Tour of 10,000 Lakes: 
Destination Grand Rapids
by Megan Rinerson, WJON.com

GRAND RAPIDS -- We are all looking to vacation a little closer to home this summer, especially now with $4 dollar gas. But most of us don't know where to go. Well,  here at the WJON newsroom we are taking you on  a “Tour of 10,000 lakes” all summer long. This week we'll head up north, to the Iron Range and visit Grand Rapids.
 
A lot of us know Grand Rapids as the home of young Judy Garland. Executive Director for Visit Grand Rapids Cheri Zeppelin says Garland's family home has been turned into the Judy Garland museum.  She says they took oral histories from Judy's family about the time when her dad owned the Grand Threatre. The Musuem is set up to look exactly how it did when the Gumm Family lived there. Zeppelin says there are three parts to the museum including the Children's Discovery Museum.

And , if you want to keep educating the kids, you can take a tour of the Paper Mill. Or, do more with the family at the Forest History Center. Zeppelin says it is a recreated 19-century logging camp. She says you can climb the fire tower at the center or take a walk on their birding trail.

But, you don't have to be a history buff to enjoy Grand Rapids. You can take in the outdoors on Minnesota's first National scenic byway. Zeppelin says the Edge of the Wilderness Scenic Byway is a great place to go hiking or you can pick a place to have a picnic. She says it is also a popular place to take pictures and a great motorcycle route.

Maybe your looking to do some shopping! Zeppelin says the Old Central School building would be a great place to start. She says Grand Rapids is also really into the arts scene with many shops located in their beautiful downtown district, which is north of the Mississippi River.

Zeppelin says they even have a theatrical production on the Mississippi that you can't find anywhere else. The Mississippi Melody Showboat  is always the last three weekends in July. She says the boat pulls up to a dock where they do the show and it's different every year.

Finally, there is much more to do in the Grand Rapids area including visiting the Hill Annex Mine State Park., tasting at a Wine Bar and Bistro,  and shooting rifles at their Huge Gun Club.

If you're not sure what you want to visit, you can call Visit Grand Rapids at 1-800-355-9740 to have them help plan your trip for you.

Next week on our weekly “Tour of 10,000 lakes”  we'll head in the opposite direction down to Mankato.

AUDIO:  Listen to Megan Rinerson's report on our media player.