Red Wing, Minnesota

Published 2020

Red Wing has been a place my mother and I have wanted to visit for quite some time and decided to finally just make the plan and go this year for her birthday. Overall I would say that Red Wing is a cute town with a couple of claims to fame, those being their pottery and boots. While digging a little deeper we found some other gems in the city as well. A weekend there was plenty enough time to see what we wanted to see and had a lovely time.

We arrived in Redwing and checked in to our hotel Friday night. The Quality Inn and Suites was very nice and located centrally to everything we planned to visit. There were quite a few restaurants to choose from, but we chose Oliver's for our first dinner. The atmosphere was very nice and the food was fantastic. I got a squash risotto that I have thought about many times after this trip. It was soooo good.

After we ate we took a quick drive up to Treasure Island Casino where we were quickly enlightened as to how different the simple game of Bingo has become over the years. We had a crash course on the format with help from the fast friends around us and we were on our way. We did not have any big wins but was a fun way to kick off the birthday weekend.

The next day we set out to explore the city. Lots of historic buildings to look at including an old train station that was converted into a Caribou Coffee. Pinterest also told me we needed to check out Hanisch Bakery and it did not disappoint; except on Sunday when we couldn't go back because it was closed. They had a large variety of breakfast delights and is a must. After that we were to head off to see the trademark namesake stores of the town.

First stop was the Redwing Shoe Store. It was really cool to see all the original memorabilia from when the store opened as well as the "Worlds Largest Boot." We spent some time venturing through the main store, took a pic next to the the big boot, and perused the sale section they have on the lower level; where I found a cute pair of shoes to commemorate our time there.

Making sure to check off all the places that Red Wing is well known for, next we headed to the Pottery Museum. We spent quite awhile there soaking in all the different patterns and styles of pottery that Red Wing made. We were amazed at how much they had in the museum and how many pieces we had never seen before. If in the area and into Red Wing Pottery I recommend stopping in there. They had an attached gift shop at the end of the tour that had good prices on a selection of pottery. We found the prices here to be much more enjoyable to shop with than that of other stores, and the proceeds help fund the museum.

After an informative tour of the museum we headed out to check out a few antique and local shops as well as historical buildings. There were large depots turned into antique shops which were packed with all kinds antique goods, but we found there was not a ton of variety in what they had in stock. There were some smaller "shops" in houses as well that we checked out. Driving around was enjoyable as there are many old buildings. One item on my list was an old theater. It wasn't very big but had a lot of detail and was worth the quick stop to check it out.

After our day of exploring we grabbed some tea and a bite to eat at the Wisteria Twig Tea Room and Cafe. The atmosphere is adorable and the food and tea were delicious. With a Victorian look throughout and vintage teapots and teacups, these made for a special treat. The teapots even had their own little tea light warmers underneath. We both found this a very enjoyable spot to have lunch. If you enjoy tea they have quite a variety of special blends to choose from.

For the rest of our last day there we just drove around the town and looked at more buildings and explored the area. That evening we had a nice dinner at the Staghead restaurant; it was busy but worth the wait. The menu I would best describe as "comfort food." It was busy but the atmosphere was enjoyable to sit and wait until a table opened up.

Overall Red Wing was a nice little weekend trip. I wouldn't want more time as we were able to hit up the highlights in the time that we were there. We were a little disappointed in the antique shops and felt they all had the same thing and not a huge variety. As we headed North to get home there were some antique shops in the surrounding area that we made a stop at and were more of the variety we were used to in our local shops. But if you are looking for any Red Wing Pottery pieces you will have a good chance of finding them while visiting the area but you will be paying a pretty price for them as well.