cute historic towns south of twin cities (Minneapolis, Owatonna: neighborhood, vacation)

[hfiss]

Love Northfield. Is there anything else south of the twin cities that I'm missing? Husband will work in Owotona, and I will work in Minneapolis.

[jmlowman]

I have to agree with you on Northfield. We were on our way from Minneapolis to La Crosse as part of our vacation last summer, and had stopped there to photograph an old abandoned railroad station. A woman from the neighborhood nearby was walking past and stopped to talk with us - something that wouldn't happen in overpopulated soCal. She suggested some nice places to see in town - and it was obviously a nice-looking town - but we had many miles to cover that day.

A bit more to the west and suburban, but Wayzata is really nice. We had gone there one rainy afternoon to meet a gentleman who hosts a website with photos of old railroad stations, and had a tour of the museum in the old Great Northern depot. This is in the middle of a nice park on a huge lake. The downtown area itself was very modern and inviting.

[golfgal]

Red Wing is a maybe but not as close to Owatonna. New Prague is a cute town but a little further from Owatonna though. Northfield is probably your best choice for having to commute to Owatonna and Minneapolis.