Best thing to see/do in Minneapolis in two hours.

[Minnesota Spring]

I would try a nice walk and do lunch on Summit/Grand Ave's in St. Paul. Very nice, old homes and some pretty decent restaurant and shopping options.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

With only a couple of hours I don't think you'd want to try to fit in a trip to Valley Fair or either of the zoos. I agree with most of the other responses - the Mall of America actually would be a good choice here.

If the weather is too nice to justify being indoors you could walk around downtown Minneapolis. That would give you enough time to pick up something to eat in Nicollet Mall and walk across the Loring Greenway to Loring Park and then the Sculpture Garden or the other way to the the Stone Arch Bridge on the Mississippi River and then check out the Guthrie Theater.

[GBCommenter]

I would side with either MOA, or Minnehaha Falls for an outdoor option, given your time constraint. Though you can definitely encounter traffic that side of town, given it's just off the interstate and southern side of the city it will be relatively faster to get into and out (even factoring in finding a spot to park, IMO). With only a few hours, getting to an inner-city location/downtown does not seem all that practical. Assuming you don't get lost or detoured, it's 20 minutes from the southside to downtown one way. That's 40 minutes consumed in driving alone.

Minnehaha Falls offers an option that is outdoors with some nature, yet relatively still on the southside and near freeway access/airport access. It also remains something that is unique to Minneapolis.

If you had more time, there are many alternate options to suggest...

[barney_rubble]

I think the Stone Arch Bridge and Mill Ruins Park area is very cool and would probably be my pick for a brief visit.

With that said, even as someone who hates shopping I did find the MOA surprisingly interesting. It's a very nice mall for walking, and there's always something to see.

EDIT: Agree with Minnehaha Falls as well, and it is more convenient.

[Ghengis]

If you are traveling on a weekday, you may want to rethink waiting until 3 pm to head out from the MOA as the NW area of town will start choking up not long after 3:30 pm. If you by chance are trying to do this on a Friday you will regret it all the way to St Cloud or beyond.

[demtion35]

Originally Posted by barney_rubble

I think the Stone Arch Bridge and Mill Ruins Park area is very cool and would probably be my pick for a brief visit.

With that said, even as someone who hates shopping I did find the MOA surprisingly interesting. It's a very nice mall for walking, and there's always something to see.

EDIT: Agree with Minnehaha Falls as well, and it is more convenient.

the mill ruins park may be closed due to the shut down maybe not though

[Coldjensens]

We will be there on Monday. Since we are going on to Yellowstone among other places, we will probably get lots of outdoors, so the waterfall is not necessary. Exploring a neat or quirky area of the city appeals to me, but the mall to most of the others. .

Wife and the girls are interested in the mall. I would prefer walking on hot coals to shopping malls, but I can suffer through. I hear that there is a wave pool where you can surf the waves. Maybe I can take the boys to that for an hour while the girls explore the mall.

We have been to Ikea. My personal concept of hell. So far the three worst epereinces in my life are Ikea, Disneyland for the fifth time and a root canal. I am not certain which one was worse.

I was kind of hoping that someone would say that the mall is awful and suggest some perfect alternative, but it actually sounds like the mall is a good idea. We are leaving from Wisconsin dells and we might decide to stay there for a few hours longer. If we do arrive later in Minneapolis, we will wait out the traffic and leave at 6 or so. (traffic done by 6? 6:30?). In which case we will only go as far as Fargo r maybe a smaller place a little past there. Even if we leave at 3, We do not really expect to make it to Bismark, maybe somewhere almost to Bismark. We find better hotels in smaller places rather than big cities.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I hope to return to Minneapolis for an extended visit at some time. I want to explore more of Minnesota than just pass through.

[golfgal]

If you want to do the Flowrider/surfing thing, you have to pay admission to the Waterpark of America. It is a hotel down the street from the mall. It's about $25/person to get in. Sometimes there are discounted rates after 4:00 or so.

You may prefer to to the Underwater World Aquarium at the mall while other's shop though.

[GBCommenter]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Wife and the girls are interested in the mall. I would prefer walking on hot coals to shopping malls, but I can suffer through. I hear that there is a wave pool where you can surf the waves. Maybe I can take the boys to that for an hour while the girls explore the mall.

We have been to Ikea. My personal concept of hell. So far the three worst epereinces in my life are Ikea, Disneyland for the fifth time and a root canal. I am not certain which one was worse.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I hope to return to Minneapolis for an extended visit at some time. I want to explore more of Minnesota than just pass through.

I understand the disdain for malls and shopping...I'm not a fan either. Ikea is a store that, when I have gone, I get about half way through and then start getting claustrophobic - though I'm then stuck in the middle of the store and have to suffer through the rest of that maze of a store.

That said, there is the new Sky Deck Sports Grill and Lanes on the 4th floor for you and the boys to consider. I haven't been so can't say too much about it, but I hear there's video games, bowling, food and drink. Might not be terribly unique, but maybe something to do.