Minnesota Vacation Days

From the authors of Minnesota Eats Out, this lavishly illustrated and jam-packed book brings readers 150 years of vacation getaways in the Land of 10,000 Lakes

The riverfront always drew people to Stillwater. The Ojibwe and Dakota first settled here, later striking a treaty with Europeans, who quickly realized the St. Croix River's potential as an ideal way to move lumber. One of the first to float logs down the river was Captain Stephen Hanks, cousin to Abraham Lincoln. The lumber business gave birth to Minnesota's first millionaire as the city grew, and Stillwater received one of the state's first Carnegie grants for a free public library. Meanwhile, the state prison saw notorious gangster Cole Younger found the Prison Mirror in 1887, now the nation's oldest continuously operated offender newspaper. Authors Holly Day and Sherman Wick celebrate the history and charm of one of Minnesota's finest cities, from the frontier to today.

An entertaining cultural history of the American family vacation during the height of its popularity from 1945 to 1973. Reveals the ways in which the ritual of the family road trip, for most middle-class Americans became a way of defining what it meant to be (and become) American.

Bustling, modern, and hip, the Twin Cities are far from hibernating. See what makes them shine year-round with a local in Moon Minneapolis & St. Paul. Explore the Twin Cities: Navigate by neighborhood or by activity, with color-coded maps of the most interesting neighborhoods in Minneapolis and St. Paul See the Sights: Browse contemporary art at the Walker Art Center and Sculpture Garden (and play mini-golf on the roof!), learn about local history at the Minnesota State Capitol, shop at the Mall of America, or stroll along the banks of Lake Calhoun Get a Taste of the City: Pop into a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese restaurant on Eat Street, sample the flavors of Minnesota's Polish past, order from a fusion food truck, or grab a table at an innovative farm-to-table restaurant Bars and Nightlife: Catch a performance at the Dakota Jazz Club, see where Prince got his start, sip fruity concoctions at a tiki bar, find the best spots for microbrews, or visit the Twin Cities' most popular gay bars Local Expertise: Minneapolis local Tricia Cornell shares insider know-how on her two favorite cities Itineraries and Day Trips: Explore nearby Stillwater, Duluth, and Lake Superior, or follow city itineraries designed for budget travelers, outdoor adventurers, and more Full-Color Photos and Detailed Maps Handy Tools: Moon provides background information on the history and culture of the Twin Cities See the Twin Cities with a local with Moon Minneapolis & St. Paul. Exploring more Midwest cities? Try Moon Chicago. Craving some fresh air? Check out Moon 75 Great Hikes Minneapolis & St. Paul.

In the late nineteenth century, the North Woods offered people little in the way of a pleasant escape. Rather, it was a hub of production supplying industrial America with vast quantities of lumber and mineral ore. This book tells the story of how northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula became a tourist paradise, turning a scarred countryside into the playground we know today. Stripped of much of its timber and ore by the early 1900s, the North Woods experienced deindustrialization earlier than the Rust Belt cities that consumed its resources. In The Lure of the North Woods, Aaron Shapiro describes how residents and visitors reshaped the region from a landscape of exploitation to a vacationland. The rejuvenating North Woods profited in new ways by drawing on emerging connections between the urban and the rural, including improved transportation, promotion, recreational land use, and conservation initiatives. Shapiro demonstrates how this transformation helps explain the interwar origins of modern American environmentalism, when both the consumption of nature for pleasure and the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the North Woods and elsewhere led many Americans to cultivate a fresh perspective on the outdoors. At a time when travel and recreation are considered major economic forces, The Lure of the North Woods reveals how leisure—and tourism in particular—has shaped modern America.