Stopping for “coffee” doesn’t have to mean just coffee. Especially at Hanisch’s, voted best bakery in Minnesota, where the donut display alone will astound you. Other temptations include homemade breads, quiche and pastries.

While you’re in Red Wing, be sure to see the world’s largest boot at the free Red Wing Shoe Company Museum, then stretch your legs on an art walk around town to see artist-decorated boots as well as any of the nine new sculptures added in 2023.

A strong contender for the title of cutest store on the river, this seasonal shop in Lake City opened Aug. 20) is a great place to load up on apples (Honeycrisp, SweeTango, Pazazz and many more) along with gifts and crafts.

From beet salad and Margherita flatbread to mahi-mahi fish tacos and risotto Milanese, the menu at Reads is not what you might expect. That’s because the chef trained at LeCordon Bleu before returning to her roots in southeastern Minnesota. Get a table outside and enjoy your meal with a mid-day Lake Pepin Sunset (a raspberry wheat ale) or one of the other craft beers brewed on-site.

Named it one of the Top 10 Best Toy Stores in the World by USA Today, LARK Toys has a wonderful variety of handmade toys and – the highlight – a carousel with exquisitely hand-carved animals that you have to see to believe. Climb aboard the goldfish, the giraffe or the dragon for an #OnlyinMN ride.

Numerous boutiques line Wabasha’s Main Street, each one as enticing as the next. The "What's Brewing" Quilt Shop has a fabulous selection of fabric and sewing supplies, and the coffee is always brewing. Find music, pottery and jewelry at Local World Gallery; and indulge in gourmet chocolate, coffee and ice cream at The Chocolate Escape.

Enjoy soup, salad, a sandwich or the Famous Slippery Burger with a view of the Mississippi River at this popular spot in Wabasha, made famous when it appeared in the 1993 Warner Brothers movie Grumpy Old Men, which starred Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. 

Built in 1902, this historic home in downtown Wabasha became Minnesota’s first bed, breakfast and brewery. An overnight stay in one of its elegantly furnished rooms comes with a five-course breakfast featuring locally and ethically sourced ingredients such as organic vegetables grown in the backyard, bacon and sausage from grass-fed pigs and eggs from free-range chickens raised on the same grain used in the brewery. Guests also can enjoy a complimentary drink at Hoppy Girl Brewing each night of their stay.

Wabasha’s renowned and recently renovated National Eagle Center offers daily programs featuring live eagles. Two floors of exhibits tell the success story of how the bald eagle population has recovered after being placed on the Endangered Species List in the 1960s. Additional opportunities to learn about eagles include naturalist-led tours and river cruises.
 

Stop at Frontenac State Park between Lake City and Red Wing for a hike and a picnic with a beautiful backdrop of fall color or, if you’re still full from that five-course breakfast, continue on to Carpenter Nature Center in Hastings, where there are several trails with scenic overlooks along the river and the St. Croix River Valley Apple Festival takes place. 

Get a scoop ("The Elementary”) or two (“The Junior High”) or even five (“The Graduate,” new in 2022) at this first-class ice cream shop in the former Hastings High School. You can also get “extra credit” by topping one flavor with a smaller scoop of another flavor.