Visit Minnesota: Padelford Riverboats

I suck at geography. So when my husband mentioned a Mississippi River tour while we were in Minnesota, I thought "Huh?"

I had no idea the Mississippi River was that long!

But thanks to Padelford Riverboats, I now konw that the Mississippi River is over 2000 miles long, and I also know a lot of interesting tidbits about the Mississippi River as well as Minnesota.

Daily Sightseeing Cruises depart twice a day, seven days a week during the summer from Harriet Island in St. Paul.  The timing was great for our tour, because just a few weeks prior, the entire island was flooded.  The ticket office and a post on the dock are marked with flooding levels - it was incredible to see how high the water got!

Once onboard, we took our seats.  The Padelford Riverboat is two levels.  There is an outdoor seating deck on the middle level where I sat.  Some members of my family chose to stay indoors, where it was less hot.  Large, clear windows allowed for easy viewing of all of the sights.

The 90-minute tour is narrated with recorded audio, and we learned about and saw quite a bit on the tour - St. Paul High Bridge, Pig's Eye Cave, and the Swinging Bridge, to name a few.

It's always nice to see a city's skyline from afar!

We even saw a heron, and probably the coolest thing - an enormous eagle's nest from which an eagle flew out!  What an incredible sight!  

On board is a full bar with snacks and drinks, as well as restrooms.

You may want to bring a jacket, because even if the sun is out, it can get quite windy aboard.  There were a few instances where we almost got splashed by water due to some choppiness, but for the most part, the cruise was completely smooth!

I love learning about a new place, and the Padelford Riverboats Daily Sightseeing Cruise puts you right on the Mississippi River for a great experience!

Padelford Riverboats
205 Dr. Justus Ohage Blvd

St Paul, MN 55107
Phone: (651) 227-1100

Mahalo to Padelford Riverboats for sponsoring our tickets.