Weekend Getaway (Mankato, MN)

Who’s ready for an enjoyable getaway?! Some friends and I planned a weekend getaway this past October to celebrate one of our birthdays. We visited Mankato, MN, and found so many fun things to do in this town. Come along as I share all the things we checked out in Mankato!

Body Concepts Mankato

On Saturday morning my friends and I spent a few hours (four to be exact!) at Body Concepts enjoying massages, sauna pods, the salt room, and a foot detox to name a few. Some of these things were done on our own, while others were done as a group. Here are the experiences I had and really enjoyed:

1. Infrared Dry Heat Sauna Pod: The Infrared Dry Heat Sauna Pod is the world’s most versatile multi-purpose spa machine that includes a dry heat air sauna, adjustable massage vibrations, aromatherapy, a contour bed, soothing back heat, ionized face air, and a sound system. A session has many benefits that can help to rejuvenate and relax you, reduce stress, increase blood circulation, detoxify and cleanse your body, reduce cellulite, relieve pain, improve your sleep, and generally pamper you back to vibrant health. Whew that’s a lot! This experience was done in my own room offering privacy and quiet.
2. Salt Room Therapy: The Himalayan Salt Room naturally rebalances the ions in your body. Our bodies are constantly bombarded with positive ions from our environment, but a session of Halotherapy can help counteract these effects and restore your natural ion balance. A short treatment in the salt room will be sure to enhance your emotional health and decrease stress. Body Concepts’ salt room in Mankato is the only salt room therapy location in Southern Minnesota. This can be experienced on your own or in a group of up to five – I experienced this with one other friend, and it was so relaxing!
3. AmaMedic Helix 4D Massage Chairs: A contact free head to toe massage experience that reduces stress, soothes tight muscles, and treats you with some pampering! I did the massage chair on my own, but it can be experienced with a group of three.
4. Detoxing Foot Soak: Draw the toxins and impurities out of your body through ionization. This foot soak helps with detoxification, relieves pain and tension, improves sleep, balances ph levels, rejuvenates and energizes, and can assist in weight loss. I experienced this with my friends as a group and we found the foot soak to be the most interesting as the water changes color and shows the exact toxins that are pulled from the body. Super interesting!

Some of my friends enjoyed massage therapy (while I chose the massage chair) and they couldn’t say enough good things about the massages they received!

I’ll admit that I wasn’t quite sure what to expect prior to visiting Body Concepts as I’ve never experienced a massage day, but it was amazing! My friends and I really enjoyed our time at Body Concepts!

Minneopa State Park

After our relaxing morning of massages and foot soaks my friends and I visited Minneopa State Park to take a nice hike amongst the beautiful fall leaves and also to check out the bison on the Bison Drive. There was a fee of $7 per vehicle to visit the park, which was really reasonable considering we had two cars filled with people.

The word Minneopa is derived from the Dakota language and is interpreted to mean “water falling twice,” referring to the beautiful waterfalls of Minneopa Creek. Unfortunately the waterfalls had no water in them during our visit, but we still enjoyed the beauty that autumn brought to the park. We hiked through the oak savanna and native prairie grasslands that overlooked the scenic Minnesota River Valley. The leaves were absolutely beautiful!

After our hike we went on the Bison Drive. The bison herd at Minneopa State Park is part of the Minnesota Bison Conservation Herd, which is managed to protect wild bison and preserve their genetic diversity. Based on the quality and quantity of grass that grows in the approximately 325-acre bison range, this park can sustain a herd of between 30 and 40 animals.

We drove our own vehicles through the range, but the bison were pretty far away so we were only able to see them from a distance. All visitors must stay in their vehicles and cannot get on out on the Bison Drive. There is also pre-recorded interpretive information that can be listened to over your vehicle radios. It was really neat to check out!

Nolabelle Kitchen & Bar

On Saturday night the group went to Nolabelle Kitchen & Bar for dinner and to celebrate our friend’s birthday. Nolabelle Kitchen & Bar delivers traditional American cuisine with a rustic twist using local ingredients from partners throughout the Midwest and Plains States including Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Oh friends, this place was so good! The service was great, and they were very attentive to our large group.

We started out with some appetizers including Truffle Chips (truffle zest, parmesan, cracked pepper, and roasted garlic aioli dipping sauce), Roasted Brussels Sprouts (bacon steak, parmesan, balsamic drizzle, and roasted garlic aioli), Goat Cheese Balls (pretzel-battered and served with roasted garlic marinara), and Charcuterie (grilled sausage, candied bacon, giardiniera, house-made peach preserves, brie fondue, and ciabatta toast). Everything was amazing!

For dinner I ordered the Steak & Frites (8 oz. hanger steak, roasted wild mushrooms, compound butter, and parmesan fries), which was one of the server’s many recommendations. It was like butter – so tender and full of flavor! I loved every bite!

We all enjoyed our meals and left very full! I recommend Nolabelle Kitchen & Bar for your next visit to Mankato!

Throughout the weekend we visited and shopped at numerous boutiques in Mankato. Here are a few of the boutiques we visited:

1. Salvage Sisters Mercantile: Salvage Sisters Mercantile offers painted, re-styled or refurbished home and garden decor at affordable prices. Using modern and traditional color pairings, their one-of-a-kind pieces are classic, yet playful. Salvage Sisters Mercantile thoughtfully choose quality furniture and accessories that allow you to create a home like no other. They also sell gift items and work with local artists and craftspeople!
2. Hazelkin & Co.: Hazelkin is a combination of two words: Hazel (the color) and Kin (meaning family). It was created to elicit a feeling of warmth, of coming home to family and friends and sharing a meal, experience, or day together. A gift and lifestyle boutique, Hazelkin & Co. hopes people will find and create deeper connections to those they care about. They want people to feel like they’re “exactly where you are supposed to be”: loved, welcomed, belonging, and valued. Hazelkin & Co. specializes in “the perfect gift” – from one of a kind curated shopping to custom corporate gifts.
3. Wild Sparrow Co.: Wild Sparrow Co. was one of my favorites! It had a little bit of everything, including a hat bar! You can design your own hat with ribbons, trim, buttons, hat bands, and much more – they have all the things you need. Super cool! I also found a sweatshirt that I loved with, “Midwest” on the front – of course I HAD to buy it!
4. Whimsy and Weathered A Jes Tano Design Co.: Whimsy and Weathered is owned and designed by Jes Ward and Denise David who are a mother and daughter combo with a love for design and pretty things. Whimsy and Weathered is a beautiful store set in a vintage building complete with the original brick and restored glass storefront featuring adorable black and white striped awnings. They work with a handful of local vendors, so you will find anything from the perfect re-purposed sideboard to a custom farmhouse table, and even those greens you need to complete your look. The store changes with each sale so make sure to follow them on Facebook for updates.

We also did some boutique shopping in St. Peter, which is another fun town a few miles away from Mankato. We visited Generations Boutique and Her Happy Place, which are woman’s clothing stores that have beautiful items! We also visited specialty stores like Cooks & Company Gourmet (all things cooking and baking) and a neat Scandinavian store called Swedish Kontur, Imports, Inc. (more to come on this store in a future blog post). It’s so much fun to shop and support local small businesses!

I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed my time in Mankato! My friends and I had a weekend full of laughs and really enjoyed all that Mankato has to offer!