Outside in MN

No experience required. From Minnesota Public Radio and MPR News, Outside in MN provides timely weather updates, events and how-to guides to prepare you for your next outdoor adventure. Download the app and get outside!

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Taking in ‘little treats’ on a Minnesota winter birding trip
Birding is perhaps the least expensive and most accessible outdoor activity in the winter. An avid birder makes the case.
Orion: Ruler of Minnesota's winter skies
The most prominent winter constellation in the southern sky is clearly visible on cold crisp winter nights.
In Duluth, skiers (and bikers, hikers, climbers and others) step up to build trails
Duluth has developed a reputation as an outdoor recreation mecca — especially after Outside Magazine dubbed it America's best town in 2014. But the trails that reputation is built on would not be possible without passionate volunteers, who have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to build them.
Forest bathers: A slow hike can help your health
Advocates have brought the Japanese practice of “forest bathing” to Minnesota. They say attention-filled walks may improve physical and mental health.
A Beautiful World: Roadless wilderness under attack
For two decades the roadless rule has protected millions of acres of pristine national forests from road construction, mining, and logging. The policy is now threatened by new proposed laws.
Minnesota asked me to gather deer spleens for science. It wasn’t easy
When the DNR asked hunters this season to send in deer spleens to be tested for neonicotinoid pesticides, MPR’s Bemidji correspondent, an avid hunter, volunteered. But it turns out ID’ing a deer spleen in the woods isn’t so simple — even in the YouTube era.
Despite the in-between season, outdoor activities abound in Minnesota
Summer’s long gone and winter’s not here yet, even though it feels like it in Minnesota. Despite the lack of warmth and the wait for a full blanket of snow, outdoors experts say there’s plenty to do outside.
How to fend off the wintertime blues and stay active outside
There are plenty of good ways to avoid the cold weather blues and stay healthy. One of the best ways to keep riding the high of the summer is by continuing to go outside and stay active as you’re able.