Explore Historic Natureland Hastings Minnesota
Mississippi Waterfront, Hiking Trails, 19th Century Buildings Galore
Oct 31, 2008
Travelers looking for Midwest Victorian charm need drive for less than 45 minutes from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to find it. Hastings, Minnesota at the confluence of the St. Croix, Vermillion and Mississippi Rivers, has that charm plus all the ingredients for a delightful holiday.
Down by the Riversides
Hastings visitors in search of recreation don’t have to venture beyond its rivers. To the northeast of the city on the bluffs of the St. Croix, Afton State Park offers hiking and mountain bike trails, picnic grounds and campsites. The trails, which are great for trekking in summer, become a cross-country skier’s delight in winter. The park also includes a swimming beach that’s accessible by trail only. Another park, just off Highway on 21st Street East in Hastings, is known for hiking, biking and views of spectacular Vermillion Falls.
Most exciting of the rivers is the Mississippi, which with the two other rivers flowing into it, becomes significantly wider at Hastings. The observation platform near the 600-foot long lock and dam is the city’s number one spot for watching barges and pleasure boats pass through.
Boating Options
The Mississippi and St. Croix also offer opportunities galore for boating. Not only are there docking facilities for visiting boaters and a free public boat launch, but there are also boat rental firms in the area as well as sightseeing boat tours in nearby Stillwater. Nearby, spring-fed Lake Rebecca has a reputation for good fishing.
Historical Riches
A total of 63 buildings in Hastings – 33 business buildings, 28 private homes and two churches - are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Hastings Tourism & City Map, which shows the buildings’ locations, is available at the Hastings Area Chamber of Commerce Tourism Bureau office 111 3rd. St. E) and the City Hall (formerly the historic Dakota County Court House. Among the National Register sites are the Fasbender Clinic, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright ( 1957) and the LeDuc Historic Estate. Many of the old commercial buildings now contain specialty shops and restaurants. Among them, the Pringle-Jacobsen Hardware building has been utilized as a hardware store for more than a century.
Golfers’ Hole in One
Although several of the area courses are membership only, four stand-out public courses offer a variety of experiences. Hidden Greens (12977 200th Street E.) is billed as “One of the top five best courses in Minnesota.” Family-owned and operated Bellwood Oaks (113239 210th Street E) features tree lined fairways and a good deal of variation in terrain. Gopher Hills Golf Course in nearby Cannon Falls has a classic Early American design with 27 holes on three distinct nines and River Oaks Municipal Golf in Cottage Grove is a Don Herfort-designed course rated four and a half stars by Golf Digest magazine.
Annual Events
Added to Hastings’ everyday attracts are an abundance of special events held each year. Rivertown Days (July 17-19, 2009) provides a marathon of water ski shows, power boat races, a parade and many more events. Hundreds of classic cars (1976 and older) cruise around Hastings every other Saturday night from late May through the first week in October. Also in October, the St. Croix Valley Apple Fest rings up the curtain on winter sports with downhill skiing and snowboarding at nearby ski areas.
In November, an annual open house is held at the Alexis Bailly Vineyard and Hastings Artists’ Show at the LeDuc Historic Estate (part of the proceeds go to the Dakota County Historical Society). Also at the LeDuc, Victorian Holidays take visitors back in time to a simpler, more elegant holiday season (December 6-7, 13-14, 2008).
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