Des Moines to Minneapolis - fun place to stay?

Hello!

We are doing a long weekend in July or August with my inlaws and our one year old. We live in Des Moines but don%26#39;t know the area at all -- just moved here -- and inlaws are from Ohio. We%26#39;d like somewhere we can drive, in Minneapolis or south, that has shopping/golf/swimming.

Can anyone recommend anything? HELP. Thanks!

Des Moines to Minneapolis - fun place to stay?

I personally don%26#39;t know much about the suburbs, but here%26#39;s what I would recommend:

Stay in downtown, always happening and short or easy distance to everything

Hit the Mall of America (MOA) on the way in or out - while I don%26#39;t go there much, it%26#39;s fun if you%26#39;ve never been.

Shopping - Nicollet Mall or Northeast, depending on what you%26#39;re looking for. And you can easily drive to Uptown or 50th %26amp; France or The Shoppes at Arbor Lake. Although, the grand poobah of shopping in the area is the Albertville Outlet Mall, about an hour W/NW of the cities.

Golfing - there is an absolutely beautiful public course at Theodore Wirth Parkway. It was packed last weekend, but totally worth the wait. There are also hiking %26amp; biking trails, a bog and a flower sanctuary.

Swimming - boy, unless you%26#39;re willing to chance it, I personally wouldn%26#39;t swim in the water in the cities. I would however canoe or kayak. Unfortunately, there%26#39;s lots of runoff (consequence of all those beautiful green lawns) and there can be water advisories. However, the St Croix River and Lake Minnetonka - both heavily boated - are the hot spots for water sports. They both have beaches, rentals and are a short drive outside the city, very scenic. I personally would play it safe and get a hotel with a pool.

Have a great visit, it%26#39;s been cool this year, so I hope it warms up for you.

Des Moines to Minneapolis - fun place to stay?

There are a lot of great things to do in Des Moines, my favorite being Living History Farms. You may want to try a drive to the Amana Colonies in Amana Iowa.

Being you have a one year old I would suggest heading to the MOA and staying at a hotel in that area. Lots to do and see at the Mall. Other things to do in the Cities....Como Zoo is a great free zoo with kiddie rides at Como town which is connected to the zoo. You mentioned swimming - as in water park? St. Louis Park and Eagan have nice outdoor public pools with a few slides. The Children%26#39;s Museum and Science musieum in St. Paul are great.

If you are looking for a pit stop in between Des Moines and the Cities, you might want to try Owatonna. There is an outlet mall and nice Holiday Inn with small indoor waterpark.

HI there!

I%26#39;d recommend staying in Apple Valley (south burb) and there is a brand new Grand Stay hotel that is just minutes from the MN Zoo (which is one of the best zoos in the U.S.)

Grand Stay website shows the following:

';1 QUEEN BEDROOM / PRIVATE BEDROOM, SEPARATE LIVING AREA, SEPARATE FULL BATHROOM, SOFA SLEEPER, DVD, FULL KITCHEN, WIRELESS INTERNET, GOURMET EXPRESS BREAKFAST'; $109.00

OR

';ACCESSIBLE 2 QUEEN BEDS/2 PRIVATE BEDROOMS, SEPARATE LIVING AREA, SOFA SLEEPER, DVD, FULL KITCHEN, WIRELESS INTERNET, GOURMET EXPRESS BREAKFAST.'; $159.90

http://www.grandstay.net/

It%26#39;s new and seems like it%26#39;s been busy.... so make a reservation quickly. Nice that they have a full kitchen in each room, free breakfast and an indoor pool with hot tub.

If the weather is hot or rainy there is still plenty to see at the MN zoo that is indoors along with a monorail ride that is short but allows you to see the entire grounds without needing to walk it (unless you%26#39;d rather be walking it - it IS a nice pathway) A brand new exhibit just opened up, ';Russia%26#39;s Grizzly Coast';. it is excellent!

http://www.mnzoo.com/

The Mall of America is a 10 minute drive north of Apple Valley. VERY easy to get to. I can give you more directions, info if you%26#39;d like. The Mall has the infamous indoor amusement park, although your little one is a bit too small to really get much out of it. It%26#39;s a fun place to people watch. Bubba Gump%26#39;s restaurant is an experience. For a free smoothie:

www.bubbagump.com/promotions/smoothie.html

LIke another person said, the Como Zoo/Park is another place to go. The conservatory has gorgeous plants and flowers. The Japanese Gardens and the Bonzai gallery is great too.

www.comozooconservatory.org/cons/index.shtml

If you are at the Grand Stay in Apple Valley, the Apple Valley area has many golf courses also:

http://www.avmnchamber.org/golf.htm

Let me know if you have any questions about what I wrote.... just rambling on with misc. that comes to mind.

OH yeah.... the Apple Valley area has plenty of places to eat too along with places that have curbside to go if you prefer to take it back to your hotel.

The MOA (Mall of America) is just like Jordan Creek, but instead of having on Victoria%26#39;s Secret they have 3!

If you are looking for swimming, check out the Grand Rios Water Park (it%26#39;s aimed more at little kids), http://www.grandrios.com/. For a bigger waterpark thrill check out the Water Park of America, http://www.waterparkofamerica.com/.

The lakes, Harriet, Calhon and Isles are a very lovely area, easy to get to and great people watching it%26#39;s about 3 miles to walk around Harriet, be sure to look for the Nome Door.

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