This was a sentimental visit for me. I've wanted to see the Little House in the Big Woods for…read moredecades. The site is open access. You park and can go right up to the house, day or night, any time of year. The door uses a rope latch system and there's a sign asking people to keep the door shut. The interior is small, but there's an information wall that's a good excuse to linger and read. The original cabin, of course, was long gone before the books were even published, and this new version was the result of a fundraising campaign in the 1970s.

Wonderful museum and super friendly staff. My mom, grandmother, and I had a wonderful timeread more

Lock and Dam No. 2 is located on Mississippi River mile 815.2, upstream of Hastings, Minnesota and…read more635.2 miles above St. Louis. It was constructed in 1930 but the lock walls settled and tilted. As a result, a second lock was constructed in 1948. The lock is 110 feet wide by 600 feet long. The site underwent major rehabilitation from 1987 to 1995, at which time a hydroelectric plant was added. The dam consists of a concrete structure 722 feet long with 19 tainter gates that are 30 feet long. The power plant is a 4.4 megawatt hydroelectric plant that is owned and operated by the city of Hastings. It is the only facility of its type at a lock and dam in the St. Paul district. There is also an earthen embankment 3,000 feet long. This is part of the 9-Foot Channel Project, designed to keep river traffic flowing smoothly. You can read more about this channel on the Army Corps of Engineers website. https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Portals/57/docs/Public%20Affairs/Brochure/Navigation/2016_LD2_Brochure_Web.pdf?ver=2017-03-02-162142-577 The site has a public observation deck that overlooks the lock for watching locking operations. The deck and restrooms open from dawn until dusk each day from mid-April through late-October. The rest of the complex is closed to the public.

This place blew me away when I visited with my history of design class the other day! The shear…read moreamount of historical objects in this building is stunning, and the history behind it is amazing. The tour guides will tell you about the two houses built before the one that currently stands. The families that owned these houses helped form the midwest to be what it is today--something I never would have even imagined if I hadn't come here. Some of the wealthiest people in 1800s America lived in Menomonie. I'm taking away one star because I can't imagine that the tour would be quite as fascinating without my art history professor there, but it would be pretty close. This is a must-visit if you're going to be in the area!

My wife and I hit a new pub in St. Paul called the Blue Door before touring this cool old Victorian…read morehouse of one of the first governors of Minnesota. We had some awesome burgers and beer before our free tour the Historical Museum was giving of its properties this weekend. We entered the house feeling full and happy from a couple of Surly Furious pints and signed up for our tour. We entered the house with a great guide dressed in a top hat and suit of the 1800's when Ramsey would have lived in the house. The house was one of the few in old time Minnesota with gas lighting and running water. There was a bathtub and even an indoor water closet. It was interesting that there were chamber pots around the house because women did not like to remove all the bussels and stuff. They showed the bells and talking tubes for the servants to be called upon. They showed the kitchen and offered baked cookies from the oven. The children's' rooms were well adorned and Ramsey had a play room for the children up in the attic along with the servants' rooms. The whole layout was perfect, great character actors as guides and pretend servants. Even though they had a lot of people taking the tour, they kept it well run and you quickly became envious of such a large, cool house. Highly recommended for a crummy day outside when you're looking for something to do. Hey, and it's educational!

I had a bizarre experience here today. I walked into the Gift Shop and hung out looking at stuff…read morefor 20 minutes while people were talking in the back. I wanted to pay admission and walk around the house. Finally, I peeked in the back and some lady said, "are you Dustin?" Huh? When she saw I was just a member of the public she hurriedly hustled me out the door and told me they were closed for staff interviews and did I not see the sign, etc. I did see a small, handwritten sign on a dry erase board, but I was confused about why the gift shop would be wide open, lights on and merchandise unattended if the entire place was closed down. All the sign said was that there were no tours, not that the entire building was closed. I thought it was possible to take a self-guided tour even if staff were "busy." Honestly I haven't been to very many historical sites where self-guided tours are forbidden. Basically, the point of this weird experience is that whatever non-profit is running this place is extremely disorganized and unable to communicate something as basic as being closed to the general public, not to mention the fact it can't even secure its premises. It's pretty irresponsible to leave the front door open and an entire gift shop unattended. I could have walked off with half of their stuff and no one would have been the wiser. On her way to rushing me out the door, the lady acted very annoyed and mumbled something about what they can't do because of budget cuts, even as she was discouraging me from making a purchase from their gift store. To me, this illustrates exactly why non-profits are in dire straights. They want charitable donations from everyone even while turning down opportunities to become more self sufficient. A similar thing happened a week or so ago when I attended an evening lecture on 19th century spiritualism with a friend at the Ramsey House. We arrived late and didn't have the chance to pay for our tickets until it was over. I had to ask three people how and where to pay. No one made any effort to bother us for money, and had I not been extremely proactive, it would have been free for my friend and I, but not for the taxpayers. This is ridiculous, and perfectly illustrates why non-profits do not deserve financial support. This place can't even manage to collect money from people attending an event. It isn't like we slipped in quietly or secretly either. To many organizations, "non-profit" doesn't simply mean they don't make any money, but that they actively throw it away.

What a fantastic hidden gem! To spend a nice spring day, my family decided to drive to the little…read moretown of Scandia and spend the afternoon. Since we hadn't been to Scandia before, we didn't have anywhere particular in mind to go. When arriving at a park, we noticed it shared a space with Gammelgarden. When we had parked to go to the playground, we had actually parked in front of a Swedish historical museum. We were so pleasantly surprised! Visiting cultural and history sites is our favorite thing to do, so we couldn't believe our luck. To top it off, they were open on a Sunday for a guided tour! Our guide, named Reese, was in costume and was knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. Finding a museum open for business on a Sunday in a small town was an unexpected pleasure. For the next couple of hours, we experienced the buildings and artifacts that make up this wonderfully historic little complex, including the oldest Lutheran church inthe state of Minnesota! Each house, called "hus", was filled with original artifacts from the people who lived in Sweden or Scandia as it was first blossoming as a settlement. The museum gave us information on upcoming events and classes that each member of my family would be interested in - including an event thus summer where participants roll "meatballs" made from painted golf balls down to Gammelgarden from a shop on the main street. We will definitely be coming back!

From the owner: Step back in history. Meaning "old farm" in Swedish, Gammelgården Museum of Scandia is the only…read moreopen-air museum devoted to preserving, presenting, and promoting Swedish immigrant heritage in the United States. In buildings that have been carefully preserved and restored, visitors can get a glimpse of the daily lives and artifacts of these immigrants and participate in events and classes. The Välkommen Hus and Butik gift shop are open daily from May through December. The five historical buildings are open from May through October. Join us for a tour of our buildings, Midsommar, Spelmansstämman, Swedish Coffee Parties, Girls & Dolls Tea Parties, Lutfisk, Lucia Dagen, and more.

I missed the day again. That one day where you can actually go inside the Witch's Hat. Maybe its…read moretwo days, actually... I missed them both. The Witch's Hat is one of those landmarks that's right under your nose (you can see it from 94), but most people don't pay it much attention. It's especially witchy when it's summer when the water tower looks like a giant witch is in the trees (or that the trees themselves are wearing a hat) from a distance If, like me, you can't figure out when they will let you inside (one of them is around Memorial Day), it's still worth a visit because the views of the skyline stunning. And it's 102 years old. Respect your elders, especially when those elders are witches.

Cool view with a lot of history. great view of the city either day or night but like why couldn't…read moreit just be open to the public? You would think you would be able to go up for an even better view but nope. But even from the vantage point not too bad of a view of Minneapolis.

We enjoyed a ghost tour with Jane Olive throughout Mantorville. We visited the historic buildings…read morethroughout the charming town and heard ghost stories about each building and house. After the tour we enjoyed a delicious supper at the historic Hubbell House.