backyardcritters

Hi, we are planning for a trip to the twin cities and then head to yellowstone national park this summer. We'll be travelling with an 8-year-old and a 12-year-old.I have a few questions and am hoping to get some advices here. I got some great travel tips last summer before we head to Europe. Pardon me for my long writings.

1. The Twin Cities.
These are the places that we found that we might be interested in.
a. Mall of America, basically, I'm the only one who's interested in it.
b. Minnehaha Falls
c. Cathedral of St. Paul
d. Fort Snelling
e.Buildings along the St. Paul downtown cultral corridor.
Did we miss any must-sees or must-dos? Should we rent a car for these places or we can count on public transportations?
We have about 4 days in the twin city. Are we planning enough time for sight seeing the twin cities? I do not want the kids to be worn out.

2.Yellow Stone Park

If we fly to yellow stone park from the twin cities airport, which airport should we land for yellow stone park. I found a city, Billings, in Montana, which is about 2 hours drive from yellow stone park. Is that a good choice?

Any feedback is greatly apprecited!

fam5

I think moa (Mall of America) would be greatly enjoyed by your kids. My kids aged 7-17 love it there. Are you aware that it has an amusement park, movie theater,aquarium,legoland,and much more besides shopping?! The shopping is good too, with very unique stores specializing in anything you can imagine.Lots to see and do!

Have you given thought of driving up the north shore? Past Duluth is Split Rock Light House, Gooseberry Falls, etc. My kids love the alpine slide at Lutsen.Beautiful scenery.

Around the Twin Cities there is Valleyfair amusement park in Shakopee. Stillwater is a beautiful area as well.
There are also riverboats in St.Paul.

Hope this helps! Have fun!

HotWheels

Another city you could check to fly into would be Bozeman, MT - it's closer to Yellowstone Park, although I'm not sure of available flights.
As for Minneapolis - Mall of America has a lot of activities in addition to shopping, as previously noted. Valley Fair is a large amusement park nearby - also Minnesota Twins baseball.

TheWeasel

What are you interested in? MOA does have a lot of stuff other than shopping, but even that isn't enough to convince me to drive down there. For the kids, the Underwater world aquarium might be the best part. The amusement park is no longer Camp Snoopy, but is still there.

There's also a basilica on the edge of downtown Minneapolis, close to the Walker Art Center. I would recommend an outdoor baseball game (St. Paul Saints) over the Twins. The Saints have a lot of quirky theme nights, and overall are probably more entertaining for the casual fan.

If you're into it, you can rent bikes and ride around the Chain of Lakes in Minneapolis (Lake Calhoun, Harriet and Lake of the Isles). There are a bunch of other city parks scattered everywhere. Como Park in St. Paul has a free zoo, which isn't spectacular, but the conservatory and outdoor garden are pretty good.

I would rent a car. Public transportation (especially mass transit) wouldn't be real convenient for some of this stuff. MOA is right on the light rail line, and that will take you to the airport and downtown Minneapolis, but other than that you'd have to rely on buses. Parking is not so difficult to find (usually), so get a car. Check on some off-airport sites in Minneapolis to get cheaper rates. I'm pretty sure there are some close to the light rail line, so it would be easy to hop on that and take it to a rental car location.

If you're going to have a car, and don't mind driving an hour or so, I think the Taylors Falls area has good parks and some tubing places if it's hot.

AuntAnnie

I think flying from Minneapolis into Bozeman is very do-able and a better option for you, as earlier mentioned. If you have time, the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman is worthwhile.
I think you have a good itinerary planned for your visit to the Twin Cities. If you stay in downtown Mpls. you can get to Mall of Amer and Fort Snelling on the light rail system. If you stay in downtown St. Paul you may want a car. I am not a huge Mall of Amer fan but people do enjoy the place!! The Basilica and the St. Paul Cathedral are both gorgeous churches worth a look. The St. Paul Capitol and James J. Hill house are also good. Fort Snelling is great with kids. The Stone Arch bridge in Minneapolis is a nice area to stroll and see the Mississippi. There is a "Mill City Museum" nearby and you might catch a boat going through the lock&dam on the river. If you plan to see Minnehaha Falls you should read "The Legend of Hiawatha" by Longfellow; it will mean more to you to see the falls. Mpls. has a "River City Trolley" that does a good tour. The chain of lakes (Calhoun, Isles, Harriet, etc...) offer hiking/biking/rollerblading trails as well as swimming beaches and canoe rentals. Fun. Have a great visit. I personally love the Twin Cities!!

backyardcritters

Thank you, fam5,hotwheels, theweasel and auntannie for your great advice.

fam5, the northern shore really sounds appealing. The views are just spectacular from what I just checked out on some websites. In that case, should we extend our stay in Minnesota a few more days?

Theweasel,both me and my kids are big peanuts fans. Other than camp snoopy, which part of the towns we should go and find charlie brown and his gangs?

Auntannie,thank you so much for recommending the book. I sure will read it before the trip.

TheWeasel

Landmark Plaza in downtown St. Paul has a permanent tribute to the gang. There are bronze statues of different characters.

As far as I know, the amusement park formerly known as Camp Snoopy has erased all signs of the Peanuts gang, so don't expect to find anything there. I believe it switched over in January.

As for the north shore, it is spectacular, but I don't know if it compares to Yellowstone. Whether you want to allot a couple extra days really depends on how much time you have for the entire trip, and what other areas you would cut to make room for the north shore.

Cali

I really do think the North Shore is beautiful and you should go there if you are going to MN. You might not get back that way again, so best to see the special things when you can. All the recommendations for Mpls. are good too and I think your kids will enjoy them. In Duluth, they have a museum right at the ship canal and it has a lot of interesting facts on ships and shipping on the Great Lakes and you can see the ships come in and go out and they are very close. They also tell you all about the ship over the intercom when it comes in or goes out from the Duluth Harbor. Very interesting for adults and kids. Also have a nice lakewalk and shops and restaurants. Split Rock Lighthouse is a well known lighthouse and it is neat to see and you can tour the area too. Also lots more parks and cliffs and beautiful things. Have a good trip.

Worktowander

Also, there's a spectacular aquarium on the lakeside in Duluth, you can tour a retired ore ship (very cool, actually) or take a charter boat trip on the lake.

For the Twin Cities, if there is an art lover in your family, the Walker Art Center is a must-do.

Any Garrison Keillor fans? He tapes most of his "Prairie Home Companion" shows in St. Paul. You could get tickets for the show if you're both in town at the same time.

Also, depending on the dates of your visit, you might check out the Uptown Art Fair (huge and lots of fun) or the Renaissance Festival, which is one of the oldest in the country, during late summer and early fall.

Joniellen

Great ideas from everyone but also downtown St Paul there is a wonderful Science Museum and in Mpls there are 2 great art museums, Mpls Institute of Arts and for modern the Walker. Kids would like the science museum best. Have fun!