31 days in Southern Minnesota Itinerary

Deepen your sense of the past at sights like Basilica of St. Stanislaus Kostka and Merchants Bank. Explore hidden gems such as Minnesota Marine Art Museum and Garvin Heights City Park. You'll find plenty of places to visit near Winona: LARK Toys (in Kellogg), National Eagle Center (in Wabasha) and Niagara Cave (in Harmony).

To see traveler tips, ratings, reviews, and more tourist information, use the Winona trip itinerary planner.

New York City to Winona is an approximately 17-hour car ride. The time zone difference moving from Eastern Standard Time to Central Standard Time is minus 1 hour. Traveling from New York City in August, things will get a bit cooler in Winona: highs are around 79°F and lows about 61°F. Finish your sightseeing early on the 12th (Fri) to allow enough time to drive to Red Wing.

You'll explore and learn at Red Wing Shoes and Goodhue County Historical Society. Kids will enjoy Barn Bluff and Sorin's Bluff. Step out of Red Wing with an excursion to Cowling Arboretum at Carleton College in Northfield--about 46 minutes away.

To see photos, traveler tips, maps, and other tourist information, read Red Wing online sightseeing planner.

You can drive from Winona to Red Wing in 1.5 hours. In August, plan for daily highs up to 80°F, and evening lows to 60°F. Wrap up your sightseeing on the 17th (Wed) to allow time to drive to Austin.

Hormel Historic Home and Steele County History Museum will appeal to museum buffs. Explore hidden gems such as Forestville Mystery Cave State Park and Sweet Reads. Explore the numerous day-trip ideas around Austin: Freeborn County Historical Museum, Library & Village (in Albert Lea), Owatonna (Mineral Springs Park, Owatonna Arts Center, &more) and Historic Forestville (in Preston).

To see maps, ratings, where to stay, and more tourist information, use the Austin trip itinerary builder app.

Traveling by car from Red Wing to Austin takes 1.5 hours. In August, daytime highs in Austin are 77°F, while nighttime lows are 59°F. Cap off your sightseeing on the 23rd (Tue) early enough to go by car to Mankato.

Bring the kids along to Minneopa State Park and Sibley Park Zoo. Visit Nicollet County Historical Society - Treaty Site History Center and Wanda Gag House for their historical value. Change things up with these side-trips from Mankato: New Ulm (Minnesota Music Hall of Fame, Brown County Historical Society, &more) and Faribault (Cross Country Soaring, River Bend Nature Center, &more).

To see other places to visit, where to stay, more things to do, and more tourist information, go to the Mankato day trip site.

Traveling by car from Austin to Mankato takes 1.5 hours. In August, plan for daily highs up to 78°F, and evening lows to 61°F. Wrap up your sightseeing on the 30th (Tue) early enough to drive to Pipestone.

Let the collections at Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and Herried Military Museum capture your imagination. Popular historic sites such as Pipestone National Monument and Pipestone Historic District are in your itinerary. Change things up with these side-trips from Pipestone: Granite Falls (Fagen Fighters WWII Museum & Upper Sioux Agency State Park), Plum Creek (in Walnut Grove) and Worthington (Spomer Classics & Museum & Nobles County Pioneer Village).

To find other places to visit, maps, reviews, and more tourist information, you can read our Pipestone trip tool.

Getting from Mankato to Pipestone by car takes about 2.5 hours. In August, daily temperatures in Pipestone can reach 77°F, while at night they dip to 60°F. Finish your sightseeing early on the 5th (Mon) so you can fly back home.