OUT & ABOUT >>

• BEST BEACH
  Hidden Beach at Cedar Lake
  The Twin Cities has plenty of perfectly lovely lakeside beaches where you can pitch a towel and spend a lazy summer day, but only one of them has a "vibe." Hidden Beach, on the eastern shore of Cedar Lake, still carries a free-spirited, counterculture sensibility left over from its days as an... More >>
• BEST BIKE TRAIL
  Cannon Valley Trail
  In barely more time than it takes to drive from Minnetonka to St. Paul, you and your bike could be in Cannon Falls, at the start of one of the most beautiful bike rides in the state. The exquisitely scenic, 20-mile-long Cannon Valley Trail follows an old railway corridor from Cannon Falls to Red... More >>
• BEST BOCCE COURTS
  Nomad World Pub
  Bocce is a "sport" generally associated with old Italian men who chain-smoke cigarettes and drink bottomless cups of espresso. But lately the game has acquired a bit of hipster cachet, as alcohol enthusiasts have discovered that tossing balls around in the dirt is an activity easily performed... More >>
• BEST BOWLING ALLEY
  Ran-Ham Bowling Center
  There is a theory in physics that says time moves slower for objects beneath the earth's surface. It's logical then that Ran-Ham Bowling Center is in a basement and therefore a little behind the times of the ultramodern bowling allies on the surface. Ran-Ham does not have "Cosmic Bowling,"... More >>
• BEST BOXER
  Jason Litzau
  Jason Litzau is a kid from the East Side of St. Paul. He learned the fundamentals of boxing at the Rice Street Gym. The press conference announcing his first big-time bout was held at Yarusso Bros., the legendary Payne Avenue Italian restaurant. The hometown kid has compiled an impressive 23-2... More >>
• BEST COACH
  Tubby Smith
  Tubby Smith's stated wish to see a shiny new McFacility built on the grave of the venerable and wonderfully idiosyncratic Williams Arena is an idea that must under no circumstances be indulged. With its claustrophobia-inducing student section, wood benches that all but mandate that the crowd... More >>
• BEST DAY TRIP
  Stillwater
  Taking MN-36 east from Minneapolis the 27 miles to Stillwater is like falling into a time machine that pops you out into 1950s small-town life. You might not find saddle shoes and poodle skirts, but you can have a burger and a strawberry, banana, or chocolate shake at Lily's corner malt shop... More >>
• BEST DOG PARK
  Minnehaha Park
  To call this place a dog park understates the spectacle. To call it a four-acre orgy of dog adventure is gross. Dogs nip and scratch at the fence, desperate to hit the wide, winding trail that passes through woods and ends at a beach on the riverbank. All kinds of projectiles are fetched by all... More >>
• BEST GAY-FRIENDLY SPORTS LEAGUE
  Twin Cities Gay Hockey Association
  If you grew up in a hockey-crazed Twin Cities suburb, you'd be forgiven for remembering the sport of hockey as something less than a bastion of tolerance. In fact, if you ran with the hockey players—or just ran into them in the halls—you'd be forgiven for only remembering the... More >>
• BEST GOLF COURSE
  Hiawatha Golf Club
  Let's face it—golf is hard. It's so hard that maybe one in 20 golfers really does the game justice. So for most of us the best golf course is one that's pretty to play but still allows us to bring our egos and a few golf balls back to the clubhouse. Meadowbrook is often cited as the... More >>
• BEST HORSE TRAINER
  Mac Robertson
  Mac Robertson has established himself as the dominant trainer at Canterbury Park, leading the money board for four straight years. In fact, there's no one even in his neighborhood. During last year's meet, Robertson-trained horses cleared more than $1 million in winnings. The closest contender?... More >>
• BEST ICE SKATING
  Centennial Lakes Park
  Somehow ice skating looses its romantic zest indoors. At Centennial Lakes Park, for at least three months a year, skaters can feel as if they've fallen inside a Norman Rockwell painting, gliding throughout the park's three main ponds connected by narrow, winding canals. When tired, snuggle up... More >>
• BEST INDOOR RUNNING SPACE
  Metrodome
  In a couple of years, the Twins and Gophers football team will vacate the Metrodome. And the Vikings perennially beg for a new home. The once-futuristic multiuse facility doesn't seem to be good enough for athletes anymore. Well, make that team athletes. Runners seem to like the Dome just fine.... More >>
• BEST JOCKEY
  Paul Nolan
  Jockeys are best known to the general public for being diminutive. But what really distinguishes people who race horses for a living from the general populace is an absolute disregard for their own physical well-being. Broken fingers, crushed ribs, and dislocated toes are simply part of the... More >>
• BEST LYNX PLAYER
  Seimone Augustus
  Seimone Augustus can't do it all on her own. That much is clear from the scoring phenom's first two seasons in the WNBA. Last season Augustus averaged 22.6 points per game—nearly double the next leading scorer on the team. She also knocked down more than half her shots, converted nearly 90... More >>
• BEST MINNESOTA SWARM PLAYER
  Nick Patterson
  Nick Patterson understands how to plug holes, whether he does it with colorful piercings on his face or with his glove and pads in the lacrosse net. The 25-year-old goalie phenom leads National Lacrosse League goaltenders in minutes played and saves. He was given NLL co-player of the week honors... More >>
• BEST MINNESOTA THUNDER PLAYER
  Nic Platter
  In what was otherwise a miserable campaign for the Minnesota Thunder, with the team missing the playoffs for the third straight season, goalkeeper Nic Platter was a revelation. The University of California at Davis product, having endured two years on the bench as a little-used backup, took over... More >>
• BEST NATURE IN THE CITY
  The Quaking Bog at Wirth Park
  One of our most charming natural attractions can be found right at the center of the metropolitan sprawl. Just over the hill from noisy I-394, nestled in Wirth Park at the bottom of a hill, you'll find a sign for the Quaking Bog. Tucked away from the road, a short walk by trail, the bog is a... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO JOG
  Crosby Farm Regional Park
  Replete with paved paths and separate bike lanes, the jogging infrastructure perched high above both banks of the Mississippi along the river roads is beyond reproach. But if you yearn to get down to the water, we recommend a jog through Crosby Farm Park. Nestled near the intersection of the... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO SHOOT POOL
  Fat Boy Billiards
  A good pool hall is about pool, and it carries a faint aroma of seediness and stale beer, and a pall of cigarette smoke hugs the ceiling. It's frequented by taciturn men (and women, but mostly men) who bring their own sticks in battered leather cases, dour old-timers and regulars who gather at... More >>
• BEST PLACE TO SPEND A DAY DOING SOMETHING FOR FREE
  Como Park
  We should note up front that the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory—the two main attractions of Como Park—request a free-will donation upon entrance, so this outing is "free" only in the technical sense. (C'mon, people! It's only two bucks for adults and one for children!) Which means... More >>
• BEST PUBLIC PARK
  Lebanon Hills Regional Park
  It's nearing midday on a sparkling summer morning, and for three hours you've been hiking dirt trails through lovely, dense woods of oak and maple. In all that time you've hardly seen a soul, though earlier you startled a deer in a sun-dappled glen. Now, as you round a bend in the trail, you... More >>
• BEST SIGN OF SPRING
  Outdoor dining
  It's always nice when Minnesota's merciless icy death grip finally loosens and you can do things outdoors that you couldn't have previously—like, for instance, anything. But you know spring has really arrived when the patios and sidewalk cafés open, and suddenly the notion of eating... More >>
• BEST SLEDDING
  Theodore Wirth Park
  There's nothing quite like the thrill of trudging all the way up a mountain of snow trailing a plastic sled, snowboard, or tube; shooting back down the hill; then doing it all over again. Sledding is a God-given right, and there shouldn't be a fee, rules, or regulations. For that reason, we... More >>
• BEST SPORTS BAR FOR CHEERING OUT-OF-STATE TEAMS
  Gabe's by the Park
  Twin Cities sports bars are understandably barren territory for fans of out-of-state sports teams, but Gabe's by the Park is happy to provide an oasis. Located in St. Paul next to Como Park—a good eight miles from those unruly Gopher-fiends in Dinkytown—Gabe's boasts more than 20... More >>
• BEST TENNIS COURTS
  Tower Hill courts
  If you're the kind to spend a few hours outside on a pleasant summer's day whacking a tennis ball around a concrete court, the Twin Cities blesses you with many excellent options. But one pair of courts towers over the rest—literally. Halfway up Tower Hill in elegant and winding Prospect... More >>
• BEST TIMBERWOLVES PLAYER
  Al Jefferson
  The comparisons are as inevitable as they are unfair. Al Jefferson is not, and is not likely ever to be, Kevin Garnett's equal. He does not have the same capacity to defend the opponent's best player out to the perimeter. He does not have the same ability to find open teammates with deft passes.... More >>
• BEST TWINS PLAYER
  Joe Mauer
  No. 7 spent the bulk of last season fighting through injuries, and most fans who watched him grit his teeth and take his lumps in '07 saw a somewhat different player from the one who hit .347 in 2006. The defending batting champ lost some of his speed out of the batter's box, had a little... More >>
• BEST VIKINGS PLAYER
  Adrian Peterson
  Running back Adrian "All Day" Peterson's propensity for freakish, did-he-really-just-do-that? flair was evident to most Vikings diehards since training camp. It wasn't until his October 14 performance at Soldier Field—in which he reduced the Bears' secondary into hapless Pop Warner scrubs... More >>
• BEST WAY TO EXPERIENCE THE TWIN CITIES WITHOUT ENDURING THE WEATHER
  Twin Cities Flickr Photo Pool
  This place is cold. Let's just come out and say it. Sometimes it's so cold your boogers freeze with just one boot out the door. There are those with the constitution and the disposition to explore the out-of-doors in these conditions, but why? If you'd rather curl up than suit up when icy death... More >>
• BEST WEEKEND GETAWAY
  The North Shore
  No matter what your reason for wanting to escape, the North Shore will take you far away from the Twin Cities, physically and spiritually. For nearly 146 miles on MN 61 North, travelers follow Lake Superior's shoreline through several beachside towns interspersed throughout the North Woods. Stop... More >>
• BEST WILD PLAYER
  Marian Gaborik
  The Wild had an amazing season, and Marian Gaborik has the stats to show it. Who could forget his amazing five-goal game against the Rangers on December 20? Or the ovation that greeted him when he scored his 200th career goal in a game that snapped a late-season losing streak? Or his performance... More >>
• BEST WINTER SPORTS RESORT
  Lutsen Mountains
  Okay, so you won't hear Lutsen ever claim to rival Vail. It doesn't. However, without paying a small fortune for airfare, car rental, and hotel (or making do on your roommate's cousin's pull-out couch...again), it's a Twin Cities ski bum's best bet. Offering nine lifts serving 90 runs, Lutsen is... More >>
• BEST YOGA
  St. Paul Yoga Center
  Yoga, or "union" in the classical Indian language, Sanskrit, is about balancing one's body with one's mind—finding serenity and calmness while strengthening one's physical self. For that reason, yoga shouldn't be overpriced or commercial, and you shouldn't walk into a studio to find clones... More >>