Time your arrival to coincide with Apple Day (Sept. 15-17), the annual lakeside festival in Excelsior, and you can get lunch from one of the many vendors serving locally produced food, then check out the Happy Apple Kids Corner, poke around the craft booths and enjoy the live music.

Unable to visit during Apple Day? There are several options on Water Street – Olive’s Fresh Pizza, Lago Tacos and 318 Café, for example  – or find a waterfront table at Maynard’s with a view of Lake Minnetonka. Save room for dessert at Licks Unlimited or nearby Adele’s Frozen Custard.

Climb aboard a historic streetcar for a one-mile, 15-minute trip through downtown Excelsior. Get tickets online or at the ticket booth adjacent to the Excelsior Library. You can do some window shopping along the way, then go back and explore anything that catches your eye, such as Something Safari (for toys, games, puzzles and candy) or Excelsior Bay Books, which has an inviting and well-stocked children's section. 

That’s the name of just one of the 14 creatively designed and named holes at this one-of-a-kind mini golf course and sculpture garden in Minnetrista. Others include Eye of the Donut, Dead Tree Forest and Across the Universe. With water features, kinetic sculptures and occasional neighs, moos and cock-a-doodle-doos from a gallery of live farm animals, this is no ordinary mini-golf experience.

Proceed to Buffalo, where you can search for 23 life-size buffalo statues at businesses, parks and elsewhere around town. Each one is uniquely painted and just waiting for you to take a family selfie with it! Maps are available at the Chamber of Commerce or you can download one from the city’s “Do the Roam” webpage. Come back in June for Buffalo Days, which includes a carnival at Sturges Park and a grand parade downtown.

Reserve a campsite or camper cabin at Lake Maria State Park in Monticello or Baker Park Reserve in Maple Plain. Something about roasting hot dogs and marshmallows around a crackling campfire sparks memories that last a lifetime.