Visiting Northfield - Carleton and St. Olaf in October -

Hi, there -

Our family will be in Northfield, MN on Oct. 16-17 so our daughter can visit both colleges. We%26#39;re flying into Minneapolis/St. Paul the night of Oct. 15 and I%26#39;m wondering if we should plan to drive to Northfield that night (our plane lands at 7:45 PM) or if we%26#39;d be better off staying in Minneapolis since there would be more hotels/restaurants and heading to Northfield the next day. And along those lines, knowing what our plans are, any suggestions for restaurants and hotels in Minneapolis or Northfield? We look forward to hearing back from some of you who really know this area and can give us some good feedback!

Becky in CO

Visiting Northfield - Carleton and St. Olaf in October -

How exciting is that, both excellent colleges at the most beautiful time of the year. I hope she%26#39;s ready for the winters if she does come here - which are cold but can be very fun if you%26#39;re dressed right.

Northfield is literally just down the road, an hour or less. You%26#39;ll definitely want to spend one complete day in Northfield. Since you%26#39;re touring both colleges, I%26#39;d suggest staying there - only because you should take your time AND Northfield is a really great little town to explore, really out of a picture book. Plus, I would not recommend dealing with our rush hour if you need to be at school early in the a.m.

I enjoyed The Tavern and it%26#39;s atmosphere. Fermentations (in Dundas) gets good reviews, but we ended up missing our reservation in lieu of biking the Cannon Valley Trail. The TA forum for Northfield, MN has lots of restaurant ratings to check out.

If you%26#39;d prefer more information on Mpls, let us know. But I%26#39;d first recommend immersing yourself in Northfield for your short but important trip. Then if you choose one of the schools, there will always be lots to explore in the cities when you come visit.

Visiting Northfield - Carleton and St. Olaf in October -

Thanks for your quick response! I should have clarified that we%26#39;ll be spending two days in Northfield - one at Carleton and one at St. Olaf. I%26#39;m selfishly hoping we%26#39;ll have time to check out the Mall of America before we head back home, though :-)

Any further thoughts knowing our timeline? We leave Minneapolis on Friday around 4:00PM, so I guess in actuality, we%26#39;ll only have a half day at St. Olaf, but that should be long enough for her to get a flavor of the school.

Becky

I think I understood you correctly. I%26#39;m assuming your college visits will each take one-half day? And are you doing one per day? That would affect your Mpls time and my response to your questions.

If you really want to do MOA, then I%26#39;d suggest allotting at least a couple hours. And they do have some really good restaurants - Napa Valley Grille, California Cafe, Tucci Benucch in order of personal preference. You could visit before your flight leaves, since it%26#39;s pretty close to MOA.

Well, actually, we%26#39;ll be driving into Northfield either Wednesday night or early Thursday morning. We%26#39;ll be spending all day at Carleton and then most of Friday at St. Olaf. Does that help? Thanks a bunch!

Becky

Hi, again!

We have our travel plans in place - we%26#39;ll arrive in Minneapolis on Oct. 15 and will spend the 16th at Carleton College, and the 17th at St. Olaf. The hotels in Northfield are pretty full, but they look pretty unimpressive, based on TripAdvisor, so I%26#39;m wondering about a couple of other cities. How far is Apple Valley, MN? There is a new hotel there called GrandStay Residential Inn and Suites that looks nice, but would it be too much of a stretch to stay there and then drive to the colleges? And if Apple Valley is too far to drive, what about Lakeville? Any other thoughts?

Becky in CO

Hi, again!

We have our travel plans in place - we%26#39;ll arrive in Minneapolis on Oct. 15 and will spend the 16th at Carleton College, and the 17th at St. Olaf. The hotels in Northfield are pretty full, but they look pretty unimpressive, based on TripAdvisor, so I%26#39;m wondering about a couple of other cities. How far is Apple Valley, MN? There is a new hotel there called GrandStay Residential Inn and Suites that looks nice, but would it be too much of a stretch to stay there and then drive to the colleges? And if Apple Valley is too far to drive, what about Lakeville? Any other thoughts?

Becky in CO

Yes, the hotels may be unimpressive, but I would never pass up a chance to stay in Northfield. If you choose to stay in one of the southern suburbs. I can%26#39;t really help you on that - check out the hotel reviews for those towns, they%26#39;re pretty spot on. Grand Stay gets good reviews as does the Lakeville Holiday Inn %26amp; Suites. Did you have a problem with the Country Inn by Carlson? Gets good reviews and has availability.

Hi again!

Thanks for your feedback. I actually called the Country Inn last night and got a grumpy clerk who curtly told me there was no availability...but - just called again and there was a family suite available for us for the two nights! So I went ahead and booked it on the spot and now we%26#39;re set. Sounds like we%26#39;re lucky to be getting a room, since it%26#39;s Minnesota Days at the colleges and I%26#39;m imagining there will be a lot of locals who are not within driving distance looking to stay the night. I%26#39;m happy we can be right in Northfield, since we%26#39;ll be trying to divide up our time between the schools and perhaps doing some back and forth depending on how each school strikes our daughter. Any other thoughts on Northfield or Minneapolis? Things to do, places to see, etc.?

Becky in CO

Oh that%26#39;s great. For the little time you%26#39;re spending here, it would be sad to spend a lot of it commuting.

Colors are supposed to be spectacular this year, and probably peaking around that time. I would be outside if it%26#39;s not raining, exploring country roads or main streets, shopping %26amp; eating. Check out this link and scroll down to Northfield%26#39;s monthly calendar publication:

http://northfieldguide.com/

I have been to Cannon Falls, which has a winery and great trail along the water if you feel like walking. It%26#39;s also en route to Red Wing if you%26#39;d like to take the long way back to the airport. Explore their main st, then drive north on Hwy 61 along the river... or cross over to Hwy 35 N on the Wisconsin side, which is also a beautiful drive - should be gorgeous.

I%26#39;m not big on city shopping, so that%26#39;s how I%26#39;d spend my time.

Might be a perfect time to visit local State Park--Nerstrand Woods

…state.mn.us/state_parks/…index.html

hair tips