The Twin Cities 3-Day is coming up next weekend, and as you get ready for the event, we have a preview of what to expect! For those who are familiar with the route, you will see a lot of our favorite sights of the Twin Cities. However, we made some big changes that we are thrilled to share, including our new hotel camp and an extra special Closing Ceremony location! Read on for more excitement from Event Production Manager Eileen Barnick.
Our 3-Day experience this year will begin at the Hyatt Regency on Nicollet Mall. This will be our hotel camp, and the location of our Opening Ceremony. It’s a beautiful large hotel, and we have all the fourth-floor event space so there will be tons of room for our walkers as well as any spectators. The Opening Ceremony will be very emotional and a wonderful start to our weekend.
Eileen says that this hotel is a perfect home for the weekend because it is in “a really trendy and fun area of downtown Minneapolis. This area was under construction for a while, so we were able to walk through there for the first-time last year. And now we’re staying right in the middle of it! It’s closed to vehicle traffic, and there are lots of cool shops and restaurants right nearby.”
We will leave the Opening Ceremony via an escalator and then head out onto Nicollet Mall. It will make for some great photos to celebrate the start of your 60-mile journey.
From there, walkers will make their way along Loring Greenway, which is a beautiful park walkway that leads us over the pedestrian bridge and into Loring Park and finally into the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. Eileen notes that these sights are usually at the end of the day on Friday, so we are excited to start our journey this way now.
Overall, Eileen says that “this Day One route is our best and my most favorite Day One route yet. It has everything in it! You’ll get a great feel for downtown Minneapolis without having to deal with too much traffic and craziness, plus you also will experience the natural beauty of Minnesota.”
After walkers journey through a few more tourist sights, we will then head to the Chain of Lakes. You’ll see Lake of the Isles, Lake Harriet and other breathtaking sights.
Eileen thinks this balance is what makes the Twin Cities walk so unique!
“It’s crazy that these lakes and parks are so close to the city, so you can still get that balanced experience as you walk.”
After Chain of Lakes, we will travel along Lake Minehaha Boulevard, an older part of the city with phenomenal houses and photo opportunities.
But Eileen’s favorite part of the route is after lunch, when 3-Dayers go to Minnehaha Regional Park and Minnehaha Falls, which is a 50+ foot waterfall.
Eileen enthuses, “It’s this stunning waterfall in the middle of the city, and we have not walked there before to my knowledge. So, this will be a whole new experience for the people who have been walking with us for a while!”
After that, we will walk on a trail along the Mississippi River and head back into the city section of Minneapolis. We’ll pass U.S. Bank Stadium where the Vikings play, which will be a great treat for football fans. There’s even a Viking ship you can take photos in!
In the final steps of Day One, we’ll walk through Nicollet Mall and there will be an art fest going on at the mall that weekend, too! You can for sure see it on Friday evening, as we will walk directly through the art fest on your way back into camp after Day One. There will be lots of fun photo opportunities!
But Eileen wants to make sure that everyone is back at camp in time for games and fun activities at the end of the evening! She and the Twin Cities team are so excited about the updates to both Friday and Saturday night at camp and can’t wait to bring everyone into that experience.
Day Two will have walkers leaving Minneapolis to some of our favorite suburbs and smaller cities in the Twin Cities area. That includes White Bear Lake, which everyone loved last year. The community is so excited to host the 3-Day again, and after all the great feedback from walkers last year, we knew we had to come back.
We’ll also be returning to Little Canada, where the community is ready to greet us! The fire department there is already planning fun ways to support our walkers as they continue their journey.
We will have lunch in Central Park in Roseville, which will be nice and relaxing. We’re going back to our favorite places that have supported us in the past. It is a little longer route on Saturday, but Eileen promises it will be lots of fun and well worth it when you make it home to the hotel! Don’t miss our special new Honor Ceremony on Saturday evening, which will take place in the dining area as soon as the last walker arrives.
Before you know it, we’ll be taking on Day Three and coming to the end of our 60-mile journey!
Sunday will start with a walk from Minneapolis and over the Stone Arch Bridge, which goes over the Mississippi River. From there we will walk through the University of Minneapolis area to head towards St. Paul.
In St. Paul, there will be amazing historic houses, plus we will be walking past the St. Paul Zoo. The zoo is free, and though we won’t be walking through the zoo, it is a great place to visit while you’re in the city.
From there, we have a beautiful route into lunch at the Como Regional Park Baseball Pavilions. After lunch, we will spend more time in St. Paul, including a walk down historic Summit Avenue. We will be passing the Governor’s Mansion on that stretch of the walk!
We will pass the St. Paul Cathedral and look down at the Capitol as we walk towards our finish line. It’s a really pretty day of walking that ends with so many historic views!
“It’s all in the city for Day Three through beautiful neighborhoods that give a really good taste of St. Paul,” Eileen says.
That includes ending our 2019 Twin Cities 3-Day at The Capitol Building (back by popular demand) in St. Paul. Participants have been asking for this for years, so Eileen and our team are so happy to bring it back!
“Nature. Tourist attractions. The city. There is something for everyone!” Eileen promises.
We can hardly wait! 🙂
