OUT & ABOUT >>

• BEST BATTING CAGE
  Baseball isn't just a summer sport, thanks to this year-round, warehouse-size potpourri of arcade activity. Granted, it's a 20-minute haul from the Twin Cities proper (minimum), and it's located in a mildly depressing strip mall. But from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily (and until midnight... More >>
• BEST BEACH
  Nowhere can there be found a better endless hack circle, a more diverse mix of hippie wannabes and hippie have-beens, or a better free show (provided by Minneapolis's finest as they cart off the disheveled unfortunates for whom this beach is a favorite drinking spot). But wait! There's more!... More >>
• BEST BIKE TRAIL
  The great attribute of an urban bike trail is that it leads you through familiar city sights while also providing the peace of nature. Hop on at the edge of downtown, at Glenwood Avenue and 12th Street N., and ride under I-394 along the Burlington Northern railroad tracks. Cedar Lake Trail will... More >>
• BEST BOWLING ALLEY
  Tucked away behind the post office on the first level of the St. Paul Student Center sits one of the best-kept recreational secrets in the Cities: a painstakingly maintained eight-lane bowling alley (with a desert motif!). Cost is $6 an hour for a lane during the week before 5:00 p.m.; $8 an... More >>
• BEST BOXER
  We were tempted to give the nod once again to St. Paul's Will Grigsby, the slick and feisty 108-pounder who put Minnesota back on the boxing map by winning the International Boxing Federation's junior flyweight title in 1998. But Grigsby lost a unanimous decision last fall in a slugfest with... More >>
• BEST BOXING GYM
  In recent years, a growing number of nonboxers have discovered the value of the traditional fistic workout. As a result, boxing gyms have begun to pop up in some unlikely locations, where they can better serve their new, more affluent client base. But the best gyms remain in the tough... More >>
• BEST COACH
  Kevin Garnett is a bona-fide MVP contender, Malik Sealy has stepped up his game to unforeseen levels, Wally Szczerbiak is proving he has NBA-caliber mettle, and Terrell Brandon has shaken the ghost of Marbury past. But credit for the Minnesota Timberwolves' best-ever season belongs to Flip... More >>
• BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE
  Four years ago there was no women's hockey program at the University of Minnesota. Now they're national champions. The entire team--including coach Laura Halldorson--is entitled to share this token of our esteem, but we're bestowing it upon goalie Erica Killewald, a junior who played a large... More >>
• BEST DAY TRIP
  This two-hour Sunday summer drive is scenic and peaceful, but rest assured, we've got a destination in mind. From St. Paul, take Highway 61 south through the woods and across the river to Prescott, Wisconsin. Then pick up Highway 35, known as the Great River Road, which will take you all the... More >>
• BEST FISHING HOLE (ICE)
  Sure, we're skeptical of some of the big fish stories floating around. One chilly February afternoon, a Calhoun angler regaled us with the yarn of how he caught not one, not two, not three, but four tiger muskies in a single weekend--a tale that prompted one acquaintance to frankly and... More >>
• BEST FISHING HOLE (RURAL)
  It may be a stretch to call Lake of the Woods a hole. The most impressive remnant of the great glacial lake Agassiz, Lake of the Woods sprawls out over some 950,000 acres, reaching into parts of Minnesota, Ontario, and Manitoba. Yet despite its tremendous size, an outing on Lake of the Woods... More >>
• BEST FISHING HOLE (URBAN)
  By and large, Minnesotans have always displayed a fierce if somewhat pointless preference for lakes over rivers. Look at your license plate: It says "land of 10,000 lakes" (actually there are more than 12,000), yet nary a mention of the state's many lovely rivers and streams. Fine with us. Let... More >>
• BEST GOLF COURSE
  One of two golf courses maintained by the Suburban Hennepin Regional Park District, Baker National is bypassed by some because it's difficult. But when your golf game is as lousy as ours, you tend not to split hairs. We like Baker because it's beautiful, and because it's not prohibitively... More >>
• BEST HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE
  Jake Sullivan couldn't have scripted a better ending to his spectacular career with Tartan High School boys basketball team. It was late March, and Tartan was taking on Maple Grove in front of 8,000 screaming fans at Williams Arena, with the state 4A championship on the line. Sullivan, a star... More >>
• BEST LYNX PLAYER
  Given all the wheeling and dealing that went down at the Target Center this winter, our selection of the Lynx's finest b-baller has less to do with talent than with who's left standing. At the end of last summer's inaugural season, sinuous forward Brandy Reed led the team in points, rebounds,... More >>
• BEST PICKUP BASKETBALL GAME
  In a decade's time, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has ripped out ten of the city's most storied basketball courts. Mercifully, they spared one of the two full-court runs that made this picturesque park on the edge of Edina a summer hot spot. (In 1996 the other full court was split... More >>
• BEST PICKUP HOCKEY GAME
  In 1996 the Bagley/Fosston Flyers skated their final game on an outdoor rink, putting an end to one of the state's greatest, most rugged traditions: high school hockey played in the elements. It ought to go without saying that God intended hockey to be played thus--not in some antiseptic heated... More >>
• BEST PICNIC SPOT
  Often during the brief but glorious spells of unseasonably warm weather that have brightened recent winters, it seems that entire populations have materialized to stake claims on the outdoor grills that dot the gentle slopes of Powderhorn Park. They've got the right idea. Whatever the season,... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO BIRD-WATCH
  More than 250 species of birds spend some time each year in this marshy refuge, surrounded by the bustle of people and cars. When you arrive, stop in at the visitor center to pick up maps and tips on how to spot what you're looking for. On recent trips we've witnessed egrets, herons, and... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO CAMP
  If you like camping trips that don't require hours of driving but manage to provide the feel of the great outdoors, have we got a park for you! In a less than an hour, you can be sitting outside your tent roasting marshmallows, glimpsing the occasional deer and shooing away the frequent... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO CANOE
  It is a peculiar accident of our times that a summer afternoon spent on the waters of Lake Calhoun or Lake of the Isles--in the heart of the state's biggest city--is often more tranquil than an afternoon on many outstate waters. All right. It's not an accident. It's a product of sensible... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO CROSS-COUNTRY SKI
  Inquire of Twin Cities cross-country enthusiasts and you'll quickly notice a common theme: When they haven't got the time or the cash for a jaunt to the Arrowhead, it's all about Hennepin Parks. All of the district's eight preserves boast cross-country ski trails (Bloomington's Hyland is a... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO GO ROCK CLIMBING
  Let's face it, within the city limits, there just isn't a lot of great rock-climbing to be had. But just a quick 45 miles north of town (via Highway 8) in the scenic St. Croix River Valley, you can scale cliffs galore. Novice and expert climbers alike can find a rock that's right. Take a break... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO HIKE (URBAN)
  It took a visiting relative to point it out to us: You can walk the length of Lake Street, from the Mississippi River to Uptown, in just a little over an hour. Okay, there are times when it might get a bit lonely, but we're not talking midnight exercise. We're thinking Saturday-afternoon... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO HIKE (WOODSY)
  Despite the seemingly endless sprawl of the metro area, it is possible to get lost in the woods in these parts. In our view, no place within easy striking distance beats the Mille Lacs Wildlife Management Area, a pristine 39,000-acre mix of swamp, woodland, and water just south of the lake from... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO ICE SKATE
  Oh, we've tried them all--and, more to the point, so have our friends, who are the kind of people who actually look good precariously balanced on steel blades. Walnut Ridge in Edina, tucked away off Biscayne Boulevard where only the locals are supposed to find it. Crosby Lake out in Chanhassen,... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO JOG
  The meandering and hell-bent alike will find much to recommend this most democratic of jogging trails. If you are gradually increasing your mileage, you'll discover that the bridges are perfectly placed. A loop encompassing Boom Island and the Hennepin Avenue bridge is just over two miles. Go... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO LEARN TO DANCE
  Hey, hipster, don't you think it's about time you gave up your pursuit of the lambada and the macarena? If you want real, up-to-the-minute information on what's hot in dance these days, try Tapestry. The place offers instruction in everything from the Lindy hop to Latin, from Cajun to contra,... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO ROLLERBLADE
  It may be true that Minnesota has oodles and oodles of well-kept, 'blade-friendly trails, and it may be true that the dang things were invented here, but, honey, try telling that to two feet of snow. Don't mean a whole goshdarn lot in January, now, does it? And so enter...the Hubert H.... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO THROW A POT
  Is there a frustrated ceramist inside you aching to construct a slender porcelain vase, a sturdy mug, a matching set of dinnerware? Fired Up's spacious yet homey 4,000-square-foot loft is the perfect place to unleash your clay fantasies without gouging your pocket. Membership prices start at... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO WATCH A MOVIE OUTDOORS
  The movies-and-music-in-the-park combo has long been a local tradition, and lately no one puts on a more stellar show than Red Eye Cinema, proud cosponsor of the Wednesday-night summer series in Minneapolis's Stevens Square Park. That Red Eye brings its typically astute programming skills to... More >>
• BEST PUBLIC PARK
  During the summer months, the stone wall running along the bluffs above Minnehaha Falls can get so crowded with kids trying to see over the three-foot-high edge you'd think some real-live Pokémon was down there. So cross the bridge and veer right a bit. From there you'll be able to see... More >>
• BEST SIGN OF SPRING
  This year we saw the first one in early March. Granted, this year was not a normal year, and it was 60 degrees in Minnehaha Park, and people were out in T-shirts. But the ground was still frozen solid under the muck, and nothing except the usual squirrels was stirring. Which is why, when we saw... More >>
• BEST SLEDDING
  Grab your mittens, load the sleds into the car, and take Lexington south from Larpenteur. Four blocks in, when the road veers to the left and heads downhill, look to your right. You can't miss it: there, spread out below, you'll see as perfect a panorama of winter wonderland as you're going to... More >>
• BEST TIMBERWOLVES PLAYER
  Kevin Garnett spent the off-season perfecting his midrange jumper--perhaps the single weak spot in an otherwise flawless offensive arsenal. The work paid off. Garnett's shooting percentage put him in the NBA's top 15 this year, and he now draws double teams whether he is under the basket or at... More >>
• BEST TRADE
  Pop quiz: Name a single big-time trade engineered by a Minnesota professional sports franchise in the past year. Stumped? So were we. The Vikings' biggest acquisition of last season, quarterback Jeff George, came (and went) as the result of free agency. The Timberwolves haven't done much since... More >>
• BEST TWINS PLAYER
  Oh, who are we kidding? Brad Radke stands out on this year's roster. But the Twins' ace is almost certain to be gone by the All-Star break, a casualty of a small-minded ownership and a small-market town. So we're going with 24-year-old southpaw Eric Milton, Radke's heir apparent. Milton,... More >>
• BEST VIKINGS PLAYER
  Just how good is Randy Moss? Let's review the second-year wide receiver's 1999 stats: 1,413 total receiving yards, 17.7 yards per reception, 11 touchdowns. While those numbers are down from '98 (17 TDs!), and the wunderkind did seem to contract a troubling case of fumble-itis midseason, Moss... More >>
• BEST YOGA CLASS
  Madonna may be striking a few of the poses these days, but the act of seeking inner peace while working up a sweat was around long before the Material Girl rolled out her exercise mat. Take B.K.S. Iyengar, for example. The guru is past 80 and his leg still goes behind his head just as easily as... More >>