Why Minnesota is a Top Spot for Winter

By Complete Travel Curation Team
October 16, 2024

Why Minnesota is a Top Spot for Winter
Andrew.Parks
Wed, 10/16/2024 – 15:23




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Body Components
Sort order Name Component type Language Operations
Winter Unique Destinations Intro English
Winter Unique Destinations Copy English
Author Block English

Post-Body Components
Sort order Name Component type Language Operations
Dynamic Related Content Block – Editorial Pages English
Contact Info Block English



Topics
Places
Seasons

Configure the meta tags below.

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Browse available tokens.

Basic tags
Simple meta tags.

The text to display in the title bar of a visitor’s web browser when they view this page. This meta tag may also be used as the title of the page when a visitor bookmarks or favorites this page, or as the page title in a search engine result. It is common to append ‘[site:name]’ to the end of this, so the site’s name is automatically added. It is recommended that the title is no greater than 55 – 65 characters long, including spaces.

A brief and concise summary of the page’s content that is a maximum of 160 characters in length. The description meta tag may be used by search engines to display a snippet about the page in search results.

A brief and concise summary of the page’s content, preferably 150 characters or less. Where as the description meta tag may be used by search engines to display a snippet about the page in search results, the abstract tag may be used to archive a summary about the page. This meta tag is no longer supported by major search engines.


A comma-separated list of keywords about the page. This meta tag is no longer supported by most search engines.

Advanced
Meta tags that might not be needed by many sites.

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DEPRECATED. Used to define this page’s language code. May be the two letter language code, e.g. “de” for German, or the two letter code with a dash and the two letter ISO country code, e.g. “de-AT” for German in Austria. Still used by Bing.

Robots
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Use a maximum of number seconds as a video snippet for videos on this page in search results. “0” will use a static a image. “-1” means there is no limit.


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Describes the name and version number of the software or publishing tool used to create the page.


An image associated with this page, for use as a thumbnail in social networks and other services. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.


Define the author of a page.


Used to indicate the URL that broke the story, and can link to either an internal URL or an external source. If the full URL is not known it is acceptable to use a partial URL or just the domain name.


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This meta tag communicates with Google. There are currently two directives supported: ‘nositelinkssearchbox’ to not to show the sitelinks search box, and ‘notranslate’ to ask Google not to offer a translation of the page. Both options may be added, just separate them with a comma. See meta tags that Google understands for further details.


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Tell search engines when to index the page again. Very few search engines support this tag, it is more useful to use an XML Sitemap file.


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Control when the browser’s internal cache of the current page should expire. The date must to be an RFC-1123-compliant date string that is represented in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), e.g. ‘Thu, 01 Sep 2016 00:12:56 GMT’. Set to ‘0’ to stop the page being cached entirely.


Used to control whether a browser caches a specific page locally. Not commonly used. Should be used in conjunction with the Cache-Control meta tag.

Open Graph
The Open Graph meta tags are used to control how Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and other social networking sites interpret the site’s content.

The Facebook Sharing Debugger lets you preview how your content will look when it’s shared to Facebook and debug any issues with your Open Graph tags.


The word that appears before the content’s title in a sentence. The default ignores this value, the ‘Automatic’ value should be sufficient if this is actually needed.


A human-readable name for the site, e.g., IMDb.


The type of the content, e.g., movie.


Preferred page location or URL to help eliminate duplicate content for search engines, e.g., https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117500/.


The title of the content, e.g., The Rock.

A one to two sentence description of the content.


The URL of an image which should represent the content. The image must be at least 200 x 200 pixels in size; 600 x 316 pixels is a recommended minimum size, and for best results use an image least 1200 x 630 pixels in size. Supports PNG, JPEG and GIF formats. Should not be used if og:image:url is used. Note: if multiple images are added many services (e.g. Facebook) will default to the largest image, not specifically the first one. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.


The URL of an video which should represent the content. For best results use a source that is at least 1200 x 630 pixels in size, but at least 600 x 316 pixels is a recommended minimum. Object types supported include video.episode, video.movie, video.other, and video.tv_show. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.


A alternative version of og:image and has exactly the same requirements; only one needs to be used. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.


The secure URL (HTTPS) of an image which should represent the content. The image must be at least 200 x 200 pixels in size; 600 x 316 pixels is a recommended minimum size, and for best results use an image least 1200 x 630 pixels in size. Supports PNG, JPEG and GIF formats. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly. Any URLs which start with “http://” will be converted to “https://”.


The secure URL (HTTPS) of an video which should represent the content. Any URLs which start with “http://” will be converted to “https://”.


The type of video referenced above. Should be either video.episode, video.movie, video.other, and video.tv_show. Note: there should be one value for each video, and having more than there are videos may cause problems.


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The width of the above image(s). Note: if both the unsecured and secured images are provided, they should both be the same size.


The height of the above video(s). Note: if both the unsecured and secured videos are provided, they should both be the same size.


The height of the above image(s). Note: if both the unsecured and secured images are provided, they should both be the same size.


The height of the above video(s). Note: if both the unsecured and secured videos are provided, they should both be the same size.


The date this content was last modified, with an optional time value. Needs to be in ISO 8601 format. Can be the same as the ‘Article modification date’ tag.


The length of the video in seconds


A description of what is in the image, not a caption. If the page specifies an og:image it should specify og:image:alt.



URLs to related content











The locale these tags are marked up in, must be in the format language_TERRITORY. Default is ‘en_US’.


Other locales this content is available in, must be in the format language_TERRITORY, e.g. ‘fr_FR’. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.


Links an article to an author’s Facebook profile, should be either URLs to the author’s profile page or their Facebook profile IDs. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.


Links an article to a publisher’s Facebook page.


The primary section of this website the content belongs to.


Appropriate keywords for this content. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.


The date this content was published on, with an optional time value. Needs to be in ISO 8601 format.


The date this content was last modified, with an optional time value. Needs to be in ISO 8601 format.


The date this content will expire, with an optional time value. Needs to be in ISO 8601 format.


Links a book to an author’s Facebook profile, should be either URLs to the author’s profile page or their Facebook profile IDs. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.


The Book’s ISBN


The date the book was released.


Appropriate keywords for this content. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.


The URL to an audio file that complements this object.


The secure URL to an audio file that complements this object. All ‘http://’ URLs will automatically be converted to ‘https://’. Any URLs which start with “http://” will be converted to “https://”.


The MIME type of the audio file. Examples include ‘application/mp3’ for an MP3 file.


The first name of the person who’s Profile page this is.


The person’s last name.


Any of Facebook’s gender values should be allowed, the initial two being ‘male’ and ‘female’.


Links to the Facebook profiles for actor(s) that appear in the video. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.


A pseudonym / alias of this person.


The roles of the actor(s). Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.


Links to the Facebook profiles for director(s) that worked on the video. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.


The date the video was released.


The TV show this series belongs to.


Tag words associated with this video. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.


Links to the Facebook profiles for scriptwriter(s) for the video. Multiple values may be used, separated by a comma. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.

facebook
A set of meta tags specially for controlling advanced functionality with Facebook.

The Facebook Sharing Debugger lets you preview how your content will look when it’s shared to Facebook and debug any issues with your Open Graph tags.


Facebook Instant Articles claim URL token.


A comma-separated list of Facebook user IDs of people who are considered administrators or moderators of this page.


A comma-separated list of Facebook Platform Application IDs applicable for this site.

Twitter Cards
A set of meta tags specially for controlling the summaries displayed when content is shared on Twitter.

Notes:

  • no other fields are required for a Summary card
  • Photo card requires the ‘image’ field
  • Media player card requires the ‘title’, ‘description’, ‘media player URL’, ‘media player width’, ‘media player height’ and ‘image’ fields,
  • Summary Card with Large Image card requires the ‘Summary’ field and the ‘image’ field,
  • Gallery Card requires all the ‘Gallery Image’ fields,
  • App Card requires the ‘iPhone app ID’ field, the ‘iPad app ID’ field and the ‘Google Play app ID’ field,
  • Product Card requires the ‘description’ field, the ‘image’ field, the ‘Label 1’ field, the ‘Data 1’ field, the ‘Label 2’ field and the ‘Data 2’ field.

The @username for the website, which will be displayed in the Card’s footer; must include the @ symbol.


A description that concisely summarizes the content of the page, as appropriate for presentation within a Tweet. Do not re-use the title text as the description, or use this field to describe the general services provided by the website. The string will be truncated, by Twitter, at the word to 200 characters.


The page’s title, which should be concise; it will be truncated at 70 characters by Twitter. This field is required unless this the ‘type’ field is set to ‘photo’.


The numerical Twitter account ID for the website, which will be displayed in the Card’s footer.


The numerical Twitter account ID for the content creator / author for this page.


The @username for the content creator / author for this page, including the @ symbol.


By default Twitter tracks visitors when a tweet is embedded on a page using the official APIs. Setting this to ‘on’ will stop Twitter from tracking visitors.


The permalink / canonical URL of the current page.


The width of the image being linked to, in pixels.


The alternative text of the image being linked to. Limited to 420 characters.


The URL to a unique image representing the content of the page. Do not use a generic image such as your website logo, author photo, or other image that spans multiple pages. Images larger than 120x120px will be resized and cropped square based on longest dimension. Images smaller than 60x60px will not be shown. If the ‘type’ is set to Photo then the image must be at least 280x150px. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.


The height of the image being linked to, in pixels.


A URL to the image representing the first photo in your gallery. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.


A URL to the image representing the second photo in your gallery. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.


A URL to the image representing the third photo in your gallery. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.


A URL to the image representing the fourth photo in your gallery. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.


If your application is not available in the US App Store, you must set this value to the two-letter country code for the App Store that contains your application.


The name of the iPhone app.


The iPhone app’s custom URL scheme (must include “://” after the scheme name).


String value, should be the numeric representation of your iPhone app’s ID in the App Store.


The name of the iPad app.


String value, should be the numeric representation of your iPad app’s ID in the App Store.


The iPad app’s custom URL scheme (must include “://” after the scheme name).


The name of the app in the Google Play app store.


Your app ID in the Google Play Store (i.e. “com.android.app”).


The Google Play app’s custom URL scheme (must include “://” after the scheme name).


The full URL for loading a media player, specifically an iframe for an embedded video rather than the URL to a page that contains a player. Required when using the Player Card type.


The width of the media player iframe, in pixels. Required when using the Player Card type.


The height of the media player iframe, in pixels. Required when using the Player Card type.


The full URL for an MP4 video (h.264) or audio (AAC) stream, takes precedence over the other media player field.


The MIME type for the media contained in the stream URL, as defined by RFC 4337.


This field expects a string, and you can specify values for labels such as price, items in stock, sizes, etc.


This field expects a string, and allows you to specify the types of data you want to offer (price, country, etc.).


This field expects a string, and you can specify values for labels such as price, items in stock, sizes, etc.


This field expects a string, and allows you to specify the types of data you want to offer (price, country, etc.).

Alternative language links (hreflang)
These meta tags are designed to point visitors to versions of the current page in other languages.

This should point to the version of the page that is for the main or primary locale, e.g. the original version of an article that is translated into other languages.
















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It’s a common question: What is winter really like in Minnesota? Well, we’re happy to report that winter isn’t a season here; it’s a state of mind supported by a seemingly endless array of special events and excuses to embrace the cold.  

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Want to know the best spots in Minnesota? How about tips on how to make the most of your time in a specific city? Our Minnesota experts can answer your questions, offer advice, or plan the perfect Minnesota trip for you. For free.

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two cross-country skiers in woods from above

Experience Minnesota’s winter wonderland on cross-country skis / Paul Vincent


Why not, right? After all, Minnesotans are just as likely to spend an afternoon ice fishing as they are tearing up a trail in cross-country skis or snowshoes.   

If you’d rather stay indoors until spring, we’ve got that covered too, with everything from world renowned restaurants and iconic cultural institutions to saunas, cabins and dark sky destinations that look as if they were lifted straight out of Scandinavia.   

Here are the many reasons why Minnesota is the spot for making the most of winter….    

New Brighton Ice Castles

Ice Castles in New Brighton

/ Ryan Taylor


MINNESOTA ON ICE

We don’t just survive the winter; we thrive! From ice golf, ice sculptures, ice mazes, and Ice Castles, a Minnesota winter is a sight to see. We’re even dining in and on ice at our popular ice bars and igloo dining spots. The Brainerd Jaycees Ice Fishing Extravaganza is the world’s largest charitable ice fishing tournament and is held annually on Gull Lake in Brainerd with more than 10,000 anglers taking to the ice. 

Ice houses dot the frozen lakes across the state including Lake of the Woods and Lake Mille Lacs. Find ones equipped with bunk beds, televisions, kitchenettes, and more. On Lake of the Woods, don’t miss the iconic Igloo Bar, a full-fledged sports bar with satellite TV, propane heat, running hot water, hoodie-clad bartenders, drinks, soup, sandwiches, and pizza.  

A couple ice skaters at Boyd Lodge in Crosslake

Ice skating at Boyd Lodge in Crosslake 

/ Credit: Buffalo Media Group


Lace up your skates and head north to The Riverbend Skate Path in Warroad, which spans for five miles making it the longest ice-skating trail in the United States. In the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, visit the Guidant John Rose MN OVAL in Roseville, the Central Park Ice Skating Loop in Maple Grove, the Centennial Lakes Park in Edina, and more. 

Find more places to go ice skating in Minnesota. 

Nordic Village at Riva Terrace in the Four Seasons Hotel

The Nordic Village at Riva Terrace

/ Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis


ROMANCE  

Snow gently falling on an evergreen forest while you sip hot cocoa in front of a fire is just about the most romantic thing we can think of. Celebrate the season of love in Minnesota at a cozy cabin getaway or spa and resort. Or, book a boutique hotel, then make reservations at one of Minnesota’s most romantic restaurants. 

You can also visit the cozy Nordic Village at the Four Seasons and experience a four-course meal in an intimate log cabin — right in the middle of the city. While you’re downtown, see what’s playing at the always-cozy Dakota Jazz Club or get swept away by the Minnesota Orchestra.

Mall of America in Bloomington

Mall of America

/ Credit: Paul Vincent


TAX-FREE SHOPPING  

Tax-free clothing and shoes? Say less. Whether you’re making a day out of experiencing the massive Mall of America, perusing local shops on a plethora of Main Streets, or hunting for treasures at vintage stores, there’s something for everyone. 

Don’t miss out on upscale shopping centers like the Galleria and Southdale either. They’re where you’ll find everything from high-end brands to local favorites. 

Clothing racks at the Minneapolis boutique Parc

Parc 

/ Credit: Dina Kantor


You can also shop sustainably as you explore local boutiques and thrift in well-curated spaces. And if you’re into unique, handmade finds, Minnesota’s thriving community of makers will win you over. 

Get ready to shop till you drop — without worrying about extra costs! 

all-other

Northern Lights Bike Ride

A bike ride beneath the Northern Lights

/ Credit: Travis Novitsky


Northern Lights Bike Ride

This article: Why Minnesota is a Top Spot for Winter has been curated from our friends at Explore Minnesota and the original in it's entirety can be found here: https://www.exploreminnesota.com/what-is-winter-like-in-minnesota