Mighty Mississippi: A Stroll Along Minneapolis’ River of History
Buy for a Group
Reviews
About the Tour
About the Tour
The Mississippi River is North America‘s most iconic waterway. It’s a symbol of opportunity to the area’s inhabitants, but it’s also a powerful force that has proven difficult to tame over the years. On this walking tour, award-winning storyteller Frank Bures will take you deep into the river‘s vibrant history, from 12,000 years ago until today.
Our tour begins on Nicollet Island, named after the cartographer Joseph Nicollet. From there, we‘ll cross Hennepin Avenue Bridge and listen to a selection of stand-out facts about the magnificent Mississippi. At First Bridge Park, we‘ll follow the river along the western bank and past Stone Arch Bridge, where you‘ll hear tales about the river and the resilient people who‘ve shaped its history. Finally, our tour continues beside the Guthrie Theater, and concludes with an exploration of Gold Medal Park.
Along the way, you‘ll have a chance to:
- Listen to fascinating stories about St. Anthony Falls, including its curious upstream journey over the years, caused by the eroding limestone riverbed
- Get the inside scoop on two Guinness World Record paddling attempts
- Pass architect Léon Arnal‘s Art Deco masterpiece, which houses the Minneapolis Post Office
- Find out about Spirit Island, the sacred site below St. Anthony Falls where generations of Dakota children were born
- Meet the strange inhabitants of Nicollet Island, including a telephone-answering parrot
- Learn how the Grain Belt Sign, a famous beer advertisement, was saved after 20 years of darkness
- Gasp at just how far bull sharks can swim up the Mississippi
- Hear about the grueling 450-mile canoe race from Bemidji to Minneapolis
- Learn why the birchbark canoe helped the Ojibwe people expand their territory 20-fold
- Relive your guide Frank‘s near-death experience in the waters of the Mississippi
By the end of the tour, you‘ll have a new appreciation for how the Mississippi has flowed through the lives of the people along its shores.
Tour Producer
Tour Producer
Frank Bures
Frank Bures is an award-winning writer and essayist. His books include Pushing the River: An Epic Battle, a Lost History, a Near Death, and Other True Canoeing Stories, Under Purple Skies: The Minneapolis Anthology, and The Geography of Madness: Penis Thieves, Voodoo Death, and the Search for the Meaning of the World's Strangest Syndromes, which Newsweek called one of the best travel books of the decade.
His work has appeared in Harper’s, The Atlantic, Outside, and other publications, and has been included or selected as “Notable” in the Best American Travel Writing, Best American Essays and Best American Sports Writing nineteen times.
Apart from giving tours of his hometown, Bures has tracked down genital thieves in Nigeria, gone on Sasquatch expeditions in the north woods and competed in the World Rock Skipping Championships on the Great Lakes. He has interviewed everyone from sitting U.S. Senators to Klingon Karaoke aficionados to plant psychics. He has lived in Italy, Tanzania, New Zealand and Wisconsin. He still speaks Italian and Swahili passably well, and used to be able to get by in Thai. Currently he lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two daughters, not far from the Mississippi River, which he grew up on further to the south.
Preview Location
Preview Location
Location 14
Dead Cold
Despite all our efforts to tame the Mississippi, it can still be a wild and dangerous place.
I found this out t... Read More
View locations and route
How VoiceMap Works
Major Landmarks
Major Landmarks
-
Merriam Street Bridge
-
Nicollet Island
-
Merriam Street
-
Nicollet Island Inn
-
Bell of Two Friends
-
Hennepin Avenue Bridge
-
Мост Хеннепин Авеню
-
Grain Belt Sign
-
Great River Road
-
First Bridge Park
-
West River Parkway
-
United States Postal Service
-
Upper Dam
-
Upper Pool
-
Saint Anthony Falls
-
Water Works Park
-
Owamni by The Sioux Chef
-
St. Anthony Falls Visitor Center
-
Stone Arch Bridge
-
Mill Ruins Park
-
Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park
-
Mill City Museum
-
"Gold Medal Flour" Sign
-
"Gold Medal Flour" Sign
-
Guthrie Theater Bridge
-
Guthrie Theater
-
Gold Medal Park
-
35W Bridge Memorial
-
Prophecy of the Ancients-sculpture
Getting There
Getting There
Route Overview
-
Start location40 Power Street, Minneapolis, MN 55401, USA
-
Total distance2km
-
Distance back to start location1km
Directions to Starting Point
The tour begins on Nicollet Island at the intersection of Merriam St and East Island Ave, at the west end of the Merriam Bridge. There is some parking on the Island, and at St. Anthony Main, across the Merriam Bridge. The tour also starts where the Minneapolis River Walk tour ends, and finishes near the beginning of the Minneapolis River Walk tour, in case you're heading back that way.
Show Directions
Tips
Tips
Places to stop along the way
There are many places to dine at St. Anthony Main, across the Merriam Bridge from Nicollet Island. You can also stop in the Nicollet Island Inn for a meal or a drink. On the downtown (west) side of the river, is celebrity chef Sean Sherman's Owanmi, which the New Yorker dubbed the best new restaurant in America in 2022. On Saturday mornings, from May to October, you'll pass the Mill City Farmer's Market. And the Mill City Museum is worth a stop, especially if you have kids. You can also step into a the Guthrie Theater for a look from the Endless Bridge, or head over to the Open Book Center. All three places have excellent gift shops.
Best time of day
From dawn to dusk is best. Stairs on the Hennepin Ave. Bridge may be closed in the winter, in which case have to find a brief walk-around at the end of the bridge and through the DeLaSalle High School parking lot.
Precautions
The area is generally safe and usually full of runners and bikers, though as with any larger city, please attention to to your surroundings
Get The App
Get The App
Questions and Reviews
Questions and Reviews
