“Let’s stick together,” our tour guide Nickolas encouraged while stepping off the curb where Summit Avenue meets the wickedly steep Ramsey Street at a sharp angle. “This a very busy corner.”

Our group of seven — eight, including our intrepid guide — traversed St. Paul’s storied thoroughfare as part of the Minnesota Historical Society’s (MNHS) Summit Avenue Walking Tour, one of several MNHS walking tours in the Twin Cities. The tour explores Summit Avenue as well as the semi-hidden Maiden Lane, a cobblestone alleyway populated largely by carriage houses that are now condos. Amid the brickwork underfoot and the Gilded Age details rising overhead, the history of the area comes alive, bringing relevance to stories of the past. (The next one comes up on Saturday, July 29.)

Winding his way through the very apex of the Summit Hill neighborhood, Nickolas paused to point out key landmarks and to give their backstories. Highlights included the Christopher Wren-inspired 1903 Cathedral of St. Paul; the heavy stone façade of 1888’s Riley Row; and the 1891 James J. Hill House, from where the tour begins and ends. Nickolas also pointed out key statues and parks, and dipped into geologic history, describing a mammoth prehistoric waterfall that shaped the local topography.

While motorcoach tours can give a local or a visitor an overview of a city, this sort of tour arguably brings a person closer. Previous life experience has found me on guided walking tours in Chicago and London, as well as in other burgs like Springfield, Ill., Savannah, Ga., and Duluth, Minn. The famous London Walks make the claim that its tour attendees come away knowing more local lore than the locals themselves — so it was high time I got my shoes dirty in the very Twin Cities I inhabit.

The Summit Avenue tour was a great place to begin, and I do feel like I gained great insight into our community. The tour included architectural information — pointing out key characteristics of Queen Anne, Beaux Arts, Richardsonian, Romanesque, Italianate, and Tudor styles — as well as the details on the histories of the early families who inhabited Summit Avenue during its emergence as one of America’s grand thoroughfares. There was even a quotation from Abraham Lincoln, delivered in character by Nickolas, commenting on the work of 19th-century civil engineer Herman Haupt, who once occupied the 1858-built 312 Summit Avenue, the oldest extant building on Summit — where, had it been December, one might expect the lionhead door knockers to eerily morph into the ghostly visage of Jacob Marley.

Summit Avenue is just one of a handful of destinations on the MNHS walking tour menu. Other MNHS walking tours include:

Downtown St. Paul Walking Tour (finished for 2023; last offered July 22)

Historic Main Street Walking Tour (Minneapolis)

Women’s Work Walking Tour (Minneapolis Mill District)

Minneapolis Riverfront Walking Tour

Historic West End Walking Tour (St. Paul)

Washburn A Mill Tour (Minneapolis)

Most MNHS walking tours cost $14 to participate; the Summit Avenue Walking Tour is $20 per person. Minnesota Historical Society Members receive a 20% discount on tour fees. Most walking tours last about 90 minutes to two hours, and with a range of 1.5 to 2 miles, they don’t span marathon distances. In terms of mobility and accessibility, The Minneapolis Riverfront Walking Tour is wheelchair accessible; other tours include some uneven sidewalks, occasional cobblestone surfaces, or other varying urban pathways. Contact the MNHS for more information or to make accessibility arrangements. In addition, an audio amplification system is available for tours if requested, and sign-language interpreters can be arranged with a minimum three weeks’ notice.

Other Tour Providers

The MNHS isn’t the only game in town when it comes to Twin Cities walking tours. Preserve Minneapolis offers a series of walking tours most Sundays (and the occasional Saturday) that are hyper-focused on specific neighborhoods, typically at $14 per person. In St. Paul, Celestial Tours offers a number of walks centered on specific themes — examples include beer and breweries, F. Scott Fitzgerald, gangsters, and ghosts — guided by actor Michelle Myers Berg, who leads the tours in character. Celestial Tours’ prices vary, but generally cost about $25 per person, with concessions for seniors and military personnel.

Not only do walking tours provide a means to get to know the Twin Cities a bit better, they’re a fun way to spend a portion of your weekend. Beyond the admission fee, all that is needed are comfy shoes, weather-informed attire — a hat for the sunny days, or warmer or rainproof gear as needed — and a curious mind.

This feature is part of The Current’s 89 Days series, helping you enjoy the best of the season with weekly guides to events, entertainment, and recreation in the Twin Cities.