Why Minnesota Summers Are the Best in the Nation
Why Minnesota Summers Are the Best in the Nation
We celebrate all four seasons in Minnesota, but summer is different in the Star of the North. While other parts of the country make a dive for the air-conditioned indoors, Minnesotans head outside. (Why wouldn’t we? Minnesota summer temps are often between “pleasant” and “perfect”). Locals and visitors pack patios, rooftops, and waterfront dining spots, hikers and bikers gear up, and the ethos of “Lake Life” becomes a guiding light.
See why a Minnesota summer just hits different, and how you can experience it for yourself.
Dessa plays a free show at Surly Brewing C / Credit: Paul Vincent
CATCH A CONCERT
By the time summer rolls around, Minnesotans are ready to take full advantage of it. When it comes to live music, that means outdoor festivals that revolve around everything from rock to reggae. Between WE Fest in Detroit Lakes and Winstock in Winstead, country music often brings in big, record-setting crowds and major headliners like Miranda Lambert, Willie Nelson, Carrie Underwood, and Jelly Roll.
The success of St. Paul’s first Yacht Club festival showed there’s room for growth within the scene, too. A stacked lineup is expected for its sophomore voyage, including such inter-generational icons as Green Day, Sheryl Crow, Alabama Shakes, Fall Out Boy and Weezer.
Want to spend time outside without committing to an entire festival? Minnesota’s festivals and events calendar is flush with free and ticketed shows that take the stress out of planning the perfect summer afternoon or evening. We even have an exceptional amphitheater (The Ledge in Waite Park) built between two rock quarries that's booked everyone from Mavis Staples to Mastodon.
Bar Harbor Supper Club / Paul Vincent
DINE OUTDOORS
Whether you’re in the metro area or Greater Minnesota, patio dining is practically a professional sport here. Doubly so if you’re looking to dine by the water at one of our many beloved lake houses.
Minneapolis even boasts a seasonal po’boy and fish taco stand (the perennially packed Sea Salt Eatery) within a short walk of Minnehaha Falls. You may see long, snaking lines there on bright summer days, but trust us; they move fast, and the food’s worth it, especially when it’s paired with a freshly pulled, locally brewed pint or a crisp glass of well-curated wine.
Speaking of the craft beverage community, Minnesota certainly has no shortage of award-winning breweries and sun-splashed wineries that draw in droves of families and friends looking for a laid-back spot to while away the afternoon. Also of note on the open-air eats front: pockets of pizza farms that serve wood-fired pies topped with terrific ingredients from the land you just spread your blanket on.
The Superior Hiking Trail at sunset / Credit: Alyssa Hei
ESCAPE THE HEAT
You know those dog days of summer? Claggy, inescapable swelter, when not even an ice-cold LaCroix can to the neck can make you unpeel yourself from the couch?
Northern Minnesotan’s don’t. While the rest of the country is sweating buckets, they’re hanging out in pleasant low-70s temps, enjoying the cool breeze off oceanic Lake Superior.
Skip the spendy flight to Alaska or Norway, and plan a weekend in the epically aquatic Voyageurs National Park, journey up the Superior Hiking Trail, or just hole up in a tranquil cabin or quaint resort and live like you’ve never known sweat (unless it’s the kind you earn in a sauna).
See things to do in Duluth, Minnesota’s northernmost major city.
Mae Simpson performs at Mid West Music Fest / Credit: Heelclickers
EXPERIENCE ALL THE EVENTS
Summer in Minnesota is a special time, and we know how to celebrate. Every weekend is filled with festivals and fairs focusing on everything from art to food.
Kick summer off in May with the Midwest Music Festival in Winona, which brings more than 45 bands together across four venues. Also in May: Northeast Minneapolis’ Art-A-Whirl, the largest open studio tour in the country. (There are over 1,200 artists, galleries, and local vendors.)
In June, Chalk Fest drenches the streets of the Arbor Lakes area of Maple Grove with chalk art, food vendors, live music, and more. In July, jam out at the Lakefront Music Fest in Prior Lake or the popular Minnesota Yacht Club festival in St. Paul.
Finally, as summer winds down in August, pack your boots for We Fest in Detroit Lakes and get ready for the biggest event of them all, the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul.
A family walks around Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America / Credit: Paul Vincent
KEEP THE KIDS ENTERTAINED
When it comes to family fun, Minnesota is second to none. (Literally; WalletHub declared us No. 2 in its recent national rankings of states to raise a family). If you’re a Minnesota first-timer, pencil in a trip to the Mall of America in Bloomington. Home to Nickelodeon Universe, SEA Life, Crayola Experience, a movie theater, arcades, Moose Mountain mini golf, virtual reality experiences and a whole lot more (we haven’t even mentioned the shopping), you could easily spend a whole day here and not do it all.
More kid-friendly favorites include Valleyfair in Shakopee, the upper Midwest's largest amusement park; Cascade Bay Waterpark in Eagan; the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley; and the Minnesota Children’s Museum and Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul. Or you could always catch a show at the Children’s Theatre Company, the only youth theater in the nation to win a TONY Award for Best Regional Theater.
A couple kids play in Bde Maka Ska / Credit: Paul Vincent
LIVE THAT LAKE LIFE
Minnesota is known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” but we actually boast 11,842. With endless ways to get out on or just be near the water, summer is the best time to enjoy the “lake life” – a state of mind as much as a geological bragging point.
Go fishing on Lake of the Woods, Lake Mille Lacs or Gull Lake, paddle through the pristine waters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness or go houseboating on Voyageurs National Park. You don’t even need to leave the city; the Minneapolis Chain of Lakes, offers plenty of opportunities to walk, run, bike, or paddle. Or, as Prince said, “purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka.”
See our guide to living la vida lake.
Canoeing on a warm summer day in the Boundary Waters / Paul Vincent
PADDLE ON
Minnesotans love to brag about our nearly 12,000 lakes. After all, we’re the official state of “lake life,” as well as the world-famous Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, one of our nation’s last truly remote stretches of land.
But you don’t have to go off the grid to canoe and kayak in Minnesota. You don’t even have to camp. Or leave the city. It takes less than 10 minutes to go from chowing down on the world’s best cinnamon roll at Minneapolis’ Isles Bun and Coffee to being on the tranquil, quiet waters of Lake of Isles – face-to-face with a blue heron, water lilies blooming beneath you.
See the best places to canoe in kayak in Minnesota, near Minneapolis, and with kids.
North Shore Camping Co / Paul Vincent
SNAG A CAMPSITE
Whether you’re sleeping under the serene, jet-black skies of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and its bucket list brethren Voyageurs National Park, or keeping things comfortable at a slick glamping or RV site, summer is the season for camping in Minnesota.
Choose your own adventure by travel style or browse our database of bookable campgrounds.
Biking along the Laurentian Divide / Mesabi Trail
TACKLE IT ON TWO WHEELS
Minnesota is one of the nation’s most active states, and a huge contributing factor to that ranking is our affinity for cycling. Minnesota’s biggest city (Minneapolis) often trades places with Portland in nationwide rankings of the best metros for biking.
In a 2024 report, Walk Score wrote, “Known for its cold weather, abundance of lakes, and numerous parkways and trails, Minneapolis is the most bikeable city in the U.S. Minneapolis earns its high marks in part due to its extremely flat terrain, interconnected parks, and robust cycling infrastructure.”
From Duluth’s IMBA gold-rated mountain biking trails to the 51-mile urban waterfront trail known as the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, Minnesota is a prime destination for those who prefer to live life on two wheels.
Find out more about biking in Minnesota.
WITNESS THE BEST STATE FAIR
They don’t call it the “Great Minnesota Get-Together" for nothing. The second-largest state fair in the nation is the unofficial end-of-summer celebration for all Minnesotans, and for good reason: with 500 food items, an entertainment line-up that rivals Madison Square Garden, live butter sculpting, and our local specialty — crop art — the fair attracts over two million enthusiastic revelers every year.
But it’s not just the “what to do” that makes the Fair special. This beloved cultural tradition (you won’t find a Minnesota kid who doesn’t wax poetic about the giant slide) brings Minnesotans of all stripes and tourists from across the world to one 322-acre stretch of fairground for 12 days a year, creating a sense of community and camaraderie rarely seen in this day and age.
And where else can you get a giant eggroll on a stick, ice cream made from cows you can see, brand new apples from the inventors of the Honeycrisp, just-picked grilled corn, and lutefisk steam buns, all in one place?
Check out our beginner’s guide on how to visit the state fair, 25 must-dos, and local's picks!
Find even more things to do this summer.