Minneapolis Day Trip (Duluth, Rochester, Plymouth: neighborhoods, university, restaurants)

[rgoolsby]

I am looking for a day trip for this weekend...

I am fairly new to the twin cities and I would like to get out of town for a little while and take a quick trip...
I plan on taking my motorcycle so trying to avoid interstates and scenic routes would be best.
I will be leaving from the west side of town - Plymouth
Looking for a nice drive with maybe a few stops - historic sites / neat restaurants / photo ops..

Suggestions?

[Kebinminn]

I've never been there but I hear New Ulm is a nice, historic town to visit. It's just NW of Mankato.

[Slig]

We like to take day trips too, here is how I'd rank the recent trips we've taken.
1. Duluth - although we did it in a weekend, it can be done in a day if you leave early enough. Beautiful views overlooking Lake Superior, I also recommend stopping at Jay Cooke State Park which is nearby. Jay Cooke State Park: Minnesota DNR We will definitely be going back to Duluth in the near future.

2. Eau Claire - We took a day trip to Eau Claire to check out the university and town and it was decent trip to take once (probably not worth a repeat visit). The area around campus and the walking bridge across the river was the highlight. Also, check out the bars, restaurants and shops along Water St.

3. Mankato - We weren't impressed with Mankato. The river going through the town is completely walled off in the downtown area and it seems there was no effort at all to create a river-park area. The town is uninspired, the downtown/old town areas are pretty bland were completlely dead on a fair weather Saturday. The campus ambience was subpar at best. I have no desire to return. The one thing I liked about the drive was going through a couple cool small towns, especially St. Peter. I've always been a fan of towns built on hills.

The next location on our list is Stillwater and I have high hopes.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by Kebinminn

I've never been there but I hear New Ulm is a nice, historic town to visit. It's just NW of Mankato.

Good one! And you can take a tour of the Schell Brewery while you are there.

[Ben Around]

Originally Posted by Slig

We like to take day trips too, here is how I'd rank the recent trips we've taken.
1. Duluth - although we did it in a weekend, it can be done in a day if you leave early enough. Beautiful views overlooking Lake Superior, I also recommend stopping at Jay Cooke State Park which is nearby. Jay Cooke State Park: Minnesota DNR We will definitely be going back to Duluth in the near future.

2. Eau Claire - We took a day trip to Eau Claire to check out the university and town and it was decent trip to take once (probably not worth a repeat visit). The area around campus and the bridge across the river was the highlight. Also, check out the bars, restaurants and shops along Water St.

3. Mankato - We weren't impressed with Mankato. The river going through the town is completely walled off in the downtown area and it seems there was no effort at all to create a river-park area. The town is uninspired, the downtown/old town areas are pretty bland were completlely dead on a fair weather Saturday. The campus ambience was subpar at best. I have no desire to return. The one thing I liked about the drive was going through a couple cool small towns, especially St. Peter. I've always been a fan of towns built on hills.

The next location on our list is Stillwater and I have high hopes.

A day trip to Duluth on a motorcycle would be great! I'd get off I-35 at Askov (about 1/2 way there?) the take State Hwy 23 all the way into Duluth. It's a beautiful drive through the woods. Very low traffic and just a couple small towns along the way. Jay Cooke State Park (one of my favorites in the state) is just a couple miles off this highway. Following 23 into Duluth takes you through some interesting neighborhoods. Have fun!

[MplsTodd]

My suggestion is to take Highway 61 south along the Mississippi River. Red Wing is a great town, with a nice setting amid the river bluffs and great architecture. Next are Lake City, Lake Pepin and Wabasha which are also worth stopping at. I'd continue into Winona, a nice college town with a somewhat sleepy, but not too bad downtown. The main attraction would be the scenery along the river, with nice bluffs, lots of curves along the highway and some rock outcroppings (Sugar Loaf "Mountain" in Winona), plus Lake Pepin is beautiful.

From there you could either circle back and come up along the Wisconsin side (towns like Stockholm are very scenic), or you could cut over to check out Rochester and, possibly, Northfield.

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by MplsTodd

My suggestion is to take Highway 61 south along the Mississippi River. Red Wing is a great town, with a nice setting amid the river bluffs and great architecture. Next are Lake City, Lake Pepin and Wabasha which are also worth stopping at. I'd continue into Winona, a nice college town with a somewhat sleepy, but not too bad downtown. The main attraction would be the scenery along the river, with nice bluffs, lots of curves along the highway and some rock outcroppings (Sugar Loaf "Mountain" in Winona), plus Lake Pepin is beautiful.

From there you could either circle back and come up along the Wisconsin side (towns like Stockholm are very scenic), or you could cut over to check out Rochester and, possibly, Northfield.

This is what I would do too. If you have time, drive down to LaCrosse--BEAUTIFUL there!

You could go north on 95 out of Stillwater along the St. Croix too.

New Ulm is OK, nothing great. Red Wing, Northfield and Stillwater are better.