Minnehaha Falls, Minneapolis

Favorite thing: This 53 foot waterfall is highly unusual for this part of the country. It's on Minnehaha Creek, a tributary of the Mississippi, and is a main feature of Minnehaha Park, in the southeastern part of the city.

Minnehaha Creek is a tributary of the Mississippi. The word "Minnehaha" comes from the Dakota language, comprising the roots "minne" for water, and "haha" meaning "waterfall."

The American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made the waterfall famous by mentioning it in his 1855 poem, "The Song of Hiawatha." Not that Longfellow ever travelled here; at that time Minneapolis was considered to be part of the far far West. A 2/3rds scale replica of Longfellow's House (painted bright yellow) stands close to the Falls and serves an interpretative center for the park.

Minnehaha Falls is quite close to the very popular "Sea Salt" restaurant, a summer operation that delights thousands of Nice Minnesotans every year. You can buy a fish sandwich at "Sea Salt" and walk down to the Waterfall and contemplate how the water flowing here in the Twin Cities will eventually end up streaming past New Orleans where it might end up in a fish stew.