012

Turn yoga on its head and feel like a kid again. Known by some as anti-gravity yoga or cocooning, aerial yoga gets you off the floor and into a soft fabric sling hung from the ceiling. This free-flowing workout incorporates traditional yoga poses with the strength training and conditioning benefits of aerial arts, gymnastics, Pilates and calisthenics. There’s no doubt it’s a challenge, but if you can tolerate hanging upside down, you can do it. The weightless sensation is reminiscent of hanging from the monkey bars as a kid, so let go, dangle in the air and let the giggling ensue.

Available at:

• Yoga Center of Minneapolis, St. Louis Park; 612-436-4700
• Time Out Pilates and Fitness Studio, Mpls.; 612-866-0832

Fitness trend: Barre workout

Friday May 11, 2012

The ballet-inspired “barre” workout that’s been sweeping the nation has finally chasséd its way into the Twin Cities. Skip the tutus and ballet slippers and grab a sweatband. The combination of Pilates, yoga and ballet movements, along with bursts of cardio and the use of a ballet barre for support and resistance, have given barre classes a reputation for being tough-as-nails workouts. With every pose you’ll pulse — or make tiny movements — and push every muscle group to exhaustion. Just when you think your quivering legs can’t take anymore, saddle up and hold on for just a few more seconds. It’s this high-intensity sculpting approach that keeps barre enthusiasts coming back for more in pursuit of a long, lean and chiseled dancer’s body.

Available at:

• Align Pilates, Mpls.; 612-343-7500
• Balanced Barre and Pilates, Wayzata; 952-473-2433
• The Barre, Wayzata; 952-473-0109

Community sporting events for extreme athletes: Tough Mudder

Friday May 11, 2012

Most races give finishers souvenir T-shirts; this one offers tattoos. The message is clear: This is not your typical weekend race. Participants navigate a 10-mile obstacle course patterned after one developed by British Special Forces as a training program. Competition is done in teams with members helping each other scale 12-foot walls, navigate tunnels and slog through mud. By the way, if you don't want the tattoo, the T-shirt option is available.

• May 19 and 20
• Somerset, Wis.
• toughmudder.com

Community sporting events for families: Folkssports

Tuesday May 15, 2012

These hikes are held on scenic paths -- often in state parks -- with multiple-length loops (typically from 2 to 8 miles) that enable participants to tailor their outings to their ability, energy and schedule. Finishers get an award pin, and the events often are followed by a meal. Many of the trails are stroller-accessible. The hikes are coordinated by the NorthStar Trail Travelers.

• Available year-round
• nstt.org

Community sporting events for silliness: Urban Assault Ride

Friday May 11, 2012

Practical biking is interrupted by goofy fun for this annual event. At the start of the race, two-person teams receive a list of checkpoints scattered throughout Minneapolis. They're charged with plotting a course to each via the city's bike trails. That's the practical part. It's once the cyclists reach the checkpoints that things get zany. At each stop, they must tackle an off-the-wall challenge that has included racing Big Wheel tricycles through a maze and doing belly flops on a giant Slip 'N Slide.

• June 12 in Mpls.
• urbanassaultride.com

Outdoor fitness activity: Stand-up paddleboarding

Friday May 11, 2012

Get on board with the versatile, fast-growing watersport of stand-up paddleboarding. Local paddling fanatics tout the sport for its motor-free serenity that puts them close to nature while providing a serious core workout. (An hour of paddling burns up to 1,000 calories.) Picture surfing Minnesota-style: no waves and a seemingly endless terrain of calm, flat water. Rent paddleboards by the hour at Lake Calhoun and Lebanon Hills Regional Park. On your way to the cabin? Local retailers like the Scuba Center rent and sell them.

Budget golf course: Keller Golf Course

Friday May 11, 2012

It would be tough to name a more historic public course in the Twin Cities. This Ramsey County-owned course opened in 1929. It hosted a pair of PGA Championships in 1932 and 1954, a Western Open in 1949 and was home to 32 St. Paul Opens from 1930 through 1968. It's a great year to play Keller, since it's set to close on Oct. 1 through much of the 2013 season. Coming soon: A new clubhouse and an upgrade of the course.

• 2166 Maplewood Dr., Maplewood
• 651-766-4170
• www.co.ramsey.mn.us/parks/golf/keller.htm

High-end golf course: Legends Golf Club

Tuesday May 15, 2012

Legends is located in Credit River Township, a tree-lined, watery area between Prior Lake and Lakeville. It's an outstanding piece of land and Legends designer Garrett Gill made the most of it. Most memorable are the four par-3s -- from the 120-yard wedge, to an extremely slanted green on No. 5, to a 200-yard carry over water on No. 13.

• 8760 Credit River Blvd., Prior Lake
• 952-226-4777
• legendsgc.com

Bird watching: Hawk Ridge

Monday May 14, 2012

Whether you're an avid bird watcher or just want to witness an amazing spectacle of nature, Duluth's Hawk Ridge can be an unforgettable experience. Rising 800 feet above Lake Superior on the east end of Duluth, tens of thousands of hawks, eagles and other birds of prey concentrate here before crossing Lake Superior on their annual migration. Timing is everything: Hawks begin migrating there in mid-August and continue through November, but huge flights generally occur from Sept. 10 through 25.

• 3980 E. Skyline Pkwy., Duluth
• 1-218-428-6209
• hawkridge.org

Runner-up: Swan Park, Monticello

Mom-and-pop bait store: Beanie's at Maui's Landing

Friday May 11, 2012

Weird name, this is, for a bait store. Named for "Beanie'' Miller, who purchased the land just downriver from the I-94 bridge in Lakeland, Minn., where Beanie's at Maui's Landing still stands, the joint was a commercial fishing operation for decades. In time, Beanie also sold bait to sport anglers. Gary and Dottie Mau bought the place in 1991, adding a new ramp, docks, underground gas storage and rental boats. Now it serves as a boat launch, boat rental, bait, tackle and convenience store. So Beanie's has retained its name as well as its old-school charm.

• 16777 7th St. N., Lakeland
• 651-436-8874
• boatingatbeanies.com

Southeast canoeing: Cannon River

Friday May 11, 2012

Pack a lunch for a day of paddling the Cannon River, a dandy little river close to the Twin Cities that offers bucolic rolling hills, bluffs, glacial rock and woods. It's a great paddle for novice and expert alike. There's little whitewater, and on busy summer weekends you might contend with tubers or see bikers on the adjacent Cannon Valley Trail. Still, it's tough to beat this river. You might spot eagles, deer and the occasional beaver. Don't have a canoe? Several outfitters serve the area.

• dnr.state.mn.us/watertrails/cannonriver

Runner-up: Root River

West canoeing: Minnesota River

Friday May 11, 2012

For Twin Citians, the idea of dipping a paddle in the Minnesota River doesn't hold great appeal: The river flows through the area lazily, dark with sediment and runoff. But the waterway stretches 332 miles from Big Stone Lake to its confluence with the Mississippi River near Fort Snelling, and there are spectacular stretches worth exploring. You'll paddle past 3 billion-year-old rock outcrops, the oldest in North America. If you're quiet, you might spot wildlife -- deer, wild turkeys, waterfowl, eagles and more.

• dnr.state.mn.us/watertrails/minnesotariver

Runner-up: Otter Tail River

East Central canoeing: Kettle River

Friday May 11, 2012

Slip your canoe into the Kettle, then hold onto your shorts and prepare to get wet on one of the best white water rivers in the Midwest. Oh, sure, the Kettle has a few quiet stretches, where you can watch the ferns, birch, maple, basswood and pines slip past. But make sure to check out maps and water levels beforehand. Some of the rapids are downright dangerous for all but experienced white-water paddlers. Your reward awaits: The rocky cliffs along the Banning and Lower Kettle rapids are awesome.

• dnr.state.mn.us/watertrails/kettleriver

Runner-up: Snake River

Metro area canoeing: St. Croix River

Friday May 11, 2012

Paddle stretches of the St. Croix and you'll swear you're on a far-north wilderness river, yet this national treasure is practically in the backyard of the Twin Cities. With its wooded banks, pine-studded islands and sandstone and limestone bluffs, the St. Croix offers spectacular day paddles. Or bring your camping gear and make it a weekend. Many outfitters rent canoes, gear and shuttle service. Try St. Croix Falls, Wis., to Osceola, Wis., or Sunrise Landing to Wild River State Park. Stop at a sandbar for lunch and a swim.

• dnr.state.mn.us/watertrails/stcroixriver

Runner-up: Mississippi River

Fishing for largemouth bass: Lake Minnetonka

Friday May 11, 2012

No lake in the state is fished as hard for bucketmouths as Minnetonka, in part because of its proximity to the legions of bait-casters who call the Twin Cities home. Minnetonka might not be the largemouth lake it was before muskies became a prime attraction. And bass anglers have had to adjust to the challenges of fishing through milfoil. But DNR lake surveys suggest, and angler catch rates confirm, that, trip after trip, Minnetonka yields more largemouth bass to more anglers than any of the state's other great lakes and rivers.

• dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/westmetro/minnetonka.html

Fishing for muskie: Lake of the Woods

Friday May 11, 2012

Were it not for a glitch of history, Minnesota might own all of Lake of the Woods. As it is, we possess a big part (320,000 of the lake's 950,400 acres) of this island-studded lake, known not only for its boatloads of walleyes and gravity-defying smallmouth bass, but also for muskies. Lake of the Woods muskie hunters, and prospective muskie hunters, best hire a guide to help them unravel the lake's landscape. At a minimum, buy an accurate GPS. Set up headquarters at Minnesota's Northwest Angle, Flag Island or Oak Island. Then sling baits. The fish of a lifetime awaits.

• dnr.state.mn.us/fish/muskellunge/management.html

Fishing for northern pike: Basswood Lake

Friday May 11, 2012

Sadly, mankind's broad march across Minnesota since statehood has resulted in the loss of big northern pike. Sure, hammer handles -- forearm-length pike -- are still found by the boatload. But big boys (more specifically, girls) are rare. Not so much on Basswood, the immense lake that straddles the Minnesota-Canadian border within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Here all year, but in fall and winter particularly, trophy northerns await anglers adventuresome enough to weather autumn's low clouds and rain. Please fish with an eye to the future: Cast, catch, measure and release. That way, Basswood's prize northerns will endure.

• dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/showreport.html?downum=38064500

Fishing for smallmouth bass: Mississippi River

Friday May 11, 2012

Mark Twain wrote well of the blessings Ol' Miss bestows on her boatmen. Yet he knew nothing of what is today the big river's most exciting inhabitant: Micropterus dolomieu, the smallmouth bass. Launch a canoe just south of Brainerd or dump a jon boat into the river near Monticello, where a day's fishing might yield a month's worth of tail-walking action.

• dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/montrose/miss_river_info.html

Fishing for stream trout: Root River

Friday May 11, 2012

Focused as Minnesotans are on getting away "Up North,'' the state's southeast corner is a temptress not easily denied, particularly by trout anglers. No stream among the region's many has the allure of the Root's South Branch. It boasts bountiful fish and steep limestone bluffs, plus it intersects with picturesque small towns. It's a great place to air out some casts.

• dnr.state.mn.us/areas/fisheries/lanesboro/opportunities.html

Fishing for walleyes: Lake Winnibigoshish

Friday May 11, 2012

Fistfights have broken out in Minnesota over which lake offers the best walleye action. Rightly so. The state is a hotbed of great walleye waters -- Lake of the Woods, Mille Lacs, Leech. Bigger 'eyes can be caught in waters other than Winnie (witness Pool 2 of the Mississippi, in the shadow of the Twin Cities). Yet Winnie offers plenty of eating-size walleyes, with the occasional wall hanger, in a wilderness setting that is easily fished, even for novices.

• dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/big_bog/narrative.html

Outdoor activites by month

Tuesday May 15, 2012

January: Compete in the world's largest ice fishing contest on Gull Lake in Brainerd, Minn.

February: Rent a camper cabin at a Minnesota state park for a weekend.

March: Travel the Boundary Waters Canoe Area by dogsled.

April: Hunt for wild turkeys.

May: Fish for walleyes on opening day.

June: Paddle the Boundary Waters.

July: Bike the Cannon Valley Trail.

August: Fish for muskies on Lake of the Woods.

Read more