Where to begin??

Hello everyone! I%26#39;m interested in booking a long weekend in MN, but I have no idea where to go! We live in the south suburbs of Chicago, and I think a 5-7 hour drive would be good, if that helps. We (husband and I) would be interested in either a nice B%26amp;B or a cabin somewhere. We like hiking, and trying new restaurants and shops on vacation. So if anyone has any recommendations on where we could visit, I%26#39;m all ears!! :) Oh, maybe somewhere near the Mississippi River would be nice!!

Where to begin??

The Lake Superior North Shore has a tonne of state parks, hiking trails, water falls -

that might be a good place to start.

http://www.northshoreinfo.com/

http://www.americasnorthcoast.org/

http://www.northshorevisitor.com/

http://www.bluefinbay.com/

http://www.lutsenresort.com/seavilla.htm

http://grandmarais.com/

Where to begin??

I wonder if Duluth would be too far north if you%26#39;re only planning to drive 5-7 hours from Chicago... did I understand you correctly? And depending on when you%26#39;re coming, biking %26amp; canoing are also available if you%26#39;re interested.

Southern %26amp; Eastern MN has a some great areas:

Stillwater - nice, historic town right on the St Croix River; great shopping, eating, canoing, hiking all over the place

Afton - great location but a pretty quiet little main street. It%26#39;s near Afton State Park for great hiking.

Lanesboro - quaint little town right on the Root River. It%26#39;s great for biking or canoing/tubing. And if you go in late spring, you may even catch the big hunt for morels.

Cannon Falls - I mention this area because they have a great B%26amp;B there - the Quill %26amp; Quilt. It%26#39;s also situated on a great bike trail and canoing river. It%26#39;s in between Red Wing and Northfield, both great towns to spend a day in.

There are state parks by most of these locations for your hiking pleasure. If you%26#39;d like more information for any of these locations, just ask.

I grew up in LeSueur Minnesota... it%26#39;s on the MN river. Quaint, small town. St. Peter, 10 miles away, has a trail. I think there%26#39;s a B%26amp;B in LeSueur.. the Cosgrove House?? It%26#39;s been 4 years since I%26#39;ve been so I%26#39;m not sure it%26#39;s still there. In Henderson, 5 miles away, was a B%26amp;B. My sis stayed there once %26amp; it was nice... up on a hill. There%26#39;s a county park near Henderson that is pretty and there are a lot of rolling hills around L.S %26amp; H. I%26#39;d recommend the Welcome Inn for food in L.S. I%26#39;d also recommend The Bar for food... yummy yummy bar food... good specials.

Like I said, it%26#39;s been 4 years, but things are slow to change around there.

Hope that helps.

Thank you for all the suggestions! At least I have some things narrowed down now! I will be back with more questions, I%26#39;m sure!

Stillwater is very nice little town with plenty to do to keep you busy. If you get tired of shopping you can head north about 45 min to Taylor%26#39;s Falls State Park where you can do some hiking.

Of course, I have to recommend the north shore as the best of MN, but its a little farther than what you have planned to drive.

There are tons of B%26amp;Bs in and around stillwater and tons more on the north shore.

http://exploreminnesota.com/

Also, see this post for my recommendations for the North Shore.

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g43323-i372-k18664…

TBC,

Of the suggestions thus far Stillwater and Lanesboro are great options, though many/most of the small towns in the St. Croix Valley between Taylor%26#39;s Falls and Red Wing (if RW counts as the SC has technically merged with the Mississip by that point, though character wise it fits right in) will easily entertain you.

Of your noted interests, SW has several great BnB%26#39;s, including the Rivertown Inn, the Sauntry Mansion, Ann Bean Inn, the Elephant Walk, and I believe the James Mulvey is yet operating though under new owners. Lanesboro I only know of the cabin rentals.

As for Hiking, SW has the Willow River State Park 10 min to the East in WI, Kinnikinnic SP 20 min South of WR, William O%26#39;Brien SP 15 minutes to north in MN, and Afton SP 25 min to the South. All on rivers and all have great hiking. Not that SW being a river town in a valley won%26#39;t tax your legs with our hills!

Though all of SW restaurants will be new to you, there are a number of good ones worth trying, including Marx Wine Bar, Stones, the Dock Cafe, and Savories. Cesare%26#39;s Wine Bar does dinner too, though we prefer to use it as an after dinner dessert %26amp; more drinks destination.

SW is renown for its antiques shops and book stores, modern and rare. Though you%26#39;d easily be able to take a scenic drive along the river to the other SCV towns, SW easily fills a day for the many visitors from the Twin Cities (20-40 min away); in other words, its a favorite shopping destination for local TC residents.

That last point is important, but the other thing I think you need to know is that you would be wise to go farther north than the TC if you want to be on the Mississippi river -- its not clean by the time it flows through Minneapolis and further South.

What other things are you interested in? What else do you dislike?