Plan the Trip of a Lifetime

Eat, Play, Stay in Lodi, California Todd about Town: Vacation in Wine Country using this guide. When considering a visit to Wine Country, you might think first of Sonoma and Napa. Biting on the heels of those destinations is Lodi, California. I was recently invited to explore the wineries popping up in the town of […]

Destination: Hudson, Wisconsin Fall foliage makes for an ideal visit to Wisconsin’s western border. Your summer tan has faded, and the days are getting shorter. Tick-tock—daylight saving is around the corner, and it’s time to take advantage of that extra hour before we lose it. Relax, there is plenty to experience and enjoy within a 30-minute […]

Visit Santa Barbara, the “American Riviera” Todd about Town: Direct flights from MSP to this California coastal city are now available on Sun Country Airlines The season of hunched shoulders and chattering teeth is soon approaching. To make the pending icy months a bit more tolerable, it may be time to start planning your winter escapes […]

Destination: Willmar Todd’s picks for the serene community surrounded by lakes Downtown Willmar is a welcoming spot. Photo by David Bowman. Destination Willmar is an easy drive—it’s only two hours and 15 minutes west of the Twin Cities. Armed with a large iced coffee, a fresh bag of Twizzlers, and a summer 2018 playlist, you’re […]

InterContinental Hotel Opens at MSP Airport New lodging, restaurants, spa, gym, and skyway update the MSP Airport experience It’s a bit of a head scratcher to think that MSP International Airport is the 16th busiest airport in the country and yet we’ve never had a hotel connected to the terminal. Well, things just changed in a major […]

This East Coast visit comes with history, a burgeoning craft beer scene, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Appalachian Trail, and more. There are never enough days in the week, much less on vacation. I certainly experienced that moment of nervous energy, combined with excitement, when I landed in Roanoke, Virginia—land of fascinating history, beautiful outdoors, […]

PHOTO COURTESY OF LEIGH LOFTUS 2018 The exhausting traffic congestion has finally been cleared from the streets of Stillwater. The opening of the St. Croix River Bridge last August eliminated the traffic jams that plagued Main Street in downtown Stillwater for years. But with all the exciting new developments happening in this quaint little town, I […]

There are many ways to visit and experience the Grand Canyon, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. However let’s not dismiss how enlightening and exciting the road to the destination can be. I try and make my travels as much about the journey as I do about the destination. On this trip, […]

Norway was named the “World’s Happiest Country” for 2017 by the Sustainable Development Solution Network for the United Nations. What? Could an entire country of just over 5 million really be that happy? I set out to answer that question recently, when I spent two weeks as a guest of Visit Norway exploring Oslo, Bergen, […]

Wait for it … Wait for it … and suddenly, bam, it’s here! Summer has finally arrived, and yet in a blink of an eye it will be a mere vision in the rear view mirror of our mind. No time to delay — let the planning begin. From weekend getaways to that long-awaited annual […]

East or west, sunshine is best! I think this is one thing we can all very easily agree upon. So sit back … grab a cup of coffee and start planning your winter getaway. Recently I was invited to visit two spectacular places that you may want to consider as you plan your cold weather […]

The scent of embers from fall bonfires soon will be replaced by the crisp smell of a winter morning. Like most of you, I find that crispness enjoyable for just so long, until I start anticipating the smell of lilacs and the site of the first tulip peaking out from the grass as if to […]

Pack the cooler, create the perfect playlist and head across the border — it’s road trip season. We all love our Minnesota summers, but with the lower gas prices, it might be the right time to explore our neighbor Wisconsin. On two recent hosted trips, I explored Green Lake County and vacation hot spot Door […]

Seven Days of California Adventure New adventures await in California, even for Travel Club guide and travel editor Todd Walker PHOTO BY GARYTOG – FOTOLIA So much of Minnesota Monthly is about travel, and now instead of just showing you what the world looks like through photos and words, we want you to experience it […]