Things to do in Minneapolis & St Paul this weekend!
This Twin Cities Family Weekend Guide covers events in Minneapolis & St Paul the weekend of July 19-20, 2025. Want to discover family fun this weekend across the Twin Cities Metro Area? Browse our guides for the Northwest, Northeast, Southwest & Southeast communities. Happy exploring, wherever your weekend may take you!
Plenty of summer left in the Twin Cities!
As always, you can check our JULY FAMILY GUIDE, our 2025 ULTIMATE TWIN CITIES SUMMER FUN GUIDE or our FAMILY FUN CALENDAR for more fun ideas on what to do this weekend in the Twin Cities with your kids!
More fun around the Twin Cities Metro Area
Twin Cities-area festivals this weekend for the family
Festivals in the Twin Cities are full force during the month of July. For further weekend planning, check our July Family Festival Calendar.
ST PAUL Minnesota Scottish Fair & Highland Games
Macalester College, 1600 Grand Ave, St Paul, MN 55105
All things Celtic: music, bagpipes, a Highland Dance competition, Scottish country dancing, and a marketplace. July 19, 2025. Tickets: $20/pp, under 13 FREE.
MINNEAPOLIS Minnehaha Falls Art Fair
4801 S Minnehaha Dr, Minneapolis, MN 55417
A full, three-day weekend of artists, food vendors and community at beautiful Minnehaha Falls. See the link for our list of kids activities at the fair. And if it’s a hot one, follow the trail below the falls for a cool-off wading spot. July 19, 10am-7pm & July 20, 10m-5pm. FREE admission.
MORE FESTIVALS THIS WEEKEND IN THE TWIN CITIES
- BURNSVILLE International Festival of Burnsville
- CENTERVILLLE Fete des Lac
- EAST BETHEL Booster Days Party in the Park
- ELK RIVER Sherburne County Fair
- EXCELSIOR Crazy Days
- HASTINGS Rivertown Days
- HOPKINS Raspberry Festival
- MOUND Spirit of the Lakes Festival
- RAMSEY Two Rivers Art Fair
- STILLWATER Lumberjack Days
- TAYLORS FALLS Wannigan Days
Get planning for more Twin Cities community festival fun through July!
Cool off this weekend in the Twin Cities
We’ve hit optimal beach & pool season here in Minnesota. Knowing this kind of weather won’t stick around for long, explore new splash spots by jumping over to our complete TWIN CITIES ULTIMATE GUIDE TO THE BEST BEACHES, POOLS, WATERPARKS & SPLASH PADS or continue for a few ideas:
Many outdoor pools in the Twin Cities offer special tot swim hours so littler ones can get some splash time in before the big kids arrive. You can find these tot swims at the following pools this weekend:
ST PAUL Como Pool Tot Time
1151 Wynne Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55108
Only the shallower splash pool with zero-depth entry is open during this time and only kids ages 6 and under with supervising adult are permitted. There’s plenty to enjoy during this quieter time including the junior slides, water play table, fountains and spray cannons. Ongoing Saturday and Sunday mornings from 9-10:30am. $5 per person, adult and child.
ST PAUL Highland Park Aquatic Center Tot Time
1840 Edgcumbe Rd, St Paul, MN, 55116
Tot Time takes place at the children’s activity pool every Saturday and Sunday between 9-10:30am. $5 per person, adult and child.
More Tot Time swims across the Twin Cities Metro Area
- CASCADE BAY: Little Mates Tot Swim – select areas of the waterpark open from 9:30-10:30am. $6/child, one adult free. 1360 Civic Center Drive, Eagan, MN 55122.
- RICHFIELD OUTDOOR POOL: Kids ages 7 & under get the zero-depth-entr
y wading pool and water play equipment to themselves. 10-11am, $11/pp. 630 East 66th Street, Richfield, MN 55423.
Find our complete list of Tot Swims, including many that offer cheaper rates for this limited swim time.
Find our complete list of Tot Swims, including many that offer cheaper rates for this limited swim time.
Featured Minneapolis wading pool: Lake Hiawatha Park
Minneapolis wading pools are fun, free and some are splash and elaborate such as the pool at LAKE HIAWATHA PARK (pictured). Find our complete list at the link.
Fun activities in the parks this weekend in Minneapolis & St Paul
Featured here is just a taste of all that’s going on across the incredible Twin Cities park systems this weekend. You can get more ideas on our FAMILY FUN CALENDAR or browse the links below to search for local fun events & things to do with kids this weekend in parks across the Minneapolis-St Paul metro. Featured Twin Cities park events this weekend include:
ST PAUL Highland Park Water Tower Open House
782 Snelling Ave S, St Paul, MN 55116
One of only two weekends a year the historic water tower is open for viewing! (Check back in October when it’s time to enjoy the fall colors.) Get a birds-eye look at the Twin Cities and learn interesting facts about the city’s water utility. July 19-20, 2025, 9am-5pm. FREE.
MINNEAPOLIS Beach Blast: Milk Carton Races & Sandcastle Competition
Thomas Beach, 3700 Thomas Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55410
Twin Cities Beach Blast is back to host the annual Milk Carton Races and Sand Castle competition on Bde Maka Ska. You get to choose – spectator or participant? If you’re interested in racing or building you can pre-register here and find out all the details. July 20, 2025, 10am start, 2pm finish. FREE.
More ideas for things to do this weekend in the Twin Cities with kids – Minneapolis & St Paul
Play a round of mini golf
Choose from 14 fun outdoor courses in our guide to the best MINI GOLF IN THE TWIN CITIES.
Take a family bike ride
We have some family-friendly ideas for bike trails in our guides to the BEST BIKE TRAILS IN MINNEAPOLIS & BEST BIKE TRAILS IN ST PAUL.
Take a family day or road trip!
Summer weekends are prime for jumping in the car and exploring outside the city. We have fun itineraries sketched out for destinations within an easy drive from Minneapolis & St Paul:
- BEST THINGS TO DO IN DULUTH WITH KIDS – SUMMER TRIP
- TOP THINGS TO DO IN TAYLORS FALLS, MINNESOTA, WITH KIDS
- 8 MINNESOTA STATE PARKS AN HOUR FROM THE TWIN CITIES METRO
- 10 THINGS TO DO IN MANKATO, MINNESOTA, WITH KIDS
- 10 THINGS TO DO IN NEW ULM, MINNESOTA, WITH KIDS
Pick your own fresh berries
Raspberries and blueberries are ripe this month and what could be sweeter than picking your own alongside your kids? We shout out THE BERRY PATCH this month, or find more on our list of the BEST PLACES TO PICK YOUR OWN BERRIES IN THE TWIN CITIES.
Sunday is National Ice Cream Day!
What sweeter way to celebrate than with a cone or dish (extra toppings if possible)? We keep up to date a tasty list of the BEST ICE CREAM SHOPS IN THE TWIN CITIES, chock full of spots to get cones, dips, sundaes, malts, double-decker scoops, waffle cones and toppings galore. You need not limit yourself to one day of celebration this summer, of course.
More free or low cost things to do this weekend in the Twin Cities - with kids!
Live theater, music & movies in the park this weekend? Just add a picnic meal and a blanket or camp chairs and you’re all set for a FREE day or night out with the family. Here’s the lineup:
MINNEAPOLIS Kids Day with Children’s Theatre Company
North Loop Green, 350 N 5th St, Minneapolis, MN 55401
Open to kids ages 2-6, each Sunday session starts at 9:30am with Story Theater and follows with a Creative Movement at 10:15am. This weekend’s theme is “Winter In July”. No need to register, just drop in. July 20, 2025. FREE.
ST PAUL Mary Poppins at Como Park Pavilion
MINNEAPOLIS Music In the Park
Lake Harriet Band Shell Park, 4135 W Lake Harriet Pkwy, Minneapolis
Bring a picnic to the Band Shell at Lake Harriet (or grab a takeout dinner at Bread and Pickle) and let the kids have at the adjacent playground. Music includes concerts on Saturday, July 19 (7pm) and Sunday, July 20, shows at 2 & 5:30pm. FREE.
Find our complete calendar of kid and family-friendly summer concerts & entertainment in Twin Cities parks!
MINNEAPOLIS Institute of Art: Art Play!
2400 3rd Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55404
Free, drop-in art projects for all ages the first and third Saturday of the month. In July, the medium is stamps. Then take a scavenger hunt through the galleries – I’ve done this with tweens and teens and it’s lot of fun! July 19, 2025, 10am-2pm. FREE.
MINNEAPOLIS Garden Storytime at Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
1 Theodore Wirth Pkwy, Minneapolis, MN, 55405
Storytime and activities for kids are hosted at the visitor center. Print out and bring along this scavenger hunt! July 20, 2025, 10am. FREE.
ST PAUL First Chapter Storytime at Next Chapter Bookseller
38 Snelling Ave S, Saint Paul, MN 55105
A picture book read-aloud plus related activity just for kids. July 19, 2025, 10:45am. FREE.