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NWR - Vacation recommendations

jennipea382jennipea382 member
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in Minnesota-Minneapolis and St. Paul
Hey all! FI and I will be taking a mini vacation in June and I'm looking for some ideas. We're looking to go camping and sightsee, probably up north somewhere. Last year we took two little trips. The first we left early in the morning and drove up to Ely. We saw the wolf center, Sudan mine and walked around downtown Ely. We stayed at Bear Head Lake State Park. The next day we drove back through Duluth and saw some things on the way. The other trip was similar, we left in the morning and came back the next evening. We stayed with his parents at Camper's Paradise in Nevis. I loved it!

So basically we're looking for something similar. We might go back to Ely but I'm always looking for new things to see! We have a state park pass and plan on camping for two nights this time. Current plan is to leave on a Monday afternoon after I get off work (at noon), stay Tue/Wed nights, and come back sometime Wed evening, unless I can get off work on Thursday, in which case it will be Tue-Thu instead.

We love to see interesting things (though I know that's different for everyone), take pictures, go to wineries (if there are any up there), and see as much as we can. We don't have a ton of money to spend so the cheaper the better! Any ideas for us? (BTW we live in St. Cloud so it's a bit shorter of a drive up north)
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Re: NWR - Vacation recommendations

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    saraschilling88saraschilling88
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    Itasca State Park in/near Park Rapids, MN.  Headwaters of the Mississippi River are there, as well as other interesting things.
    Here is a link:
    http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/itasca/index.html

    You can camp at Itasca, and there are lots of opportunities to take pictures!!  My family goes there every summer at least once :)
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    trixie549trixie549
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    I would just road-trip-it up the North Shore! There are so many state parks you can stay in, and lots of great hiking and exploring to do (my favorites are Tettegouche, Temperance River and Judge C.R. Magney State Parks). Also, love Grand Marais and Lutsen!
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    wittyschaffywittyschaffy member
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    DH and I camp every year with friends at Itasca.  Very cool place.  We also take a solo trip up to Cascade River Park (north shore - just past Lutsen but not to Grand Marais).  It is beautiful there with easy access to Grand Marais (if you want a "fancy" dinner - I can reccomend Chez Jude!) and not far to drive to the border if you want.  There is a cool waterfall just off the turnaround for Canada that is really pretty.  We've found that it isn't nearly as busy as Split Rock or Gooseberry campgrounds but is in the same general area.  Stop at Pallisades Park on your way back to town.  Stunning views of Superior.
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    misscrafty84misscrafty84
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    I love Grand Marais! So pretty! My family has a cabin by Itasca, there is quite a bit to do, there's a winery that makes Mn wines, the Itasca park is awesome, Park Rapids has a great Main Street with candy stores and tourist shops, there's this little ammusment/touristy place right by Itasica, it's Christmas themed, and they have mini golf and bumper boats, ect. Hope you find somewhere you love! FI and I are heading up to our cabin a few days before the rest of my family for the 4th of July to have some time and we're definitely going to Itasca =) His parents live up in Sugar Loaf Cove so we were up there earlier this spring, hopefully we can get back this fall again =)
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    saraschilling88saraschilling88
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    Park Rapids Main Street does have quite a few shops :)  Also there is SummerHill Farms by Park Rapids as well, they have a cafe and a bunch of different shops :) Here's a link:
    http://www.summerhill-farm.com/

    Also, in Dorset (a few miles out of Park Rapids) there is a mexican restaurant that my family loves called "Companeros", there are two other restaurants: La Pasta (obviousy Italian) and Dorset House (more American food like burgers).  Dorset also has shops you can find neat things in :)  Here's a link to Dorset's website:
    http://www.dorsetmn.com/

    All of those are by Itasca State Park :)  Also, the Christmas themed shop that PP mentioned was called World of Christmas, now is Evergreen Gifts and Fun (perhaps a little less Christmas themed in the store).  Here is a link:
    http://www.evergreengiftsandfun.com/
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    jennipea382jennipea382 member
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    Thanks for all the suggestions! I think we are leaning towards Itasca State Park. It sounds like there's a lot to do around that area! Neither of us have been there so it will be all new to both of us (FI had been to both places we went last year). BTW I was wondering why Dorset sounded so familiar.. we went there last year when we were in Nevis! There wasn't a whole lot to do there at the time though :-(
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    goatlady12goatlady12 member
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    They have little getaways all the time on groupon and living social.  They all seem like pretty good deals if you go during the week!
    http://www.groupon.com/minneapolis-stpaul/getaways?d=travel_countmein
    http://www.livingsocial.com/cities/226-st-paul/escapes
    There are a couple for in MN.
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    saraschilling88saraschilling88
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    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_nwr-vacation-recommendations?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:81Discussion:150490bc-a1fb-4699-b1d1-cf4623fee92cPost:2baed241-3a54-445c-8a2c-664bbb586e55">Re: NWR - Vacation recommendations</a>:
    [QUOTE]BTW I was wondering why Dorset sounded so familiar.. we went there last year when we were in Nevis! There wasn't a whole lot to do there at the time though :-(
    Posted by jennipea382[/QUOTE]

    What time of year did you go to Dorset?  Most of the "town" is really open Memorial Day through Labor Day, but I think they opened earlier this year (Mothers Day weekend). 
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    jennipea382jennipea382 member
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    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_nwr-vacation-recommendations?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:81Discussion:150490bc-a1fb-4699-b1d1-cf4623fee92cPost:df07c3cf-9d8a-4686-9a2a-7298d78308cf">Re: NWR - Vacation recommendations</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR - Vacation recommendations : What time of year did you go to Dorset?  Most of the "town" is really open Memorial Day through Labor Day, but I think they opened earlier this year (Mothers Day weekend). 
    Posted by saraschilling88[/QUOTE]

    August. We went to an antique shop and the book shop. Everything else was closed pretty much. I can't remember what day of the week it was but it might have been during the week if that makes a difference?
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    saraschilling88saraschilling88
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    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_nwr-vacation-recommendations?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:81Discussion:150490bc-a1fb-4699-b1d1-cf4623fee92cPost:fcbe3372-133e-48a1-bcff-f488e6c6c67d">Re: NWR - Vacation recommendations</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR - Vacation recommendations : August. We went to an antique shop and the book shop. Everything else was closed pretty much. I can't remember what day of the week it was but it might have been during the week if that makes a difference?
    Posted by jennipea382[/QUOTE]

    Hmm, usually things are still open in August, but usually mostly in the afternoon/evening.  I rarely go to Dorset before 4PM.  If/when you go, walk around Fajita Loop and check out the stores behind the Main buildings.  The antique store and book store are on the "main street", I believe there is a new store opening in the building that was empty last season (another store had moved out) across from Companeros.  Weekends are usually the busiest time there, but I know they are still open during the week, it may depend on time of day though.
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    jennipea382jennipea382 member
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    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_nwr-vacation-recommendations?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:81Discussion:150490bc-a1fb-4699-b1d1-cf4623fee92cPost:071694e6-56b1-46e8-b53e-0d34e6da6b0c">Re: NWR - Vacation recommendations</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR - Vacation recommendations : Hmm, usually things are still open in August, but usually mostly in the afternoon/evening.  I rarely go to Dorset before 4PM.  If/when you go, walk around Fajita Loop and check out the stores behind the Main buildings.  The antique store and book store are on the "main street", I believe there is a new store opening in the building that was empty last season (another store had moved out) across from Companeros.  Weekends are usually the busiest time there, but I know they are still open during the week, it may depend on time of day though.
    Posted by saraschilling88[/QUOTE]

    Ohh I see. Yeah we were there in the early afternoon I think, maybe around 1? I'll have to keep it in mind to check out again if we get a chance! Thanks!
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