Hinckley is “Minnesota’s Famous Half Way Stop”—one hour’s drive north of Minneapolis and one hour’s drive south of Duluth. Some come to Hinckley for the golf and gambling at the Grand Casino, operated by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Others stop for the World Famous Caramel Rolls at Tobies Restaurant and Bakery. Neither the gaming tables nor the hearths at Tobies ever close.
Planning a visit? Stay at Grand Casino Hinckley RV Resort.
This was a lumbering community until 1894, when a temperature inversion supercharged two forest fires that scorched 480 square miles, consuming five towns, including Hinckley. This is agricultural land now. The story is told in the Hinckley Fire Museum housed in the town’s old railroad station.
Kayakers on the St. Croix River.
Find more great Spring destinations here.
Saint Croix State Park—Minnesota’s largest—lies 15 miles to the east, where the flat waters of the Saint Croix River are ideal for canoes and the pike and muskies lure fishermen. The park boasts 164 structures left over from its days as a Civilian Conservation Corps camp—one of the biggest collections of New Deal rustic architecture in the United States.
Hinckley is the trailhead for the paved Willard Munger State Trail, which meanders through forests and rock cuts for 63 miles to Duluth in three scenic segments.
