MN Prairie
Grasses and pastel-colored wildflowers blow in the breeze for as far as your eye can see. A visit to the Prairie will take you back to the time when the first pioneers crossed this land. See historic sites and state parks, rock climb or view a buffalo herd. Visit one of the state’s National Monuments or historic petroglyphs in this region steeped in history.
Across the prairie in the historic town on Pipestone, the Calumet Inn brings guests back a century. Check into the historic, yet newly renovated, hotel and visit nearby wonders, including Pipestone National Monument and Blue Mounds State Park.
Step back in history to a preserved historic village at Montevideo, MN's Historic Chippewa City. Walk through 24 restored buildings dating back to the late 1800's resting on 20 acres with one of the most extensive antique collections you may ever see.
When the train passed by the town of West Newton, MN, in the 1870s, the Harkin general store soon was closed, many of its original items still intact. Nearly four decades later it opened as a museum that continues to showcase MN prairie life today.
Once a vibrant small town, Forestville, MN vanished when trains bypassed it in the early 1900s. Many of its buildings remain and today, visitors to the Historic Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park site can take a walk through history.
Spend a relaxing weekend away on the Prairie. Stay in a tipi or on a working farm, and enjoy a wine tasting, historic tour or shop for handmade goods. Hike along the rolling prairie, view the world's oldest exposed rock, or take an art class while you're here.
Farm stays offer an opportunity to reconnect with fresh air, local foods, and a more simple and authentic lifestyle. Popular around the world, farm stays are gaining attention here in Minnesota, allowing guests to awake to the sounds of the countryside and experience a day on a working farm.
Set on a working farm, MN's Hinterland Vineyards grows cold-hardy grapes that it has transformed into some of the best wines in the state. Visit for a tasting and be sure to try each of this winery's varieties, including Frontenac, LaCrescent and Marquette.
Blue Mounds State Park offers untouched views of the same prairie the first settlers crossed. Today visitors can hike 15 miles of trails, climb 100-foot cliffs and have a rare opportunity to view a herd of bison on the prairie.
A sacred Native American stone quarry for more than 3,000 years, today Pipestone National Monument continues its rich history with walking trails through historic grounds and one of the state's most beautiful waterfalls.
In the middle of the Minnesota prairie sits our state's earliest historic record, the Jeffers Petroglyphs in Comfry, MN. As old as the Egyptian pyramids, these rock carvings made by the first people to call Minnesota home depict a rich cultural history within the region.
Native American tribes called Minnesota's prairie home for hundreds of years. Today that prairie is preserved at one of the state's must unique and beautiful state parks, where visitors can spend the night in a real tipi and hike trails crossing prairie, forest and river wetlands.
An important era in our nation's history began right here in Minnesota. Granite Falls, MN was once home to Rep. Andrew J. Volstead, a nine-term MN Congressman whose historic legislation had significant impacts on our nation's history. Today his home is a National Landmark.
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