OUT & ABOUT >>

• Best Park
  Theodore Wirth Park
  Guest Best: Mayor R.T. Rybak There is only one place in America where you can cross-country ski or mountain bike in deep woods, then turn a corner to find an urban skyline view: Theodore Wirth Park. In a city filled with great parks, this is the Big Kahuna: a quaking bog,... More >>
• Best Weekend Getaway
  The Creamery Restaurant and Inn
  A great weekend getaway should give you plenty of options. It should promise recreation as well as relaxation. It should be casual enough that you can pack lightly, but classy enough to inspire romance. And it should be distant enough to feel like an escape but near enough that you don't spend... More >>
• Best Day Trip
  Lanesboro, Minnesota
  There are moments in the summer when you crave a simpler way of living, even if just for a day. You can find that simpler life just a couple of hours' drive south of the Twin Cities, in the most precious small town in Minnesota. Lanesboro sits deep in the valley of southeast Minnesota's Root... More >>
• Best Place to Run
  Mississippi River Road
  In a metro area full of beautiful places to run, year-round no route beats the Mississippi River Road. It's beautiful, it's historic, and it's never crowded. Best of all, the trail is long enough to provide changing scenery to athletes who tire of the same old, same old. The six-mile loop from... More >>
• Best Indoor Running Space
  The Metrodome
  Running during the stark, cold winter months in Minnesota can be hellish. Sidewalks are coated in ice, snowstorms prevent runs of any respectable distance, and cold air torments your throat as you gasp for breath. In other words, running indoors during the winter is essential, especially if... More >>
• Best Bike Trail
  Grand Rounds, from Lake Calhoun to Minnehaha Park
  In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and the birthplace of North America's mightiest river, it's only fitting that the Twin Cities' best bike trail should highlight our close relationship with water. Indeed, on this roughly 20-mile trail from Lake Calhoun to Minnehaha Park, you're hardly out of sight of... More >>
• Best Bike Shop (4 Comments)
  Behind Bars
  Picking a best bike shop is like picking the best pint of Ben & Jerry's; it will always be up for debate. But in a quiet section of Northeast, Behind Bars roars like a fearsome tiger. It could be the rock that blasts inside the shop, or just the selection of bikes for people who like to... More >>
• Best Bicycle Race (1 Comment)
  Stupor Bowl
  Minneapolis has no equal when it comes to sub-zero bicycle insanity. The city's best and most furious don't let a little thing like minus-20-degree temperatures or frozen streets get in the way of pedaling year-round. And for this crew, the race among races is the Stupor Bowl, a quasi-illegal... More >>
• Best Golf Course
  Meadowbrook Golf Club
  Interlachen Country Club in Edina may be one of the finest golf courses in the nation, but the closest most of us will get to playing it is Meadowbrook, the lovely municipal course that lies adjacent. Meadowbrook is not a course for whiners—its hilly and hazard-strewn grounds are a decided... More >>
• Best Bowling Alley
  Memory Lanes
  Any sport best enjoyed with a pint of beer ought to at least be in the running for National Pastime. Memory Lanes mixes the greatest aspects of bowling in one space: beer specials, plentiful lanes (30 here), and lots of novelties scheduled weekly. Some evenings feature glow-in-the-dark bowling... More >>
• Best Yoga
  TaraNa
  Yoga studios have become as ubiquitous in the Twin Cities as Caribou Coffee shops, and many of them are great—so trying to select just one best place is enough to throw off one's inner peace. Luckily, it's nearly impossible to feel stressed at taraNa yoga in Uptown Minneapolis. It's a tiny... More >>
• Best Beach (1 Comment)
  Hidden Beach
  If you're looking for a beach to show off your toned pecs or barely there bikini, you've come to the wrong place. We've heard it a million times: Hidden Beach just isn't what it used to be. To that we say: Who cares? Yes, Hidden Beach used to be actually hidden and was known as the beach of... More >>
• Best Sporting Goods
  Midwest Mountaineering
  Whether your sport is skiing or camping, climbing or kite-boarding, Midwest Mountaineering will take care of you with a smile. The store in the heart of Cedar-Riverside has been providing Minneapolitans with the gear they need to brave the wilds since 1970, when founder Rod Johnson was unable to... More >>
• Best Quick Workout
  Snap Fitness
  Snap Fitness is an affordable gym for the dedicated, independent runner or weight lifter. Stripped down to the bare essentials, Snap is a one-room schoolhouse of workout equipment. It doesn't have classes, but personal trainers are available for hire. The gym is open 24 hours, meaning you can... More >>
• Best Place to Shoot Pool
  Fat Boy Billiards
  The gigantic, multihued pool balls painted on the outside walls of Fat Boy make it clear what the joint is all about. A hub of leisure since 1923 (first as a bowling alley), the space was rechristened a pool hall in 1989, and it's been a Northeast mainstay ever since. Step through the front door... More >>
• Best Place to Hang Out with Your Kids
  Roller Garden
  Perched in St. Louis Park since 1943, the Roller Garden is a place where, once you step inside, you feel as though you're 12 again—and in a good way. All ages can rent roller skates or blades, and the cushioned wood floor makes the inevitable tumble less likely to end in tears. Most days... More >>
• Best Place to Go Sledding
  Columbia Golf Course
  When it comes to sledding hot spots (so to speak), it's all about steepness: The hills should be steep, and the price of admission shouldn't be. Boasting one of the steepest hills in northeast Minneapolis—and requiring no admission fee—Columbia Golf Course delivers on both scores.... More >>
• Best Place to Ice Skate
  The Depot Rink
  Sure, outdoor rinks are the ideal setting for ice skating. But everyone who's lived through a winter here knows that when the mercury drops below a certain level (name your cutoff), it's just too damned cold to be outside. So from the day before Thanksgiving through late March, the Depot Rink... More >>
• Best Nature in the City
  Fort Snelling State Park
  The Twin Cities area has an abundance of places to enjoy the outdoors: the Chain of Lakes, Minnehaha Falls, and countless bike trails along the Mississippi River. But if you head just south of Minnehaha Falls, you'll land smack in the middle of one of Minnesota's 66 state parks. The 2,931-acres... More >>
• Best Walk Around a Lake
  Lake Como
  A 1.6-mile stroll around this shallow lake immerses you in the rambunctious spirit that animates St. Paul. You're virtually never on a straightaway as you navigate Lake Como's curvy shoreline, with its ecologically friendly native plant and rain gardens. The jewel in the crown of Como Park, Lake... More >>
• Best Dog Park
  Minnehaha Off-Leash Recreation Area
  Cities aren't the ideal place for a dog itching to stretch its legs. Deafening intersections, sizzling concrete, and small backyards are no place for man's best friend. But there is one local spot that's heaven on earth for a pup living the city life. The Minnehaha Dog Park has everything a dog... More >>
• Best Twins Player
  Joe Mauer
  When Joe Mauer was awarded Best Twins Player last year, it came with a caveat: He was pretty damn good, but he was a catcher battling through an injury-strewn 2007 season that reduced his numbers to solid rather than spectacular. A year later, all the question marks have been replaced with... More >>
• Best Vikings Player
  Adrian Peterson
  Five out of five NFL linebackers agree: It is difficult to push, pull, or drag Adrian Peterson to the ground, particularly when he is running and would prefer to keep running. At times the Vikings' second-year running back scarcely seems human, particularly when he breaches the defensive line... More >>
• Best Timberwolves Player
  Al Jefferson
  Yes, Big Al bit the dust midseason with a torn ACL, but his on-the-block dominance up to that point leaves us no choice but to name him the best Timberwolves player. Arguably the best low-post scorer in the game (certainly the most elusive), Jefferson was, until his early-February injury, movin'... More >>
• Best Wild Player
  Cal Clutterbuck
  Sure, plenty of Wild players deserve the title. But few of them can pummel the crap out of the opposition quite like Cal Clutterbuck. There are many ways to hurt folks on the ice: Players can slash, high-stick, or just drop the gloves and use a simple fist to the head. But the sheer force of a... More >>
• Best Swarm Player
  Aaron Wilson
  The Swarm's season has been, let's just say, less than great. The sheer dominance of the Calgary Roughnecks has left the Swarm mired in the middle of the pack, trying to get over .500. But that's not to say there are no bright spots for the lacrossers. Forward Aaron Wilson is of particular note.... More >>
• Best Lynx Player
  Seimone Augustus
  Seimone Augustus does a little bit of everything on the basketball court—she's a smart passer, excellent rebounder, and athletic defender—but it's her scoring ability that really sets her apart. Last season the graceful six-footer outscored all but two WNBA players (19.1 points per... More >>
• Best Coach
  Brad Frost
  We at City Pages enjoy a feel-good story as much as anyone. Really, we do. Which is why you might have expected this year's Best Coach to be Don Lucia, the skipper of the Gophers men's hockey team who missed several games fighting a mystery illness before returning to the ice. Or Tubby Smith... More >>
• Best College Athlete
  Eric Decker
  There's nothing freakish about Eric Decker, wide receiver for the University of Minnesota Gophers. He's just a solid, all-around athlete with no discernable weaknesses. He's big. Fast. Coordinated. Mentally tough. The 6' 2", 215-pound junior posted his second consecutive standout season last... More >>
• Best Professional Wrestler
  Tommy "The SpiderBaby" Saturday
  The nom du wrestling of Terrance Griep, Spiderbaby is a heel (a bad guy in pro wrestling terms), a tag-team champion, and openly gay, just like Griep. Since he started as an "out" commentator for a local indie federation, Spiderbaby has become a force in the local pro wrestling community.... More >>
• Best Place to Watch a UFC Fight
  Hooters of Block E
  What's better than watching a bunch of guys punch and kick each other in the face for three hours on a Saturday night? Watching a bunch of guys punch and kick each other in the face for three hours with your friends at the bar. Each month, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) hosts a night... More >>
• Best Reason to Go to the Twins' Last Season at the Metrodome (1 Comment)
  Dome Dogs
  As we kick off the Minnesota Twins' last season in the pillow-top Metrodome stadium, it's only fair to pay tribute to the hot dogs that will soon fade into history. Sure, they might sell the exact same hot dogs at Target Field in 2010, but they sure as hell can't be called Dome Dogs, so they'll... More >>