Each trip "up north" (to you non-residents that means northern Minnesota) adds a special memory to our lives. The photos we have all taken of loved ones in front of a huge fish, or statue of Paul Bunyan, are etched into our minds bringing a smile each time they are recalled. Minnesota holds so many treasures that you need never put voice to, nor hear the words, "I'm bored" again. Here are two sources to help you navigate through our wonderful, lake-filled state; Brainerd Bound, a book to help you find some of the more popular, well-known sites and activities around the state, and author Tim Bewer's list of top ten places in Minnesota that are more obscure, but historical and definitely worth visiting.

Recently three people passionate about Minnesota and all of its landmarks compiled a book called “Brainerd Bound .” They are Mark Rustad, Curtis Johnson, and Mark Utter. Their compilation is a large coffee-table book packed with beautiful, historical and recent photography of landmarks throughout our state. The history behind each picture is well laid out and the clean lines make it relaxing to read through. In addition to giving you ideas on what to do while you’re at the cabin, this is a great gift idea for cabin owners, lake home owners, or other Minnesota history buffs. Here are some excerpts:

Turtle Races: Since 1966 tourists from around the world, as well as locals, have gathered every Wednesday during the summer to witness smiling children race their turtles in Nisswa, Minnesota. Ted and Tony Dullmum and Travis and Brent Best from Nisswa are local entrepreneurs who catch turtles on Roy Lake during the summer and rent them to the eager contestants.

Resorts & Resort Owners: Along with countless others, these legendary Brainerd Lakes Area families combined to build the base of tourism that the region enjoys today. To honor them, we captured this portrait at the historic Lake Hubert Train Station. It was here, a century ago, where vacation seekers disembarked from Northern Pacific trains to enjoy an “up north” adventure. We honor and thank these families. Pictured standing from left to right are Jack Ruttger, Stewart C. Mills, Jr., Dutch Cragun, Don McFarland, and John Kavanaugh. Sitting are Deb (Madden) Thuringer, Bob Spizzo, and Mary (Cote) Boos. Many of the parents and grandparents of this group of area luminaries founded resorts, tourist attractions, and businesses that lured travelers to the Brainerd Lakes area.

Paul Bunyan’s and Babe’s trip to This Old Farm: On Monday, September 1, 2003, Paul Bunyan Center closed for good, breaking the hearts of Minnesota residents and the many vacationers who had visited the park in past years. The summer of 2003 gave parents one last chance to bring their children to Paul Bunyan Amusement Center and gave local communities and organizations, including the Governor of Minnesota, a chance to fight for Paul and Babe’s survival. A summer of uncertainty turned to hope when This Old Farm, only eight miles east of Brainerd, was finally chosen to be Paul and Babe’s new home. On Friday, September 19, Paul and Babe left their home of fifty-three years and made their historic journey to This Old Farm.

This Old Farm, Paul Bunyan and Babe’s New Home: Four generations of Rademachers have toiled to assemble this fifty-acre tribute to yesteryear. It is one of the few remaining public attractions that capture the area’s history of farming and pioneer living. Paul Bunyan Land at This Old Farm Pioneer Village showcases antique cars, a blacksmith shop, a print shop, old farm machinery and implements, a fire station, general store, filling station grainery, log house, one room school house, saw mill, saloon, depot and many other classic structures that will bring you back to the Brainerd of the early 1900s. Over thirty rides and attractions will be added beginning in 2004.

Betcha Never Been

Variety is one of a travel writer's most trusted clichés, but part of what makes Minnesota such a great place to both live and visit is that it truly applies here. From skyscrapers to sod houses, highbrow art to world-class kitsch, and boreal forest to tallgrass prairie, we've just about got it all here. Despite this, Minnesota's top destinations are so wonderful that travelers tend to return to them year after year. And, I must admit, I was once guilty of this habit. But that was before I got the enviable assignment to write a travel guidebook about the state. I spent 18 months crisscrossing Minnesota exploring new places and getting in depth with my old favorites and this experience drove home the state's impressive diversity in a most compelling way.

When people hear about my book they often ask me to recommend lesser-known places to visit. My response, of course, depends on the person asking, but I am never short of answers; in fact, even keeping this list concise wasn't easy. And while each destination included here is relatively unknown, they are not all inferior.

Had I compiled a list of my top ten favorite places in the state-famous or otherwise-Jeffers Petroglyphs and Lac qui Parle would have been on it. Other than showcasing Minnesota's diversity, I didn't intend for the destinations forming this eclectic collection to share anything in common. Some were chosen for their natural beauty, some for the way they highlight history, and others just because they're unique. But looking back on the list after I had made it, I realized that they all do share one trait-each place has a story to tell. And I do believe that if you really want to know the North Star State, then these places are just as much must-sees as Itasca State Park or Fort Snelling. So here, in no particular order, are ten places you've probably never visited, but definitely should. 

Ancient Art

Few places in Minnesota are as evocative as Jeffers Petroglyphs. Atop a low rolling ridge, small islands of crimson quartzite part the native tallgrass prairie. This exposed bedrock, some of the oldest in the world, is decorated with buffalo, elk, thunderbirds, humans, weapons, and similar subjects. In all, over 2,000 ancient glyphs bear witness to the exceptional holiness of this site to the Native Americans who have come to hear the wisdom of grandmother earth for at least the last 5,000 years. Even without the sacred carvings, a visit to Jeffers would be worthwhile just to soak up its singular beauty.

The Lake that Speaks

Another place that spoke to early Native Americans was Lac qui Parle, a natural expansion of the Minnesota River. But these voices weren’t in their heads; they came from clamorous throngs of Canada geese. The “Lake That Speaks” hosts up to 150,000 honkers during the fall migration, more than any other place in the state. Even outside the migration seasons this is amongst the best wildlife watching spots in Minnesota, and bald eagle, white pelican, beaver, and white tail deer can all be sighted while paddling the river or hiking the bottomland trails at Lac qui Parle State Park. Just down the road from the park is a reconstruction of the Lac qui Parle Mission chapel where fur trader Joseph Renville helped complete the first Dakota alphabet, dictionary, and translation of the Bible.

Mini Minnesota

Otter Tail County comes as close as any place can to being a Minnesota microcosm. Best known for its nearly 800 lakes, the largely agricultural county also hosts prairie and forest preserves, a vibrant arts scene, a host of oversized statuary, historic B&Bs, great camping, and a growing ethnic diversity. All of this, and much more, lies along the Otter Trail Scenic Byway, which zigs and zags past red barn farms and all-American small towns. Heading out of Fergus Falls, home to one of the state’s best local history museums and the world’s largest otter, the 150-mile loop connects the iconic 1889 Phelps Mill, the hill and dale of Maplewood State Park, the faster-than-you’d-expect turtle races in Perham, and what better way to end the drive than by taking in the leafy views from atop Inspiration Peak. The artistic offerings at the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center are worth a quick detour from the byway’s official route.

Another Twin City

Just as Fargo-Moorhead straddles the Red River, Moorhead itself strides across its college town and farm town facades. The latter has shaped most people’s perception, which no doubt helps explain why the smaller half of the “Other Twin Cities,” is such a slighted travel destination. Fact is, soy and scholarship make an interesting mix—grain cars roll past hip coffeehouses— and there is a whole weekend worth of things to see and do. Foremost is the Scandinaviancentric Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, which hosts both a 76-foot Viking-style ship that a local middle school guidance counselor built to sail to Norway and an authentic Norwegian stave church built entirely of wood, except where modern building codes demanded otherwise. Other top stops are the Comstock House, an elegant 1882 home still filled with original furnishings and fixtures, and the Rourke Art Gallery and Museum with notable Native American and African collections.

Finnish-American Heartland

Next time you're headed to Ely make time for a short detour to Embarrass. Finnish immigrants arriving in Minnesota during the late 19th century worked, by and large, in the mines of the Iron Range, but those who settled along the Embarrass River chose to farm. The township remained almost entirely Finnish until the taconite revolution of the 1950s brought additional residents. But it is still a Finnish town at heart and locals have gone to extraordinary lengths to preserve their heritage. The pioneers built distinctive hand-hewed log homes, barns, saunas, and other structures so sturdy that many remain in use today. A few restored buildings have been moved into town-one houses a Visitor Center and another a gift shop-and during the summer volunteers lead tours to intact farmsteads. For full Finnish immersion come in June during the Finnish-American Summer Festival: it's highlighted by pesäpallo, a Finnish game that resembles baseball as dreamed up by the writers of Mad Magazine.

A Lake and a Lot More

Lake Bronson State Park, tucked all the way up in Minnesota's forgotten corner, is a 3,598-acre oasis of prairie, oak savanna, and forest. While the namesake lake draws most visitors, this is a well-rounded park with 14 miles of hiking and biking trails, paddle-in island camping, and enough historic sites (including a massive split stone-constructed observation and water tower combination) to earn it a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Ecologically it lies in the transition zone between the prairies of the west and the forests of the east so wildlife viewing is good and, surprisingly, this is one of the best places in Minnesota to spot a moose.

The Forgotten Interior

Sure, the Lake Superior shoreline never fails to please, but for me, the true beauty of the North Shore lies inland along the raging rivers carving up the Sawtooth Range. The added bonus of turning toward the interior is that the further you go, the less likely you are to have company, and that is especially true at George Crosby Manitou State Park. While some 600,000 visitors descend on Gooseberry Falls each year, just 18,000 take the lovely detour off Highway 61 up to this undeveloped, 6,682-acre park. Besides the lovely Manitou River scenery, those who hike the rugged trails are rewarded with old growth forest and excellent wildlife viewing. Crosby Manitou was the first Minnesota state park designed solely for backpackers so even the camping is superb. The less energetic can picnic along Benson Lake.

The River Wild

OK, honestly now, how many times have you driven north from the Twin Cities to the North Shore, or the Boundary Waters, and never made more than a pit stop in between? It's understandable, of course, but there are several sights along I-35 worth some of your time. My favorite is Banning State Park, a 6,201-acre gem straddling the Kettle River, the first waterway officially designated Wild and Scenic by the state of Minnesota. Centered on a mile-long gorge filled with raging rapids like Dragon's Tooth and Hell's Gate, adrenaline junkies can ride the waves while others can watch the whitewater action-and admire the beautiful sandstone cliffs and glaciallycarved potholes-from some of the state's loveliest hiking trails. Other trails pass scenic ruins from the quarrying days of old and spring wildflower throngs.

Living History

Strolling down St. Paul's Summit Avenue gives you a glimpse of a bygone era, but for a real look at life in the Gilded Age, step off Summit and into the Julian H. Sleeper House. Seth Hawkins, a genuine Renaissance man, has turned his home into a museum of Victorian decorative arts and invites the public (by appointment) to learn about the hows and whys of 1880s interior design. Just about everything, from the Eastlake furniture to the Oriental carpets to the scores of owls, is authentic to the period. Tours are personalized and if something catches your eye, Dr. Hawkins can spin a tale about it. Two rooms have been set aside to indulge some of his other interests: one hold the world's second largest collection of President Garfield memorabilia and another currently hosts an exhibition of Slovenian history and culture.

The Twine Ball

Certainly one of Minnesota's oddest attractions, I believe that, taken as a whole, the world's largest ball of twine made by one person is also amongst its best. A look at Darwin's extraordinary orb--all nine tons and 40-foot girth of it--is worthwhile, but it's only a part of the twine ball experience. Francis A. Johnson, the one-of-a-kind genius behind the baler twine, was also an obsessive whittler and collector, and a small museum holds a few of his hand-carved wooden pliers and other mementos. Though you can see the twine ball and museum in just a few minutes you could easily spend hours listening to local volunteers spin tales about Francis and his fans. Johnson not only inspired Weird Al Yankovic's epic song The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota, but also several imitators, hence the need for the qualifier after "world's largest." But make no mistake; this is the original giant twine ball and that will always make it the best.

By Tim Bewer