Rochester MN Ultimate Summer Bucket List

• Take a hike!
• Creek Stomping! We love Whitewater or Oxbow park for this.
• Fishing in the Silver Creek Reservoir
• Swimming at Foster Arend Park
• Go on a camping trip to a local campground. (Watch out for poisonous plants!)
• Watch the otters swim at Zollman Zoo!
• Participate in a Quarry Hill Nature Class
• Go on a family Nature Scavenger Hunt
• Pick strawberries at one of the local farms
• Go on a family bike ride on one of Rochester’s many bike paths
• Watch a movie Under the Stars at the History Center of Olmsted County
• Go fossil hunting
• Looking for adventure?  Go on a real life treasure hunt by geo-caching!
• We aren’t the second windiest city in the US for nothing…go fly a kite!

There are so many local festivals and concerts to attend in and around Rochester.  These events are listed by date for easy reference!

• Thursdays on First and 3rd!  Rochester’s own classic Street Fair!
• Pine Island Cheese Fest (June 2-5)
• Rhubarb Festival-Lanesboro (June 4)
• Attend A Garden Party in Zumbrota (June 10 and 11)
• Free Friday Concerts on the Patio at Rochester Civic Theater (starting June 17th)
• Our very own Rochesterfest (June 18-26)
• Zumbro River Community Festival (June 25)
• The Riverside Concerts series starts July 10th with a different band every Sunday until August 21st!
•           Soul Asylum (July 10th)
           JD McPherson (July 17th)
           Lucius (July 31)
           The Wailers (Aug 7)
           Rochester Concert Band and Choir (August 14)
           Creedence Clearwater Revisited (August 21)
• Olmsted County Free Fair (July 25th-31st)
• 37th Annual Riverboat Days in Wabasha, MN (July 29 and 30)
• Oronoco Gold Rush (August 19, 20 & 21)
• Plainview Corn on the Cob Days (August 20 & 21)
• Opa!  Get your fill of gyros at the Rochester Greek Fest!  (August 26, 27, and 28) **Pro Tip: go on the first night and stock up on baklava.   You won’t be sad you did.

Rochester has so much to offer during the summer months. Why not become a tourist in your own city!  Consider exploring places and things you’ve never seen or done before.  Here’s a list to get you started!

• Sign up for a summer camp in the SE MN Area
• Splash in the Peace Plaza Fountain
• Goose Scavenger Hunt
• Hang out with all your friends at Thursdays on First & Third
• Play JumboJenga to support the Minnesota Children’s Museum – Rochester
• Take a ride on Will, Charlie, Alfred, WW Mayo or Henry for a Kids Trolley Tour around the city!
• Take a leisurely paddle around Silver Lake with your goose friends with with their Boats/Bike Rental
• Watch the Waterski Show at Lake Zumbro Fisherman’s Inn dock
• Go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt
• Farmer’s Market Scavenger Hunt
• Take the kids to Color Me Mine to paint a Summer 2016 plate or mug
• Support our community of local artisans by shopping at Dwell Local or Kutzky Market at Forager Brewery (Pro Tip: Check out their incredible beer after all your shopping)
• Build your child’s library and tackle that reading list by visiting the Little Libraries around town
• Practice a random act of kindness
• Visit the Book Bike around downtown
• Attend the Rochester Art Center’s 70th Birthday Party 
• Take a tour of the Historic Mayowood Mansion 

• Have a camp out in the backyard
• S’mores Bar (Try Reese’s Peanut Butter cups,  salted caramel chocolate squares, use Nutella instead of chocolate, etc)
• Build a giant slip-n-slide and get crazy with foam or shaving cream
• Water Balloon wars…maybe time to invest in one of these and make it EASY
• Have a big neighborhood party for National Night Out (August 2nd)
• Family Game Night (head to A Child’s Kingdom and pick out a new game to play together!)
• Play Giant Jenga or another awesome DIY Backyard Game!
• Plan a neighborhood squirt gun war!  Winner picks the show for the next neighborhood movie night!
• Create a neighborhood Scavenger Hunt (get inspiration here and here)
• Ultimate Summer Beverage Contest: who can create the ultimate summer refresher?
• Find all your amazing summer produce at the Rochester Downtown Farmer’s Market
• Host an Outdoor Movie Night
• Make special treats and deliver them to neighbors
• Have a neighborhood sidewalk chalk art contest

• Visit an area pizza farm.  Our favorites are Squash Blossom Farm, Dream Acres and Berne Wood Fired Pizza and A-Z Produce and Bakery
• Try a handcrafted specialty coffee beverage at Cafe Steam
• Check out one of Rochester’s taco trucks!
• Eat some of Minnesota’s best ice cream at Flapdoodles!
• Go Strawberry Picking (Ron’s Berry Farm, Chester Berry Farm, Firefly Berries)
• Experiment with different popsicle recipes
• Visit the Farmer’s Market, pick out a tomato plant and make a pizza with pizza sauce made from your tomatoes at the end of the summer
• Order an Old Abe Coffee Co. War Eagle…if you dare!
• Enjoy the best homemade ice cream sandwich around from Mama Meg’s at Thursdays on First on Third
• Feast as you walk around downtown on the official Rochester Food Tour
• Plan a fun day with friends and taste the award winning wines at Four Daughter’s Vineyard
• Go on your own wine tasting tour by visiting the other vineyard or wineries in the area: Salem Glen Vineyard, Whitewater Wines, Post Town Winery, Cannon River Winery, Villa Bellezza

There are so many area pools, beaches and other ways to stay cool in the water in our area!

• Silver Lake Pool – Rochester MN
• Splash in the Downtown Rochester MN Peace Plaza fountain
• Aquatic Center – Kasson MN
• Soldier’s Field Pool – Rochester MN
• Pine Island Community Pool
• Community Pool – City of Stewartville
• Northgate Park – Rochester MN (about the closest thing we’ll get to a splash pad: a circle of cement with a giant spout in the middle!)
• Chester Woods Beach – Rochester MN
• Foster Arends Beach – Rochester MN
• Lake City Beach – Lake City MN (Pro tip: enjoy watching the sailboats!)

• Try these outdoor “hacks” with your kids!
• Start a Summer Adventure Notebook.  A fun tradition every year!
• Sign up for a kid’s workshop at Home Depot
• BUBBLES—Need We Say More?
• Build a backyard fort with boxes and blankets
• Spend an evening catching fireflies (release them later)
• Jump through the sprinkler or make your own!
• Jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, hula hoops – turn all of these every day items into a fun obstacle course for the kids.
• Visit the Minnesota Children’s Museum – Rochester for Bremer Bank Free First Sunday on the First Sunday of Every Month!
• Can you ride your bike all the way around silver lake?  See if you can!

Trying to beat the heat?  Check out these great ideas and destinations to stay cool this summer!

• Visit the Rochester Art Center on Think and Do Family Day
• Check out a Scheel’s Kids Klub event
• Take in a Kid’s Story-Time
• Visit the Rochester Public Library for their Summer Events
• Take in a Free Kid’s Movie at 9 AM on Saturday mornings at CineMagic!
• Visit the Minnesota Children’s Museum – Rochester for their newest exhibit!
• Try the latest arcade games at Chuck E. Cheese
• Head to the grocery store and pick out a new fruit or vegetable
• Explore the subway downtown…can you find Carroll’s Corn?
• Hang out at the mall play area right outside Scheels
• Rent some skates and go ice skating at the Rec Center!

• Plan a visit to the magical Lark Toys and ride the whimsical indoor hand-carved merry-go-round.  Voted the best toy store in Minnesota!
• Meet bald and golden eagles up close at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha
• Why not try something new on a stick at the Great Minnesota Get-Together?
• Plan a day trip to quaint and picturesque Lanesboro
• Go camping or hiking at Whitewater State Park.
• Visit Mystery Cave in Forestville
• Schedule a Factory Tour at Spring Grove Soda
• Another cave!  Why not? Visit Niagara Cave
• Get an agricultural education at the Red Barn Learning Farm
• Climb the Elba Fire Tower

• Check out Zumba on the Plaza every Monday at 5:30 pm during the summer!
• Get a picture with Slider at a Rochester Honkers game
• Fore! Practice your putting skills on the mini golf course at Skyline Raceway.
• Attend a Roosters or Hens Vintage Baseball Game 
• Check out Bowlocity to work on your bowling form, check out the latest arcade games and challenge your friends in laser tag!
• Got the need for speed? Race your friends in Go-Karts at Skyline Raceway!
• Check out Ironman Paintball, SE Minnesota’s only indoor Paintball
• Race your friends at the All Comers Track Meet on select Tuesdays this summer
• Go rock climbing at Prairie Walls Climbing or Roca Climbing

Looking for a Rochester, MN event this month?  Click on the photo below to check out our guide to June!