Places hopemch Wants to Go

Duluth mineral magnates built this charming art deco lodge to be their private clubhouse.

Eight "Guardians of Health" protect this art deco water tower from pollutants and bacteria.

A stone face watches over the river.

A warehouse for all of your architectural details.

The home where a lovestruck Fitzgerald wrote his first published novel, "This Side of Paradise."

This taxidermic smorgasbord was co-created by an artist poached from the Museum of Natural History.

The Real LegoLand.

This posh mansion began as a family's estate and ended as the site of a murder ripped from the pages of a pulp novel.

These crudely shaped folk giants may be the the second most photographed statues in the U.S.

This replica of an 8th century burial ship actually sailed to Norway before returning home to Minnesota.

This picturesque cliffside beacon no longer calls to sailors but shines once a year in honor of a famous shipwreck.

14th century Norse artifacts in Northwestern Minnesota could have proved a Viking landing before Columbus.

A Perpetually Under construction Park.

A mapping error in the 19th century made loggers think this section of the forest was underwater.

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

Admire the art and then buy a raccoon skull cleaned by flesh-eating beetles.

Secret hideaway for an alternative beach experience.

This secret gem of a toy store houses a rideable carousel populated with fantasy animals.

The remains of a World War II munitions factory still haunt the fields of this Twin Cities suburb.

At this Minnesota state park you can easily wade across the source of the mighty Mississippi.

Home to the Amorphophallus titanum "Corpse Flower," which is among the largest flowers in the world and also smells powerfully of rotting flesh when in bloom.

The Midwest's reigning king of surplus stores is full of nothing you need and everything you want.

Equal parts record-breaking temple to consumerism and bizarre fun park, it's more than you think it is...

A toweringly silly piece of modern art has been delighting locals since the 1980s.