Very nice little movie theater. Has a cabin like feel in the entryway, tons of snack options, some…read morearcade games, and really friendly teenage staff when I was there. Love the building and feel of the place. A small town gem of a theater

A very nice theater! Real butter for popcorn!.. can you say more? ;v)…read more Town of Hinkley lucky to have a such a clean modern theater with a variety of choices for snacks. Prices were reasonable and staff was very friendly.

I wasn't sure what to expect when we stopped at the Hinckley Fire Museum, but it ended up being one…read moreof the most memorable parts of our trip. If it's your first time visiting Hinckley, this is one stop that's worth making. The museum tells the story of the Great Hinckley Fire of 1894 through artifacts, photos, and personal accounts that really bring the history to life. It's hard to imagine the devastation until you walk through the exhibits and learn what the community endured. One thing I couldn't help but notice is that the museum sits directly across the street from the town's fire station. There's something incredibly fitting about that. A place that preserves the memory of one of the deadliest wildfires in American history now looks out at the firefighters who protect Hinckley today. It's a quiet reminder of how much the town has overcome. Even if you're not someone who usually visits museums, I'd recommend adding this to your itinerary. It gives you a deeper appreciation for Hinckley beyond the restaurants and attractions and helps you understand the history that shaped the community you see today. Don't forget to pick up a few Minnesota favorites from the gift shop on the way out. I would suggest the maple syrup. Outside of the museum you'll find a relief house. This displays what a typical house was like for a family of four after the fires. It made me appreciate the home and space that I have.

This museum takes you on a history lesson about the town and the horrendous fire that destroyed it…read morein 1894. It has nothing to do with a fire house, if that is what you were thinking (I know I was). It is located in what use to be a train depot. You can still see train tracks in the back. They have pretty much maintained it to it's original glory, even though the first one was burned in the fire. It has a decent sized parking lot and also serves as a welcome center and gift shop for the town. I paid $5 for admission to the museum (which I did not mind a chalked it up as a donation to the preservation of this historical landmark). The museum is decent with a short movie that details what happened with the fire, artifacts from the fire, equipment from the time, information placards, art, equipment and displays from the time like a doctors office, the station's communications room, a relief house, a train caboose and depot agent's apartment. The relief house and caboose are located outside, right near the picnic shelter that has a couple of picnic tables under it. It is a nice place to take a break and enjoy some lunch. Keep in mind that they do not have a restaurant or snack bar on site though. It is a somewhat small museum. The tour is self guided and they give you a laminated sheet that explains each room. The museum is manned by volunteers who are some of the nicest people that you will meet and take a lot of pride in the place. In addition to the fire, the museum has exhibits that touch on its Native American roots right outside of the room the movie is played. This is a nice change of pace from your normal touristy stuff. You also get a decent self guided history tour. I spent about an hour here. I will admit that it gets sleepy at some portions of the tour. However, If you are in the area, I still recommend that you should check it out.

If you're looking for the cutest winery near the twin cities, DeCorsa is it!…read more Betty and Mike who own/ run the winery were beautiful hosts and the wines were top notch! This was supposed to be a quick stop for us but we ended up spending hours chatting and playing board games with Betty! Brownie points to them for have a winery puppy. 15/10 for puppy kisses at DeCorsa! We can't wait to go back and we left feeling like we hung out with a couple of friends! It was a huge bonus that their wine was yumm!!

I had such a unique experience at this winery that it was hard to know what to rate it. There were…read moresix of us that scheduled an appointment to visit on the day of New Year's Eve. When we arrived the place looked closed and we weren't sure what to make of it. When we came into the space it was very dark and it remained dark the entire time we were there which I thought was odd. But the winery is powered by solar panels which I thought was cool! But I swear it must've been 50 degrees inside the building because half of us were freezing. It also looked like a lot of the decorations were incredibly old and outdated and hadn't been dusted in a long time. The woman that helped to service us was very nice and personable and I thought we had a good time talking to her and her husband. They told us a lot about the winery and how the community helps to keep it running. I've never been to such a small winery like this one so it was nice to hear how they keep it running! The wine: the reason why im not giving this a lower star rating is because of how good the wines and prices were. For less than ten dollars you can sample 5 wines and they let us pair up and share tastings so we could try them all! I loved each wine and they all tasted unlike any other wines I've ever tasted. Very fruity and fragrant and delicious. :) Overall I think if the owners added more lights and cleaned up the decorations this place could easily jump from a 3 to a 4!

Awesome small town theater. Just one theater, but it is renovated and comfortable and great…read morevintage feel! They often have free kids movies and other special events where shows are free from time to time. They also rent it out for meetings or private parties. Love this place!

I'm a sucker for the historical society sites and this is no exception. They have some great…read moredisplays in the building and the tour of the fort was informative. The staff was friendly and quite tolerant of curious children. We had the tour to ourselves when we went so had no issues hearing and asking questions. Afterwards we took some trails down by the river and back to the building. Their t-shirts were cute and cheap so we bought one for each member of the family.

The North West Company Fur Post is located west of Pine City proper off of Exit 169. It is an…read moreofficial museum of the Minnesota Historical Society. Apparently, a local farmer found remnants of a fur trading post on his land and contacted the Canadian branch of the North West Trading Company, to get the official plans; and from there, a complete replica of the fur trading post was built. In the interpretive center, the story was told from the perspectives of the Native peoples who hunted and skinned the pelts; the British traders who brought together goods from all throughout the world to trade for the fur they wanted, and the French-Canadian Voyageurs who were the brawn behind the whole apparatus. The story also doesn't shy away from the fact that several intermarraiges took place and how they were resolved for the wives and children when the overseers left their posts and married within the church. (Apparently intermarraige was frowned upon by the Hudson Bay company but allowed and even encouraged by the North West Company and the XY Company whch they acquired). From the museum, we were led out by a person reenacting the Native perspective. She showed us the various animal pelts caught at the post, and how the Native people travelled a 100-mile radius throughout the seasons to fish in summer, hunt and trap in fall, survive the winter, and obtain sugar bush in the spring. She then led us down the path to the fur trading post, explaining room by room, how the post was run, from the youngest 14-year old voyageurs to the junior accountants to the post managers. It was amazing how many moving parts there were in the fur trade, and how the business was run down to every little detail. There is a chance to walk down to the river, or go on a 1/2 mile nature walk. Events also take place at the post all year long -- there are even snowshoes hanging for winter events. It was a very interesting museum and a year-round event center. It is certainly worth the detour if you want something to do in the area.

Pine City is in my opinion the nicest 9 hole in the state. Very well taken care of. good greens,…read moreand a great place to eat and have a drink when you finish. I have not had a better Roller Dog yet. buttery toasted bun, with the best chips to pair up with it.

This course is nothing fancy - your standard MN "farm" course. Its nice enough though and still…read morechallenging enough to have fun. The course is usually not busy and you can get a tee time when you want. In June they had a "golf all you can" deal when you buy a round + Cart so keep an eye out for deals. Clubhouse has full bar, pro-shop and food. There's also a practice putting green and driving range.

Nice looking small museum and a small early 1900's cabin Sign posted as of Memorial Day, 2021 says…read moremuseum will open when coronavirus is history

I wasn't sure what to expect for the Twin Ports Taste Together. Unlimited beer tasting+banquet hall…read moreat a casino didn't seem like a recipe for success but it worked better than I expected it would. This may be because it is an older casino but Black Bear doesn't seem to have a sophisticated ventilation system, the smoke upon entering was overwhelming. Thankfully this didn't continue into the area where the festival was held. There were a wide range of beers and the Northern Minnesota and Western Wisconsin Breweries were well represented. At other beer festivals I've been to people just pour out their drinks on the ground but thankfully people utilized the many Home Depot buckets designated for this purpose so the carpet wasn't a disgusting soppy mess by the end of the night. I'm not a beer drinker so my personal motivation for going was the inevitably awesome people watching and the Trampled by Turtles show at the end of the night. A few hours into the show I staked out a front row spot and sent my husband back into the beer portion of the festival to continue getting his tasting on. The show itself was incredible but the crowd was downright terrifying. I'm guessing it was the excitement of the hometown boys made good and four hours of unlimited beer but the crowd was out of control. The pressure from the massive push of bodies knocked the wind out of me several times and it was so crowded there was no way I could have escaped. Luckily I had the stage to brace myself against, I can't imagine how horrible it must have been for those in the middle of the crowd. I don't know if there's anything that could have been done to avoid this other than people remembering to be kind to those around them. That being said, it was a good time and we would likely go back next year if Trampled by Turtles plays again but other than that I would be unlikely to return.