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My wife and I are traveling to Mayo for 2 weeks this August, we have Wed - Sunday free so we were wondering what there is in the surrounding area to do/see? We are driving up so we will have our own vehicle to travel around. We love food and plan to visit the Candian Honker, but would love to find other great eateries as well. We also love the outdoors/nature, etc. We aren't drinkers, so not interested in the bar scene, etc. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. 🙂
Replies to "My wife and I are traveling to Mayo for 2 weeks this August, we have Wed..."
@jsfoster75 I was at Mayo last month for two days. I come with my brother and his wife and we met up with my sister-in-law’s college friend who is a local. Each time we go she takes us to a new eating place. This time it was
https://www.twigstavernandgrille.com/. I loved it.
A few recommendations for sightseeing are:
https://www.olmstedhistory.com/mayowood (The home of Dr Charlie Mayo)
https://soldiersfieldveteransmemorial.org/ (an awe inspiring site)
Safe travels!
jsfoster75 @jsfoster75
Check out this previous thread for ideas.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/visiting-rochester-in-summer/
Around mid-Aug, the Sunflower fields are in bloom, pretty spectacular. Been very dry here so not sure if will effect. On the rochesterlocal.com site there is an article about them / locations etc.
A day trip along mississippi is great drive, either MN or Wi side, cross river at Red Wing or Wabasha. Stockholm Wi has a great pie shop.
On MN side, here are some of the resutrants I like:
- Kelly's in Red Wing or Lake City, the one at Lake City overlooks Lake Pepin.
- Reeds Landing in town of Reeds Landing, just north of Wabasha MN
- In Redwing, there is a great bakery called Hanisch Bakery and Coffee Shop, one block off main road in downtown Red Wing.
If go to Wabasha, check out Eagle Center and Lark Toys.
A little know gem in Winona MN is the MN Maritime Museum. Do not let the term Maritime fool you, it is variety of art including masterpeices.
https://mmam.org/
laurie
@jsfoster75 If you download this app from your App Store to your smartphone you can find all sorts of good information on Rochester including what’s happening during the weeks you will be there.
Here is the web address in case you want to have a look.
When in RochesterMN:
There are plenty of good restaurants right near the Mayo campus. For great Italian food, there is Victoria's. For great food and wine, there is Salute. For great burgers, there is Newt's downtown and uptown. Lord Essex Steakhouse has reopened at the Kahler Hotel with a modified menu that includes breakfast. Of course, there's always Canadian Honkers and any number of other good and friendly restaurants. I hope you both have an enjoyable stay.
Hello @jsfoster75. Many mentions above to the website Experience Rochester (https://www.experiencerochestermn.com/restaurants/), which is great because you can filter things out in different ways (ie, location in Rochester, type of food and even amenities they may have). Some that I patients talking about a lot or ones I tell people about the most often include…
CHESTER'S KITCHEN & BAR 111 S Broadway
TWIGS TAVERN & GRILLE 401 6th Street SW
OLDE BRICK HOUSE 19 1st Avenue SW
VICTORIA'S ITALIAN RESTAURANT 7 1st Avenue SW
TILDA'S PIZZERIA 300 1st Avenue NW
FORAGER BREWERY 1005 6th Street NW
RED COW 1406 2nd Street SW
WHISTLE BINKIES ON THE LAKE 247 Wood Lake Drive SE
HOT CHIP BURGER BAR 1190 16th Street SW
SORELLINA'S 1155 16th Street SW
There are many small towns near in the Southeast part of Minnesota that are filled with many hidden gems. Lanesboro and Bluff County have many little Amish stores and are filled with baked goods, hand made items and farm fresh produce. Taking a little road trip up the Mississippi River is also a nice day trip or a visit to any of the river towns, like Winona, Red Wing, Lake City and Hastings.
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Welcome @jsfoster75, August is a good time to visit Rochester Mayo Clinic. There are a couple of discussions where others have shared things to do while visiting Mayo Clinic Rochester that might provide some suggestions that work for you.
--- Tips on What To Do while at Mayo Clinic Rochester: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/tips-for-upcoming-mayo-rochester-visit/
--- Visiting Rochester in summer: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/visiting-rochester-in-summer/
Another great place to eat that is about a 30 minute drive west of Rochester is the Hubbell House Restaurant in Mantorville, MN which was purchased last year by the Powers family who also own the Canadian Honker -- https://www.hubbellhouserestaurant.com/. If you like old time theatres with the opportunity to boo & hiss at villains, the Mantorville Theatre might be something you would like for a weekend outing - https://www.mantorvilletheatrecompany.com/.