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All the United States Minnesota

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Minnesota

206 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Minnesota

Updated August 5, 2026
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VISITED THIS STATE
Top Cities
Minneapolis
Electro-Metabograph
Saint Paul
Entrance to the tunnel.
Duluth
Fergus Falls
Devil’s Kettle.
Grand Marais
(Flickr/Trip Deezil)
Alexandria
All Cities
  1. Alexandria
  2. Baudette
  3. Bemidji
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  6. Grand Marais
  7. Hibbing
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  10. St. Cloud
  11. St. Joseph
  12. St. Louis Park
  13. Two Harbors
  14. Winona
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Unusual Attractions in Minnesota

The anechoic chamber

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Orfield Labs Quiet Chamber

This lab's maddening silence is good for business but bad for sanity.
Niagara Cave

Harmony, Minnesota

Niagara Cave

This large midwestern cavern features impressive rock formations and an underground waterfall.
Electro-Metabograph

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Museum of Quackery and Medical Frauds

A museum within a museum, devoted to history's most questionable medical devices.
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Devil’s Kettle.

Grand Marais, Minnesota

Devil's Kettle

Half of a waterfall goes into the river while the other half seems to disappear.
The Frank Lloyd Wright gas station today

Cloquet, Minnesota

Frank Lloyd Wright Gas Station

The famed architect designed this Minnesota gas station of the future with a lookout tower.
The entrance to the caves in St. Paul.

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Wabasha Street Caves

These curious caverns have been home to mushrooms, gangsters, and disco.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

City Salvage

An architecturally-focused antique shop.
See All 206 Things To Do in Minnesota

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Minnesota

Spam Museum - new location is 101 3rd Ave NE and is due to open April 22, 2016 in Austin, MN

Austin, Minnesota

Spam Museum

Ever wanted to can Spam?
Rib options

Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Herbivorous Butcher

A butcher shop in Minneapolis has all the meats and cheeses you’d expect from any of its kind—except that all the products are vegan.
Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store

Jordan, Minnesota

Minnesota's Largest Candy Store

This bright yellow building is packed with sweet treats from all around the world, from chocolate-covered crickets to whoopie pies.

Discover your next hidden gem with the Gastro Obscura
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See all 13 Places to Eat in Minnesota
In partnership with GetYourGuide

Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

18 Mini Golf Courses You Should Go Out of Your Way to Play

Adventures filled with oversized characters, obstacles, and castles await—all you need to join is a putter and a ball. Yes, we're talking about miniature golf, the Lilliputian game with a big imagination. Since 2012, we—Tom Loftus and Robin Schwartzman—have been documenting the world of mini golf on our website A Couple of Putts. After putting our way through more than 300 courses, we’ve stumbled into becoming experts who design, build, and consult on all things miniature golf. With our keen eye for elements that make courses distinctive and magical destinations, we’ve created this world tour to showcase some of our personal favorites, as well as a few courses on our “must play” list. In keeping with the theme, here are 18 unique courses that span the globe. This wild assortment of putting places offer unique ways to interact with the past and present. Putt when ready!

View Itinerary
The courses may be miniature, but the spectacle is gigantic.

Explore Minnesota

Museums 22
Architecture 21
Architectural Oddities 16
Water 14
Roadside Attractions 14
Art 14
Statues 13
Sculptures 12
Collections 10
Music 10
Monuments 10
Parks 9
Homes 9
Animals 9
History 9
Nature 8
Shops 8
History & Culture 8
Sacred Spaces 7
Birds 7
Unique Restaurants & Bars 2
Places To Stay 2

Minnesota Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. L lizzieboyle profile photo
    lizzieboyle
    18
  2. Dr Alan P Newman profile photo
    Dr Alan P Newman
    16
  3. typosinkeye profile photo
    typosinkeye
    5
  4. E Emily Sue profile photo
    Emily Sue
    5
  5. Michael Reinhardt profile photo
    Michael Reinhardt
    3

Places Edited

  1. Collector of Experiences profile photo
    Collector of Experiences
    52
  2. Dr Alan P Newman profile photo
    Dr Alan P Newman
    32
  3. M michaelnhartman profile photo
    michaelnhartman
    19
  4. L lizzieboyle profile photo
    lizzieboyle
    15
  5. breaingram profile photo
    breaingram
    13

Places Visited

  1. wajones profile photo
    wajones
    142
  2. C collinqburke profile photo
    collinqburke
    138
  3. joewicklund profile photo
    joewicklund
    134
  4. O okbyajc profile photo
    okbyajc
    98
  5. L lawrenceschmitz profile photo
    lawrenceschmitz
    91

Recent Minnesota Activity

  • C cxpeters42 profile photo

    cxpeters42

    has been to The Mall of America

  • C caitlinminnich profile photo

    caitlinminnich

    has been to Spoonbridge and Cherry

  • C caitlinminnich profile photo

    caitlinminnich

    has been to Hahn/Cock

  • C caitlinminnich profile photo

    caitlinminnich

    has been to The Story Stones

  • C caitlinminnich profile photo

    caitlinminnich

    has been to Wabasha Street Caves

Stories About Minnesota

Pelican Pete

Pelican Pete

World's largest pelican
by Stan Wiebe, Community Contributor
July 15, 2026
A fish sits on the edge of a hole cut through the ice of Bass Lake in Minnesota’s Superior National Forest.

Ice Fishing in the Time of Climate Change

Wide swings in winter temperature delay ice formation on Midwest lakes, turning a beloved pastime into a dangerous game.
by Kristoffer Tigue, Atlas Obscura
January 27, 2025
Em Loerzel and her Anishinaabe community in western Wisconsin are bringing Mino and his fellow Ojibwe ponies back to their ancestral land.

The Return of the Ojibwe Pony, the Midwest's Native Horse

A rare breed once on the brink of extinction is making a comeback on their ancestral lands.
by Roxanne Hoorn, Atlas Obscura
July 25, 2024

Podcast: Owamni

Visit a restaurant dedicated to decolonizing food and honoring Indigenous meal traditions, with its award-winning chef Sean Sherman.
by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura
February 14, 2024
Captain Heather Friedli puts the final touches on Team Kwe’s sculpture, “Wenabozho and Dadibaajimad Journey on the River of Souls.”

This Team of Indigenous Women Sculpts Stories in Snow

Team Kwe honors their Anishinaabe roots in the art and sport of snow sculpting.
by Roxanne Hoorn, Atlas Obscura
February 1, 2024

Podcast: Seeking the (Minnesota-Shaped) Forest Through the Trees - Part 2

The man behind the mysterious project finally shares why.
by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura
February 1, 2024

Podcast: Seeking the (Minnesota-Shaped) Forest Through the Trees - Part 1

If a tree falls in Google Maps, does it make a sound?
by The Podcast Team, Atlas Obscura
January 31, 2024
A nearly gutted department store escalator in Owings Mills Mall in Owings Mills, Maryland.

The Life and Death of the American Mall

The indoor suburban shopping center is a special kind of abandoned place.
by Matthew Christopher, Atlas Obscura
January 10, 2024

Lists Featuring Minnesota

Madaba Mosaic Map
The gallery of maps, showing the ceiling
Great Polish Map of Scotland

13 Marvelous Maps That Go Way Beyond Paper

Charting the world's most intriguing out-of-the-box cartography.

13

Including Madaba Mosaic Map, Gallery of Maps - Galleria delle Carte Geografiche, and Mapparium Globe

Blue Sky Mausoleum.
Darwin Martin House Complex.
Skylights on the exterior porch made of red cypress.
A restored Wright house on the Burnham Block.

A 12-Stop Road Trip of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Most Surprising Designs

A UFO-inspired church, a futurist gas station, and more deep cuts.

12

Including Blue Sky Mausoleum, The Darwin D. Martin House, and Kentuck Knob

Original letter of Abraham, the son of Maimonides found in the Cairo genizah.
A sculpture of the Tower of Babel, by Alan Baughman, from the Introductory Room of the Museum of the Alphabet
Boontling word of the week in the tap room of the Anderson Valley Brewing Company.

A Linguistics Lover's Tour of the World

12 places to marvel at the history of human language.

12

Including The Cairo Genizah , The Museum of the Alphabet , and Boontling Language of Boonville

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
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