The Goodhue Pioneer State Trail Trailhead provides access to a multi-use rail trail in southeast Minnesota, with key starting points at Pioneer Road near Red Wing for the 4-mile northern paved segment through hardwood forests and Hay Creek Valley, and at Covered Bridge Park in Zumbrota for the 5.5-mile southern paved section past farmland and prairies.
Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle State Recreation Area, Minnesota's only state-managed off-road park, spans 1,864 acres (with a 3,500-acre expansion underway) east of Lake Ore-be-gone near Gilbert in St. Louis County on former iron ore mining land reclaimed since 1981.
Ray Berglund State Wayside is a small roadside park along Minnesota's North Shore Highway 61 near Tofte, at the Onion River estuary overlooking Lake Superior, built in 1951 to honor St. Paul businessman Ray Berglund.
Beaver Creek Valley State Park in southeastern Minnesota near Caledonia spans 1,187 acres in the Driftless Area's steep, narrow valley carved by spring-fed East Beaver Creek—a blue-ribbon trout stream teeming with native brook and brown trout amid limestone bluffs up to 300 feet high.
Enger Tower in Duluth, Minnesota, is an 80-foot stone observation tower built in 1939 atop Enger Hill as a tribute to Bert Enger, a Norwegian immigrant and philanthropist who donated the land and funds for the park's creation.
Franz Jevne State Park, Minnesota's smallest state park at 118 acres, sits along the Rainy River in Koochiching County between International Falls and Baudette, offering direct views of Ontario, Canada.
The Science Museum of Minnesota, located in downtown St. Paul along the Mississippi River, was founded in 1907 and has grown into a leading science education center.
Lac qui Parle State Park, located about half a mile north of Watson in Chippewa and Lac qui Parle Counties, Minnesota, centers on the expansive 5,000-acre Lac qui Parle Lake—French for lake which speaks—a glacial remnant famous for fall migrations of thousands of geese, bald eagles, pelicans, and deer.
Glendalough State Park covers nearly 2,800 acres in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, about 4 miles north of Battle Lake off the Otter Tail Scenic Byway, blending elm-basswood forests, rolling hills, restored prairies, and six pristine lakes including Molly Stark, Annie Battle, and Sunset Lake.
White Oak Casino is Minnesota's smallest casino, located in Deer River and owned by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe to honor the historic White Oak Point Band.
Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area spans 5,490 acres along the Minnesota River in Scott County, Minnesota, just minutes from the Twin Cities between Shakopee and Belle Plaine, consisting of multiple non-contiguous units with diverse wetlands, floodplain forests, bluff-top oak savannas, and lakes like Horseshoe.
Myre-Big Island State Park, located just outside Albert Lea in southern Minnesota, spans 1,578 acres along eight miles of Albert Lea Lake shoreline, including the 117-acre Big Island connected by a causeway.
Fort Snelling State Park spans nearly 2,900 acres at the historic confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers in Dakota County, Minnesota, just south of St. Paul near the Twin Cities' urban core.
Banning State Park in east-central Minnesota near Sandstone stretches along 10 miles of the Kettle River, Minnesota's first designated Wild and Scenic River, featuring dramatic sandstone cliffs, massive glacial potholes, churning Class IV rapids like Hell's Gate and Blueberry Slide, and historic quarry remnants from the late 1800s.
McCarthy Beach State Park, located near Side Lake in St. Louis County, Minnesota, encompasses 2,471 acres around the Sturgeon Lake chain, featuring a renowned half-mile sugar-sand beach on Sturgeon Lake rated among North America's top 17 beaches.
Mall of America, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, opened in 1992 on the site of the former Metropolitan Stadium, the historic home of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings until 1982.
