30 Fascinating Fun Facts About Minnesota
Here are some interesting and fun facts about Minnesota covering natural resources, history and commerce. There’s a lot about water, naturally.
History
Walking the Charles A. Lindbergh State Park
The hike at Charles A. Lindbergh State Park will take you to a spot on the Lindbergh farm where Charles landed his first plane.
The Grand Portage National Monument
The Grand Portage National Monument is an entertaining and informative journey back into the history of the earliest trading economy of Minnesota. Costume clad docents will lead your through the reconstructed trading outpost and enlighten you on the earliest encounters between the Ojibwe, the French Canadian Voyageurs, and the English North West Trading Company.
The High Falls at Grand Portage State Park
A short walk gets you to the High Falls on the Pigeon River, at the U.S.-Canada border. It’s the highest waterfall in Minnesota.
The Historic Split Rock Lighthouse
The historic Split Rock Lighthouse was built in response to the disastrous shipwrecks of 1905. It served its purpose until 1969 until modern marine navigational technology made lighthouses obsolete.
Itasca State Park, Headwaters of the Mississippi River
The oldest – and most iconic – Minnesota State Park is Itasca State Park, the headwaters of the Mississippi River. You can’t say you’ve been there if you haven’t walked across the river.
Hiking Lake Shetek State Park
Lake Shetek is the largest lake in southwestern Minnesota and the Lake Shetek State Park that borders its east side makes for ample recreation opportunities.
The Pipestone National Monument
The Pipestone National Monument in southwestern Minnesota is the site of ancient quarries where Native Americans have dug out stone used for the carving of their ritual pipes.
The Jeffers Petroglyphs Historical Site
The Jeffers Petroglyphs stone carvings in southwestern Minnesota preserve insights into the lives of the earliest residents of Minnesota.
The Trail of the 1862 Sioux Uprising in Minnesota
A collection of historical sites in southwest Minnesota offers the story of the first white settlements in the area, and the events which led to the Dakota people being driven off their lands to reservations in the West. But not without a fight.