A Minnesota vacation is fun to plan: here are some great trip ideas, destinations and climate information.

Minnesota appeals to so many people, in part because each season is distinct and special. Spring brings out color and warming days in April and May with tulips and daffodils. The lazy days of summer last well into the evening and temperatures range in the 70’s, 80’s and occasionally the 90’s. Autumn cools down while the colors blaze. Winter can have occasional extremes but it’s great for outdoor fun snowmobiling and skiing. The average temperatures of the Twin Cities are 21°F high and 1°F low on January 31st while July 31st averages 83°F high and 60°F low. Packing should involve layers of clothes for varying temperatures. Summer weather requires light-weight clothing in the day and a light jacket or sweater for evening. Spring and fall will call for a lightweight coat or jacket as well as layers. Winter trips require warm sweaters, fleece, a heavy coat, boots, a warm hat and lined gloves or mittens.

Minnesota’s landscape has thousands of lakes, birch and pine northern woodlands, small mountains along Lake Superior, streams and waterfalls, prairies and maple basswood and oak southern woodlands.

While many of the state’s early settlers came from Germany, Norway and Sweden, as well as most of the European countries, the past century has heralded residents from around the world, including Vietnamese and Hispanic. The Ojibwe and Dakota Indians settled this area long ago and still reside here.

While here, you’ll want to see petroglyphs (rock carvings) thousands of years old, Pipestone National Monument, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum, Sinclair Lewis Boyhood Home, the Runestone Museum (featuring a carved stone attributed by some to Viking explorers), Charles A. Lindbergh Historic Site, Gooseberry Falls, Split Rock Lighthouse, and Mystery Cave.