Things to do in the Twin Cities in early March with elderly parent (Minneapolis: apartment)

[highlanderfil]

My mother is visiting next week, arriving on Friday night and departing the following Wednesday afternoon. She's well into her retirement years and isn't particularly mobile, so long walks are definitely out of the question. Realistically, we will have the weekend and two evenings to do stuff, since both my spouse and I work. We will probably take her to MoA for a couple of hours, probably during one of the weekdays, as well as for at least a drive around some of the lakes, but what are some other low-key sightseeing things we can do that do not require a ton of walking? Thx!

[windchill]

For short walks:

Stillwater, Wayzata, Excelsior, Stone Arch Bridge, Guthrie Theatre, Catherdral of St. Paul.

For a drive-around:

Chain of Lakes
Minnehaha Parkway
East/West River Road
Nicollet Island

[WoodburyWoody]

Originally Posted by windchill

For short walks:

Stillwater, Wayzata, Excelsior, Stone Arch Bridge, Guthrie Theatre, Catherdral of St. Paul.

For a drive-around:

Chain of Lakes
Minnehaha Parkway
East/West River Road
Nicollet Island

River Road could be beautiful next week.

Drive around Grand and Summit Avenues in St. Paul (stop for lunch, too?).

Is your mother willing to use a wheel chair? Some places make them available to seniors at no charge (Minnesota Historical Society, for example).

The Como Conservatory has some self-paced indoor tours for 55+ that - if I remember correctly - includes lots of benches to pause and you can always bow out early.

[Camden Northsider]

Originally Posted by WoodburyWoody

River Road could be beautiful next week.

Drive around Grand and Summit Avenues in St. Paul (stop for lunch, too?).

Is your mother willing to use a wheel chair? Some places make them available to seniors at no charge (Minnesota Historical Society, for example).

The Como Conservatory has some self-paced indoor tours for 55+ that - if I remember correctly - includes lots of benches to pause and you can always bow out early.

Como Conservatory would be a great option-- there are a lot of benches for sitting, and it's not really that big of a place to begin with (there are a handful of steps, though, if that is a concern, and I'm not sure if there are ramp options available).

Rice Park in St Paul is always beautiful at night so you could have dinner at a nearby restaurant and walk around a little if able (or maybe there is a show playing during your relative's visit?). Or just go to Candyland if she has a sweet tooth-- there is often parking available out front in my experience, and you could drive around the area a little or get out of the car to sit on a bench in Rice Park.

Agreed on the river roads, Grand Rounds, and Summit Ave being nice for drives.

[highlanderfil]

Thanks, guys. We are definitely going to do the River roads, since we live right on the East bank. Minnehaha, too, on the way to Linden Hills (if we get lucky, maybe we can also check out a couple of apartment communities we're thinking of moving to - with how little free time we have these days, gotta look for synergies, lol). I'm actually using this opportunity to see some of the sights we hadn't after moving here last August, so this is super helpful.

We are going to try to combine into one afternoon the drive to St. Paul Cathedral, Rice Park, Summit and Grand and a lunch at Moscow on the Hill.

Stillwater might be a bit of a ways away, but Wayzata and Excelsior for sure are worth a trip. The Conservatory also sounds interesting. I'm pretty sure using a wheelchair won't be an issue for her - she's planning to use it at the airport, after all.

Any compact stretches in Minneapolis proper we might be able to check out? The Sculpture Garden looks neat every time I drive by it on my way to/from work, but not sure if there's anything else in the area we could combine with.

[MsBall]

Originally Posted by highlanderfil

Any compact stretches in Minneapolis proper we might be able to check out? The Sculpture Garden looks neat every time I drive by it on my way to/from work, but not sure if there's anything else in the area we could combine with.

I really enjoyed the Mill City Museum when my husband and I went, so we took family when they were in town…they like it as well.

https://www.mnhs.org/millcity

[MsBall]

^^^^they **liked** it as well

Anyways…I know this post is about your mom but you also made a statement about getting to know the area as well. One thing we did when we moved here and wanted to get to know the area was we became members of the Minnesota Historical Society. Membership gives you entrance to many historical places around the state, including Split Rock Lighthouse. I felt we got our moneys worth from it and are still members today.

https://www.mnhs.org/support/membership

[Izzie1213]

*****Regarding the Conservatory at Como Park. It requires reservations now, started during COVID and they have decided to continue it. There is still no cost but they do request a donation, as do all things at Como of $4.00 per person, but no required. It's simple to get a reservation online.

https://comozooconservatory.org/category/como-gardens/

Click on Visitors tab, then Visitors Maps and Hours tab, to get to reservations.

[WoodburyWoody]

Originally Posted by MsBall

^^^^they **liked** it as well

Anyways…I know this post is about your mom but you also made a statement about getting to know the area as well. One thing we did when we moved here and wanted to get to know the area was we became members of the Minnesota Historical Society. Membership gives you entrance to many historical places around the state, including Split Rock Lighthouse. I felt we got our moneys worth from it and are still members today.

https://www.mnhs.org/support/membership

Also - at least prior to COVID - many Twin Cities libraries participated in the smARTpass program, where you could check out museum passes with your library card:

https://smartpass.melsa.org/

Looks like this is still going.


And, for getting to know the state, the DNR's "I can!" programs are pretty great - they supply most of the gear and guides for camping, kayaking, fishing, archery at state parks around the state:

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/ican/index.html

Though we have our own camp gear, we have done the "I can camp" a couple of times over the years (they had very good REI tents and gear) and used to give you a voucher for free camp site as you left. They used to partner with REI or Vertical Endeavors to offer "I Can Climb" at Taylor's Falls and Tettegouche (rock climbing over Lake Superior is pretty great) and also coincided with "I Can Camp" weekends at those parks.

Highly recommend the DNR's "I Can" programs if you want to see the parks.

REI also offers some great classes and events in the state - snowshoeing, XC skiing, rock climbing, etc. Again, they supply the gear and the guides.