What Is There To Do In Minnesota ??
I have some family that lives there and I was thinking about going up there for about 2 months. I want to shoot, fish, and other stuff.
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There are some great state lands for squirrel hunting. I understand the Feds are removing Wolves from the endangered species list for the northern tier states from Washington to Michigan, and a friend of mine that has a 600 acre sheep ranch near Akely would give you a chance if Minn has a tag system by then. 0 -
I don't think you'll have much trouble finding a few thousand places to fish up there.[:)] 0 -
Where in Minnesota? 0 -
on google earth it looks like its all farm land around st paul. thats where i am going. is there alot of public open land to shoot on around there ? 0 -
Go to Minnesota dept of Natural Resources websight for specifics- the link is: www.dnr.state.mn.us/index.html 0 -
Go to any bar with a Packer shirt on. You won't get bored... 0 -
What Ray said about the DNR website. But also run a Google search on Superior National Forest and see what they have to offer.
Right around St. Paul is pretty tough...lots of urban sprawl. And where no sprawl, you read Google earth correctly: mostly corn fields. There are small public lands parcels within an hour or so where you could hunt, but you'd get some odd looks if you were just out there target shooting--and in MN, if ANYTHING is in season and you're in the woods with a gun, you'd better have a permit to hunt something. If nothing is in season and you appear to be target shooting you're ok, legally.
I know of mostly gun-inappropriate outdoor stuff near St. Paul--I was only just getting into guns when I left there and always used indoor ranges for target practice.
The Cannon river (30 minutes south) is good to run in a canoe in spring. There are no rapids to speak of, but good spring flowers. Ditto (and probably better fishing on) the St. Croix River (border btw. MN & WI).
Interstate state park (almost due east on the WI border) has some interesting rock formations but it's a small park and I won't go on the weekend...crowds of people.
I don't know what the season is but White River State Park (1.5 - 2 hours south) has some of the only trout fishing in the state. It's an interesting-to-look-at and little-used park, too.
Lake Mille Lacs (2.5 hours NW) is said to have decent fishing. I always found the central portion of the state a little boring to look at, though.
There's a wildlife sanctuary (pretty sure you can hunt birds on it) about 35 minutes N that has good strawberry picking in the spring. It's named for some man....but unfortunately I can't remember his name. That's also an interesting area, visually (very sandy soils, unlike anywhere else in the state).
If you get time, though, the thing is to go up into Superior National Forest, north of Duluth (Duluth is 2.5 hours N; figure another 45 minutes from there). There are about a dozen state parks up there but if you're into hunting and fishing you'll probably prefer (and find cheaper) the resources in the SNF. Go far enough and you get to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (permits required, reservations suggested). That gets costly if you have to rent a canoe (don't plan on doing anything more than a day hike in the BWCAW because they don't have the $$$ to maintain backpackers trails--ok; so they do have like three backpacker's trails that are relatively well maintained). But if you're spending a couple months in MN, have asked what to do there and then don't make it to the Superior National Forest, then you've missed the best opportunity that the state has to offer.0 -
Freeze your ass off no matter what type of hobby you enjoy. 0 -
I grew up in the city of Minneapolis about 4 blocks west of the Mississippi River. It was a beautiful part of the city. Aside from hiking the river bluffs, I really wasn't into outdoor activities because I was either training for track/cross-country, working or involved in the other host of extra-curricular activites that kept me busy. Unfortunately, my father didn't discover the outdoors until I left home and started telling him about my new passions in life. I started hunting before he did. I only go home to visit and the few days of the year that I am home are usually spent doing family activities and I take the city bus wherever I go when my parents are working. I don't know how far in Minnesota you are willing to travel but there are rumored to be some great ice fishing opportunities in Minnesota. I don't know if you're outfitted to ice fish or are willing to pay for a 3-day package (lodging, ice house, meals etc). They used to run ice fishing trips from Sioux City, Iowa to Lake of the Woods, Minnesota for around $500 and walleye was the name of the game.
I've been finding myself with less and less personal time as I've been getting promoted over the years in the Army so I don't always have time to scout the perfect hunting grounds or find the best places to do this or that. I've been finding myself willing to pay for those opportunities. A friend of mine has a membership at a hunting club just over the Wisconsin border and I'll pay to go phesant hunting with him which is legal there year round. I lost a deposit on a wild boar hunt due to some unforseen circumstances but was about to spend another five hundred just to do that.
I wish I could help you more since I grew up in that area but I'm at a bit of a loss because I haven't had much opportunity to "Explore Minnesota". The cities are filled with far-left liberals so you probably won't strike up too many conversations with the Twin City types that will lead you in any productive direction. Keep your eyes and ears open and you'll see what I mean about the liberal loons in the Twin Cities. Ignore the local media. It's worse than any of the national media outlets there. The Minneapolis Star Tribune is knows as the Minneapolis "RED STAR" by local conservatives. Tune your AM dial on the radio to 1280 "The Patriot" in order to keep yourself sane. That's what I do when I'm home. Do some internet searches and check out the Yellow Pages while you are there. Find a local bait shop and tell them that you'd patronize their business if you knew any good places to fish.
There are plenty of Gander Mountain stores around. They always have bulletin boards with regional hunting/fishing information. There's a Sportsman's Warehouse in one of the Saint Paul suburbs (Woodbury, MN if I"m not mistaken). Pay a visit. It's a great store. I've been there and the folks there are nice. They publish a Sportsmans Warehouse outdoorsman newspaper that will contain some good local info. Drive 90 miles south of the Twin Cities on I-35W South to Owatonna, Minnesota. There's a Cabelas store there. I used to live/work in Iowa. I would make sure that I stopped there on the way back to Iowa after visiting family in the Twin Cities. They have a good breakfast buffet and--it's Cabelas. Do I need to say more?
Ignore Dicks Sporting Goods. They're pretty much worthless IMHO. They're no better than the Gallyan's store that they bought out.
There are a lot of ethnic cuisines in the Twin Cities so make sure you do some research on good places to eat. There's a German restaurant with a bar in Saint Paul called "Glockenspiel" but I may have misspelled that. They serve huge German beers and they have a wild game platter complete with rabbit stew, wild boar meat with a cherry glaze, and elk steak. It's out of this world. Their meat and cheese sampler platter is the best appetizer I've ever eaten in my life. There's also a family-style italian restaurant in Saint Paul that serves up huge family-portion platters of food that is also absolutely amazing. It's called "Buca di Beppo". Their garlic bread is incredible. It has real shavings of garlic clove on it. It follows my philosophy that you can never cook with too much garlic. If I could only eat at two restaurants before I die, I would eat at "Glockenspiel" (sp?) and "Buca di Beppo". Bring company if you eat at Buca. Like I said, their portions are family-size portions. Bring money too. It can be a little expensive depending on how much you are used to spending on dinner.
Ignore the Mall of America. It isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Parking is a nightmare and it's all overpriced. Catch a Minnesota Twins baseball game in downtown Minneapolis if you get a chance. I'd recommend taking a city bus because you'll get robbed for parking and you'll still walk forever. It will also give you a chance to hit some of the local sports bars if you're into that before or after the game. There's a lot of good local support for the team and it's usually a really good time. I don't know what time of the year you plan on visiting Minnesota.
If you go in late August then hit the State Fair in Saint Paul. It's one of the biggest in the country and there's a lot of good fun and food to be had. I like the farmer-types because my roots are still in Iowa. Iowa is actually where I claim as "home" and I'm registered to vote there and Iowa gets my state taxes. Therefore, I spend a lot of time in the 4-H area of the Fair. Make sure you visit the DNR building while you're at the Fair. You'll be impressed.
I'll post more as more comes to mind.0 -
i used to think minnesota was convservative but my sister and her husband move to minneapolis and they are raging liberals. i guess that whole city is. i also heard from someone else that hunting around the area is all controled by private land owerns who are pretty snotty 0 -
quote:Originally posted by RunForest
i used to think minnesota was convservative but my sister and her husband move to minneapolis and they are raging liberals. i guess that whole city is. i also heard from someone else that hunting around the area is all controled by private land owerns who are pretty snotty
I think you can safely say this about MN and MT: Urban areas are liberal (Butte possibly withstanding), rural areas are conservative. Might (to a lesser extent) be true of WI and ND, too. I'm pretty sure it's true of WA and OR, too. Oh, and IL, too. Somehow I don't think it's true of ID, but somebody please correct me if I'm wrong--on any of these statements
In MN, half the population is in the MPLS/St. Paul metro so.....that's how the state goes. Here in WA I've heard people suggest that the state goes as King County (i.e. Seattle) votes.
I'm more likely to vote left than right, so.....I guess it really sucks if you live in one of these states and you tend towards the other end of the spectrum. Then again, I'm not sure there is such a great chasm between the dems and the republicans. As far as I can tell, they're all sucking on big biz' teat. As voters, we decide who gets first shot at said teat.
Ugh. We need about six more parties in this country to make democracy work. (Hmmm. Do I need to start looking for that fire suit, or is that statement going to go over well on GunBroker's General Discussion Forum?)
oops. I think i just hi-jacked this thread. Sorry.0 -
I live 'up nort' about 50 miles north of Fargo/Moorhead. Winter time is for ice fishing, fox/coyote hunting, and shivering, just kidding. Summer around here is for swatting mosquitoes, fishing the Red, and shooting crows.Dave 0 -
Go up to Ely and get with an outfitter for a one week trip into the Quetico. This is a provincial park in Ontario, it is right on the Canada/Minnesota border. Canoe travel only, no hiking or motorboats. This keeps the rifraff out. You get a map, you paddle into a lake. The map will show you two or three portage trails to other lakes. You pick your trail and hike your gear to your next lake, or river. They have portage rigs built into the canoe so that one person can put the canoe on their shoulders and hike it to the next lake.
There is no electricity or signs in the Quetico, there are no buildings or cars. If you want a wilderness vacation so that you can see what the land was like before the white man came, the Quetico is the place. Great fishing there, but no guns allowed.
I have gone up their eight times, from Georgia, had some of the best times of my life in the Quetico.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Griff59
Freeze your ass off no matter what type of hobby you enjoy.
Beat me to it![:o)]0 -
Watch the vikings get beat.[:D][:D] 0 -
where/when you headed....???
dont believe everything you read on here...
use enough...im about 80 miles east of fargo, was just in grand forks this past weekend..0 -
Are you good at swattin' them thar SKEETERS? If not, you soon will be. Dey call dem da state BURD up in dem dar perts of the country. 0 -
Minnesota women........... 0 -
E-Mail me when you go. We can shoot at one or two places 20 minutes from ST Paul. 0 -
St olaf[:D] 0 -
shovel snow.
measure icicles.
guess what time it is.
curse oil heaters that give out at -15deg.
chain tires and plow driveways.
eat, because theres nothin else to do.
ice fish.
ride snowmobiles until the gas runs out, then push snowmobiles.
guess whos in the house by the smells you detect.
[:D][:p]0 -
quote:Originally posted by bobski
shovel snow.
measure icicles.
guess what time it is.
curse oil heaters that give out at -15deg.
chain tires and plow driveways.
eat, because theres nothin else to do.
ice fish.
ride snowmobiles until the gas runs out, then push snowmobiles.
guess whos in the house by the smells you detect.
[:D][:p]
only if we had snow this year....[V]
B17 where you live - i grew up 20miles west mpls/st paul...what range where you thinking...it would be nice to know of one to shoot at when i visit my parents.0 -
There is a real nice range in Oakdale, Oakdale gun club.[:D] And a range in Bald Eagle, Near White Bear Lake,called Bald Eagle sportsmans association, or BESA.[8D] A little furthur away is Gopher rifle club in Harris if you want 1000 yd frustration.[:(]Forest Lake Sportsmans club has Rifle, Pistol, trap, skeet and sporting clays.All of these are pretty much on the eastern side of Saint paul and north.[:0]THATS ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT![:D] 0 -
Best thing to do in Minnesota is leave and go to Wisconsin. 0
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