Explore Minnesota Travel Guide • 2025 Explore Minnesota Travel Guide • Nordic Adventures & Views

Sturdy boots, handwoven blankets, hot coffee and topnotch burgers make up key stops on this winter road trip involving skiing, ice climbing and other chill-busting fun.

Considering they’re all part of Canada’s close-knit lake surfer community, it’s no surprise that Robin Pacquing, Jordan-na Bell-Isle and Diana Lee were all keen to ice climb in Southern Minnesota. As the longtime friends discovered during a visit to Winona’s annual Ice Fest, the Bluff Country is beautiful, and the roads that lead there are full of unforgettable people and places.

The Minneapolis location of Backstory Coffee Roasters trades the low-key look of its St. Paul outlet for a sunlit, plant-lined space within The Duffey. The former home of a paper company, it’s now a bright apartment building that stands as a prime example of why the North Loop is one of downtown Minneapolis’ most desirable neighborhoods.

Just north of downtown Minneapolis is Theodore Wirth Regional Park, an essential stop for outdoor rec enthusiasts all year round. In winter, its lush golf course transforms into 20 miles of carefully groomed cross-country trails aimed at both competitive skiers and beginners. Theodore Wirth’s Nordic-style runs are so respected within the international community that it hosted the COOP FIS Cross-Country World Cup in 2024 — the competition’s first stateside appearance in two decades.

Midtown Global’s community engagement director Earlsworth “Baba” Letang describes the indoor marketplace as a microcosm of Minneapolis. Find Moroccan home goods (Dar Medina), East African clothing (Zahra Fashion), Himalayan meditation tools (Tibet Arts & Gifts) and a variety of omnivorous food options. Stop by the Indigenous Food Lab to shop for Native American products and experience the visionary eats of Oglala Lakota Sioux chef Sean Sherman from the same James Beard Award-winning restaurant Owamni.

Get the full Up North experience while being surrounded by skyscrapers at the Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis’ Riva Terrace, which turns into a vibrant Nordic Village every winter. Settle into a stylish heated “cabin” and enjoy a playful multi-course menu of French onion soup, fondue and Minnesota-shaped s’mores. Bring a few close friends or the entire family; five cabins seat up to four guests, and three have room for eight. Book with haste as they often sell out months in advance.

“The cool thing about curling,” says Minnesota Curling Association president Lisa Rudolph, “is you can take an hour to learn how to do it and a lifetime trying to get better.” One of the best places in the world to make sense of the largely misunderstood Olympic sport is the St. Paul Curling Club. Founded in 1912 and topping 1,200 members — the largest club in the country — it welcomes guests and spectators during winter and spring league matches. Share a pitcher of St. Paul’s Summit EPA beer while learning about the legacy of a quirky place that’s produced such medalists as recent bronze winners Tabitha and Tara Peterson.

Marc Heu Pâtisserie Paris is the home of a St. Paul-based Hmong baker who grew up in French Guiana and sharpened his culinary skills at the country’s oldest pastry shop (Stohrer), a Michelin-starred restaurant (Pré Catalan) and the Soho cafe that invented the cronut (Dominique Ansel Bakery). With exciting flavors like passionfruit and lychee, Heu’s creations often strike a balance between his French background and his family’s roots as refugees in Southeast Asia.

If you’ve ever seen episodes of “Yellowstone” and thought, ‘If Kevin Costner and Harrison Ford can wrap themselves in handwoven blankets, why can’t I?’, then head straight for the riverside factory of Faribault Mill, about an hour south of Minneapolis. The company started making its iconic blankets in 1877. Since then, they’ve shown up in two World Wars, several television shows and many design, fashion and style magazines. To see how they’re still produced today, stop by Faribault Mill on a Friday or Saturday for a tour. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling (507) 412-5534.

When Tripadvisor named the top-ranked burgers in every state recently, King’s Bar and Grill prevailed over all the Juicy Lucy joints that have dominated for decades. Anyone who’s been to the Miesville mainstay gets it. Feast on one of King’s 50+ signature combos, ranging from the standards (sautéed mushrooms and Swiss cheese, a.k.a. the Chessman) to the revelatory (a “Full Count” of peanut butter, homemade BBQ sauce, pepper jack cheese, bacon and French’s crispy fried onions).

Speaking of heritage brands headquartered in Southern Minnesota, the Red Wing Shoe Company has a small museum devoted to its heavy-duty boots within its flagship store in downtown Red Wing. It’s hard to miss the 20-foot boot on the main floor or all the workwear artifacts from 1905, but don’t overlook the discount outlet downstairs — one of the only ways to save on shoes that’ll last a lifetime.

Daily live demos and two floors of interactive exhibits draw around 80,000 visitors a year to The National Eagle Center in Wabasha. A beloved fixture along the Mississippi River, it reopened after a $27 million facelift in 2022. See six decades of eagle fandom — from sheet music to stamps — or admire eagles in their natural habitat. The center also leads seasonal field trips and “floating classroom” courses along Lake Pepin.

While the artists, mediums and eras featured in Winona’s Minnesota Marine Art Museum are in constant flux, one thing has remained the same since 2006: its focus on exploring the connection between creativity and water. Past exhibits have revolved around everything from popular European paintings, to painters from the Hudson River School in the mid 19thcentury, to the surreal work of Anishinaabe artist Karen Savage-Blue and large-scale portraits of Minneapolis photographer Alec Soth.

Winona Ice Park is one of just five U.S. facilities devoted to the gravity-defying sport of ice climbing. The six volunteers who maintain its many routes are driven not just by the joy of reaching higher ground, but by sharing that thrill with others. The Winonabased Big River Climbing Guides offers courses at the park for climbers of every age, skill and experience level and also co-hosts a full-on Ice Fest alongside the Recreation Alliance of Winona and the city itself. It’s the most exhilarating way to embrace winter.

• Distance from MSP Airport to Winona: 117 miles (one way, approximate mileage)

• Where to Stay in Winona: The riverfront city offers hotels, motels, cottages, inns, B&Bs, campgrounds and more. Browse all the options at visitwinona.com/places-to-stay.

• Catch Pro Sports Action: With so many pro sports teams in Minneapolis-St. Paul, it’s exciting to be a spectator. Depending on your trip dates, you may be able to catch a Vikings football game, a Minnesota Wild hockey game, a Timberwolves basketball game, a Lynx women’s basketball game, a Minnesota United FC soccer match or a Twins baseball game.

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Explore Minnesota Travel Guide - 2025 Explore Minnesota Travel Guide

Nordic Adventures & Views

Things to Do on a Sports-Centric Winter Road Trip from Minneapolis to Winona

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