Minnesota

Despite a reputation as being the nation's icebox, Minnesota is a four season tourism destination. The residents of this state take advantage of the outdoors - in fact, Minnesota has the most bicyclists, snow skiers, and sport fishermen per capita in the US. Most visitors come to enjoy the state for its nickname - the Land of 10,000 lakes, but Minnesota's urban areas also provide entertainment value.

The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota is the largest shopping center in the United States. It attracts 40 million people per year who don't just come to shop its 520 stores. America's largest indoor amusement park and underground aquarium are there. The Mall also hosts a 14 screen cinema complex, bars and restaurants, and a wedding chapel.

Minneapolis is home to one of the largest live performance theater markets off Broadway. The City of Lakes also boasts one of the best park systems in America. Across the Mississippi River, quieter Saint Paul, Minnesota's capital, offers several chances to get in touch with its gangster past. John Dillinger and the Karpis/Barker Gang were some of Saint Paul's more notorious residents.

North, to the end of I-35 Duluth lies at the tip of Lake Superior. Highway 61 follows the North Shore of the lake with breathtaking scenery and quaint spots to stop all the way to the US/Canada border. Along its border with Canada, millions of acres of Minnesota forests and lakes have been designated as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA). A limited number of people each year are allowed to enjoy the vastness of the area. Some groups go a whole week without seeing another person while immersed in nature.

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