Things to Do in Lanesboro, Minnesota

This is why most people come. The paved trail runs 42 miles on a former rail line, from Fountain through Lanesboro, Whalan, Peterson and Rushford to Houston. It links to the Harmony-Preston Valley State Trail for more than 60 miles of paved riding, much of it under 300-foot limestone bluffs.

★ Good to know Biking and walking are free; in winter you need a Minnesota Ski Pass for the groomed track. The Visitor Center at 100 Milwaukee Road is the Lanesboro trailhead, with restrooms and water.

The Commonweal has been a professional repertory company here since 1989. Its $3.5 million theater opened in 2007 with 191 seats around a thrust stage, finished with reclaimed barn stone and lumber. The season mixes comedies, dramas, musicals and holiday shows.

★ Good to know In summer two plays run in repertory, so a two-night stay can cover both.

The Lanesboro Stone Dam was completed in 1868 and still spills across the South Branch of the Root River, across from Sylvan Park. The chamber calls it one of the oldest functioning stone structures of its kind in the Midwest. Sylvan Park hosts the Saturday farmers market from May through October.

★ Good to know Art in the Park fills Sylvan Park every Saturday before Father’s Day.

The river runs right past downtown, and local outfitters rent kayaks, canoes and tubes. Root River Outfitters is on Parkway Avenue South, and Root River Rod Co. guides fly fishing on the area’s cold trout streams.

★ Good to know River trips depend on water levels and the season, so check with an outfitter before you go.

Lanesboro Arts runs a downtown gallery at 103 Parkway Avenue North with a juried sales gallery and a traveling exhibition space. It also owns the St. Mane Theater next to the Commonweal, used for community theater and film screenings. The group formed in 2010 from the town’s arts council and art center.

Karen and Andy Heimdahl opened Sylvan in 2020 in a former wood-stacked granary on the north edge of downtown. It’s Lanesboro’s first brewery in more than 100 years, and the beers come in three styles: comfy, crafty and crazy.

★ Good to know The patio is open year-round, with heaters and a fire pit in winter, and dogs are welcome outside.

This park lies west of town, between Spring Valley and Preston. It holds Mystery Cave, Minnesota’s longest, with more than 13 miles of passages at a steady 48 degrees. Historic Forestville, a restored 1800s townsite with a general store and homestead, sits inside the park.

★ Good to know Forestville’s grounds are free, but you need a state park vehicle permit; cave tours are seasonal, so check the DNR before you drive.

The museum on Parkway Avenue South covers the town’s mill and railroad years. The chamber also points visitors to the Talking Trail, a self-guided audio tour of downtown, and a storytelling phone booth.