Four spots you’ll want to try on your next visit to Bloomington, Minnesota!

So often when people talk about going to Bloomington, Minnesota, they talk about visiting the Mall of America or Ikea. While these spots are great and definitely are fun to visit, I have four more spots to stop at on your next trip to Bloomington. A perfect variety of play, education, fun, and nature, it’s sure to be a great day for everyone.

Start your visit off at the brand-new ninja course playground at Smith Park. My kids (and myself) all love a good ninja course. Ninja courses are just one of those parks I can’t sit back and watch my kids. I need to join in too! A similar park to Grassmann Park in Jordan or Schaper Park in Golden Valley, this is a spot your whole family will enjoy. At Smith Park, there is an adult size ninja course and a small playground. Unlike most of the other ninja courses, there are also two racing lanes made of turf that automatically time both runners. Our favorite part of the park, we all spent a lot of time racing each other over and over. Not meaning to brag, but I definitely won by .01 seconds when racing my son.

After running off some energy, stop at Droolin’ Moose. Last summer, we stopped at their location in St. Louis Park and the older kids have talked about it a ton since then. An amazing chocolate shoppe, this spot also, offers free samples for all the treats they sell. Although it is mostly chocolates, gummy candies are available too. Before we go in, we set a number of how many samples each child can have. They spend their time walking through the store, carefully deciding which treats are worth one of their samples. With a purchase, each child gets to pick out a book. This is in memory of the owners’ mom, as she was a teacher. Our treats are always devoured quickly after our visit as they are absolutely delicious! If you look up this shop, you will find that the owners are amazing people. They have done so much for the communities they are part of, which makes it really easy to support their business. Burnsville, Edina, St. Louis Park, and of course, Bloomington are the four locations for Droolin’ Moose.

Once you finish picking out a treat and enjoying some samples, head over to the Works Museum. Each year, we try to trade off where we buy a family membership, so we can experience different museums. This year, we chose the Works Museum. With an ASTC passport membership, we not only get in free to the Works Museum, but hundreds of other museums throughout the world. It’s a great deal for larger families, as often two or three visits total to any of the museums included pay for the membership.

The Works Museum is geared towards older kids who enjoy STEM activities. Since my son loves to build with anything and everything, I thought he might like it. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much both daughters enjoyed it too. Not a huge museum, it is only one floor. Yet, since it’s mostly building materials, there are endless possibilities for play and learning here. All areas of the museum besides a large display of a k’nex feature and a basket feature are hands-on. Some of my kid’s favorites included: a Lego car building/racing track, an area to make your own baby carrier, and a pretend house where you could explore circuits, plumbing, and building safely. We spent several hours here and more time would have been appreciated for both older kids. I’m excited to go back and see their growth in building since then, as well as their new ideas, as they mature.

Last, you’ll head over to the Old Cedar Avenue bridge for some time in nature. Tucked into the busy city, we were shocked to find this oasis of beauty awaiting us. Once we parked, we headed over the bridge. It’s got beautiful views of the Minnesota River bridge and Long Meadow Lake. An easy walk, it’s stroller and wheelchair accessible. During our walk, we saw a lot of wildlife, including a muskrat right below us. Bonus if your kids love airplanes, many fly over you as you walk since it’s so close to the Minneapolis airport. My kids were constantly looking for animals or airplanes, so barely noticed how far we had walked. Many trails are connected here, so this could be an easy location to get miles of walking or biking.

When we finished our walk, we headed over to the natural play area. What a hidden gem! Throughout the space, there were several spots where natural products were dispersed and they had suggestions of what to do with them. I loved the creativity this released in my kids as they built a fort, a beaver dam, an eagle’s nest, and much more. They climbed, stacked, and dug as we sat and played for awhile. Clean bathrooms and picnic tables were located nearby, allowing for a perfect picnic spot after a walk and some play.

Overall, Bloomington has so much to offer, in addition to the famous Mall of America. Be sure to check out these four spots and explore more of Bloomington and some of their hidden gems!

Until my next adventure,

Allie