Time to Cheer

Show us your game face. We have a sports team for every fan.

A surge of team spirit energized Minneapolis Saint Paul last fall when the Minnesota Lynx, led by Finals MVP Seimone Augustus and local heroine Lindsay Whalen, won the WNBA Championship. Welcome the team back to Target Center and see if they can repeat its amazing success. The Minnesota Timberwolves also hit the court at Target Center. Watch as they build up a winning team with Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio.

In this “State of Hockey,” loyal fans pack the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul every game day to cheer on the Minnesota Wild. Fans have made nearly every single home game a sell out since the team’s inaugural season in 2000. The University of Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey teams also lift fans to their feet. Watch the men and women of the ice glide their way to victory.

At the best stadium in baseball (according to ESPN magazine), Target Field, it’s fun to watch the boys of summer. After a series of injuries kept the Minnesota Twins from the playoffs for the first time in four years, the team is ready to hit it out of the park. For more outdoor baseball, head to Midway Stadium where the fun minor league Saint Paul Saints play great baseball and share silly high jinks all summer long.

While we can’t predict the future, we hope to still don our purple and gold and cheer on the Minnesota Vikings for years to come. Players like Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin make the team a fun one to watch.

In the spring, watch pro soccer team the Minnesota Stars kick it up at the world-class National Sports Center in Blaine, just north of the metro area. Closer to home, take time to cheer for the University of Minnesota, where a variety of sports teams are making waves in the Big 10 throughout the year. Gopher football fans can sit outdoors once again at TCF Bank Stadium.

Take it Outside

Hike, bike, ski, swim and walk in what Forbes calls the nation’s healthiest cities.

If there’s one thing that Minnesota has plenty of it’s the great outdoors. Miles of biking, walking and ski trails create endless opportunities for visitors of Minneapolis Saint Paul. With 90,000 miles of shoreline, 929 metro area lakes and countless parks, the area is a great place to be outside.

Tour the area through the power of your own two feet and a set of wheels. Bicycling magazine named Minneapolis the No. 1 bike city in 2010, while the U.S. Census Bureau ranked it No. 2. Don’t have a bike? Don’t worry about it. Just hop on a Nice Ride bike from one of Minneapolis Saint Paul’s many stations to take a tour of the metro area. Best of all, the first half hour is free!

For another adventure, check out the native plants and waterfalls, archaeological sites and innovative modern sculpture along Minneapolis’ Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway, recognized as one of the best scenic byways in the country (and one of only two in an urban area). With a dozen lakes and ponds, gardens and more than 50 miles of walking and biking paths, the byway creates an opportunity to get in touch with nature in an urban environment, and is a staple for Minneapolis Saint Paul’s outdoor scene.

For more scenic views, concentrate on the Chain of Lakes, where lakes Cedar, Nokomis, Calhoun, Harriet and Lake of the Isles connect through a series of picturesque walking and biking paths. Go for a swim or rent a canoe, grab a bite to eat at Tin Fish on Lake Calhoun or Bread and Pickle on Lake Harriet and stroll through the Lyndale Park Rose Garden before catching a show at the Lake Harriet Bandshell.

Minneapolis’ Minnehaha Falls, the inspiration for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha, is also worth a visit. The 53-foot waterfall along Minnehaha Creek draws more than 850,000 visitors annually. Find out why as you take a hike, go for a walk, grab a snack at Sea Salt Eatery and spot the statue of Hiawatha at the top of the falls.

Not to be outdone, Saint Paul boasts 26 scenic miles of shoreline along the Mississippi River—more than any other city on its path. Take a walk along the river and savor the natural beauty of Minnesota’s capital city. Saint Paul also has many beautiful parks, but Mears Park in Lowertown tops them all. Stroll along the creek and through the walking paths for a breath of fresh air only a mile from downtown Saint Paul.

With a thousand rolling acres of prairies, trees and gardens, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska provides a charming opportunity to see all that Mother Nature has to offer. Explore the 12.5 miles of garden paths and hiking trails or hop in a car, bus or tram to tour the 3-mile paved road leading into the wild. The arboretum is open year-round but don’t miss the chance in the fall to enjoy the change of colors or taste the Minnesota-grown Honeycrisp at the arboretum’s AppleHouse.

Minnesotans know that the arrival of winter presents a new dynamic to outdoor entertainment, so strap on skates, skis and snowboards for some fun activities. Downhill skiers and snowboarders flock to Buck Hill in Burnsville, Wild Mountain in Taylors Falls, Afton Alps in Hastings or many other nearby ski hills. Practice your figure skating skills at the many outdoor rinks around the metro area. Show off your graceful spins and figure eights during the Winter Carnival celebration at Landmark Center’s WinterSkate in Saint Paul’s Rice Park.

When spring comes there’s always more than one kind of green. More than 170 golf courses make their home in the metro area, attracting both casual and competitive golfers. Nothing can beat teeing off at Minneapolis’ Theodore Wirth Golf Club with its view of the city skyline or enjoying the manicured greens of Highland National Golf Course in Saint Paul.