Minneapolis River Walk: A Self-Guided Audio Tour

Overview

Welcome to Minneapolis, the home of Nerf Balls, the singer and songwriter Prince, and, yes, Zubaz pants. On this self-guided audio tour, you'll stroll along the Mississippi River. Along the way, you’ll hear about:

• The history of the milling industry in Minneapolis
• The massive Washburn A Mill explosion of 1878
• The 35W Bridge collapse of 2007
• The secret history of "Funkytown"
• An ugly mansion with 86 TVs
• Cougar attacks
• The untimely death of Tiny Tim
• The hiring of a hitman in St. Paul
• ”Untalented but adventurous” German artists, to quote the author Jonathan Raban
• How long it takes a single drop of water to travel down the Mississippi – and how long it takes a person to make the same journey

This walking tour can be enjoyed on location or even virtually at home with VoiceMap's Continuous Play function which disables the GPS playback.

PHOTO CREDITS: Meet Minneapolis

City: Minneapolis-Saint Paul

Mon 07 Apr

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $8.99

Make a reservation

Mon 07 Apr

Starting at $8.99

Make a reservation

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What's Included

VoiceMap App for Android and iOS

Lifetime access to this tour in English

Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata

Additional Info

Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Suitable for all physical fitness levels

What To Expect

Open Book

The tour starts outside the Open Book Literary Center. Here you'll learn about how VoiceMap works, be introduced to the city and hear about the Open Book Literary Center, and all before the walk begins.

Guthrie Theater

You'll pass by the Guthrie Theatre and learn about its history and its role as one of Minnesota’s core cultural institutions.

Mill City Museum

The tour takes you past the Mill City Museum. As you walk, you'll learn a bit about the museum.

Mill Ruins Park

You'll walk past the Mill Ruins Park and while you walk, you'll hear a little about it.

Upper St. Anthony Lock and Dam

You'll walk past St Anthony Lock and Dam and hear a bit about it, how it was used and why it is permanently closed.

St. Anthony Falls

While you walk, you can see where St Anthony Falls would have been if the dam wasn't built. You'll also hear a bit about the falls.

Nicollet Island

The tour ends in Nicollet Island at the Nicollet Island Pavilion. While you walk there, you'll learn a bit about Nicollet Island and who it was named after.

Show 4 more stops

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (59)

Jay A

Jul 2021

This was my first time visiting Minneapolis, and the tour was a perfect introduction to city, sights, and history. I'd highly recommend even if you live in or around the Cities. It's fun, funny, and perfect way to spend an afternoon in and around the river. Five stars.

Mccpesh

Jun 2021

I bought 8 tours for myself and friends. It is a beautiful tour with great narration. You need to allot about 45-60 minutes to download and study this app and more to help others. Not intuitive. Unfortunately the download and operation of the app did not work well on my android. One of the other I-phoĺnes had a little trouble all the others loved it. So while I could hear my wife's phone in the low noise areas, I have damaged hearing and it was SUPER IRRITATING. My tour kicked in an out at random and I restarted the app 4 times before giving up. The walk is great but not circular. It essentially doubles your time walking back the same route.

Response from Host

Jun 2021

Thanks for the feedback on this – and we're really sorry you had trouble using the tour. We are a little constrained by the the fact that Tripadvisor only gives us room to explain how you download the tour on your ticket under Before You Go. But the steps listed there are straightforward, I think: 1. Install VoiceMap 2. Create an account 3. Go to Tour Codes 4. Enter the code listed on your ticket, right beside these instructions We offer over 750 tours like this one and most same-day purchases are redeemed in under 5 minutes, but if we can make this easier, we absolutely will. Can you let us know where you got stuck? You can just reply to the email we sent you, which also gives you access to a free tour. Thanks again, Iain