A weekend in Grand Rapids MN

Things to do in Grand Rapids MN

My family and I just spent a weekend in Grand Rapids MN over the Fourth of July weekend. When we weren’t enjoying the food and beach at the Green Heron Bed and Breakfast (read more about our stay here!), we set out to discover all Grand Rapids has to offer. Here are my highlights!

Grand Rapids MN farmer’s market

On Wednesdays and Saturdays from May to October, you can find the Grand Rapids Farmers Market open from 8 am – 1 pm. Even though we were stuffed from our breakfast at the Green Heron Bed and Breakfast, we wanted to check it out! At first look, it seems like you would only spend 10 minutes strolling through, but we ended up spending about an hour at the market finding so many fun things. I was bummed the wood fire pizza wasn’t there (like I was even hungry enough to eat more ha) but we were able to get to know many of the other vendors!

A few of my favorites were TimberSweet Maple Syrup (they literally sell growlers of their maple syrup! But also try their maple candy and maple almonds. YUM!) and Boondock Enterprises (I spent so much time here and walked away with homemade Sriracha mustard and some Oregano herbal vinegar). Definitely not your average farmers market!

Lake & Co shop

Stumbling upon The Lake & Co Shop is the reason I love exploring the small towns of Minnesota. Nestled right in the historic downtown is this new shop that is all about everything local, trendy, and Minnesota. A few of my favorite things! Along with selling the popular and up and coming northern brands, they publish a magazine each season titled Lake Time Magazine. If you’re looking to explore some new parts of Minnesota (which I’m assuming you are being you’re reading this!) buy this magazine! They literally road tripped around the northern parts of the state and pulled out all the fun things to do, eat, and see. Seriously, could this be any more perfect for me??

Northwoods candy company

Another little gem of Grand Rapids, MN. Northwoods Candy Company is the old fashioned, small town candy store from your dreams. We had so much fun looking around this store and asking each other, “Did you see this?!” Chocolate that’s good to look at but also good to eat is a gold star in my book.

Judy Garland Museum

Did I mention I once played Glinda the Good Witch in my high school musical? No? Even if you aren’t as big of a Wizard of Oz fan as I am, you would still have an amazing time at the Judy Garland Museum. Tour the house where she grew up and even see some actual props from the movie, including the Emerald City carriage!

Lavalier’s Berry Patch

I remember going strawberry picking with my Grandma when I was younger, but probably haven’t been since then. Been a while for you too? Stop at Lavalier’s Berry Patch for some pick-your-own strawberries! If you find yourself in Grand Rapids during a different time of the year, they also have everything from apples to blueberries to pumpkins.

Pokegama Lake pontoon rental

Renting a pontoon on Pokegama Lake was one of the highlights from our weekend in Grand Rapids MN. We rented a brand new pontoon from Pokegama Lake Resort for the day and had a blast exploring the bays of the lake and doing what you do when you’re on a pontoon: float and relax.

Zorbaz

You can’t go through a Minnesota summer without going to a Zorbaz. I’ll admit, the constant use of “z’s” is a bit over the top, but if you remind yourself you’re there for a good time you’ll forget all about it! We pulled our boat up to the docks, ordered some drinks, and waited for our pizza to be done while playing volleyball. Eating pizza on the pontoon may just be my new favorite hobby.

Farm Market Cafe

Ok, so this is technically not in Grand Rapids, but we stopped at the Farm Market Cafe on the way up north and fell in love with it, so I can’t not write about it! The restaurant uses all locally sourced organic ingredients in its food and also sells a lot of these ingredients in-house! Definitely not something you would expect in Northern Minnesota. I had to try the fresh from the oven strawberry rhubarb pie with homemade honey vanilla ice cream and am still thinking about it – so good!!