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Other stories in "Summer"

• Best bets for the weekend
  What's SUP? Hit the water and find out.
• Next weekend
  Watch cream puffs rise and wallets deflate.
• This weekend
  Watch Vikings, lumberjacks and water-skiers.
• Minnesota shutdown: Time for Plan B
  If state parks close, there are plenty of other campsites in the woods.
• Free weekend in Wisconsin
  It's a great time to try a new park, trail, lake or historic site.
• Step out on National Trails Day
  The time is ripe to hike or bike.
• Watch out for wild parsnip
  This flowering weed may look pretty, but it bites.
• The buzz on bugs
  Summer is here, and so are the pests.
• Snorkeling the Namekagon
  Face down in the swift, clear Wisconsin river, you'll see why it's a national treasure.
• Free weekend in Minnesota
  It's a great time to visit parks and try fishing spots.
• Free weekends in Wisconsin and Minnesota
  Grab the chance to visit parks, trails, historic sites and fishing spots.
• In Pipestone, an era ends
  After 60 years, town says goodbye to 'Song of Hiawatha' pageant.
• Stampede to the North Shore
  If you're planning to join the annual fall pilgrimage, nail down lodgings now.
• Take a break on a lake for less
  Penny pinchers, start your engines.
• For football fans, a preview
  Watching is free and festive at team training camps.
• Where to find mosquito-free camping
  Breathe a sigh of relief in southeast Minnesota.
• Sightsee and learn on Lake Superior
  For a different kind of cruise, hop a research vessel.
• On the road/A brewery in Potosi
  After a 36-year hiatus, taps flow again.
• Calling all Elizabeths
  A village near Galena plans to set a new world record every year.
• On the road in Wisconsin
  Happy discoveries: art pottery, burgers, bike trails and lighthouses.
• Try a new bike trail
  In Minnesota, fresh stretches of trail invite bicycle tourists.
• The best of the fests
  Plan a weekend around a festival.
• Fourth of July weekend
  There's a celebration everywhere.
• Plan ahead to get Wisconsin guides
  Wisconsin welcome centers are closed.

Blast from the past

Train aficionados offer special excursions.

If you're in love with old trains, train aficionados can give you a ride.

In the fall, Friends of the 261 run special excursions on their 1944 Milwaukee Road steam locomotive (pictured). In October, No. 261 pulls cars down the Mississippi from Minneapolis to Winona and back. It also will run a trip from Winona to La Crescent to turn the locomotive.

Tickets in three classes are $99-$329 for the 278-mile round-trip to Winona, $89 for children. A coach ticket from Winona to La Crescent and back is $39. 

For regular excursions on vintage trains, see 5 great train rides. For more about trains and vintage-train lodgings, see Riding the rails.

Last updated on July 26, 2010