Minneapolis Segway Magical History tour review
This is probably going to offend some Prince fans but I think this was the best part of my Minneapolis trip. Although I’m typically against doing blatantly “touristy stuff,” I’ve wanted to do a Segway tour for years. But, for one reason or another I haven’t been able to do so until now. I have to give credit to my sister though, she came up with the idea, and I found the company and booked the tour. Enter humanonastick.com and their Magical History Tour.
We were late for our 2:30pm tour because of the gift shop situation at Paisley Park, but the staff was extremely gracious and accommodating. We signed in, picked out a helmet, watched a short safety video, then went outside to practice one on one with one of the employees. Within a few minutes, she was satisfied we had the basics down and allowed us to join the rest of our tour group, who were going over even more safety training nearby. If you’re afraid you won’t get the hang of it, I can assure you with this particular tour you’ll have plenty of time and opportunities to practice. And for those who are wondering, the weight limit is 280 lbs. and the cost was $90+ tax. All the guides are certified in Segway use, and the company is fully insured so we didn’t have to leave a security deposit.
The tour takes place along the riverfront and lasts about three hours. During that time you’ll cover five to seven miles of terrain. In my opinion it was plenty of time to eventually get comfortable with the device and have a little fun. At the end of the tour there were more than a few adults making vroom vroom noises as they rode like the wind on these two-wheeled wonders.
The tour started with the origins of the Pillsbury company and the “flour wars” (Pillsbury versus Gold Medal).
Then we traveled over to the Stone Arch Bridge to learn about Saint Anthony’s Falls, lock, and dam.
As a side note, the Stone Arch Bridge parallels the I-35 bridge. Some of you may remember, the I-35 bridge is the bridge that collapsed during rush hour on August 1, 2007. They even made a movie out of the events. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture, but I assure you it’s been rebuilt and is better than ever.
Next, we made a stop at Mill Ruins park, where we listened to more history and took a few pictures (which are taken by the guides throughout the tour and posted on their website). We also watched someone almost bust his face doing exactly what we’d been warned several times not to do. It may have been karma paying him back for him and his party talking through the entire history lesson (rude).
Next, we stopped at the Mill City Museum for a break. We had our choice of soft drinks or water, and fresh-baked cookies from the museum cafe. The tour price includes the refreshments and a pass to the museum. Had we not had other plans, I would’ve loved to visit it.
We continued up the bank of the river through the mill district as our guide pointed out items of interest like the Guthrie Theater, US Bank stadium, and the main post office.
We crossed the river and learned more about Boom and Nicollet Islands, the De La Salle High School, and the Hennepin Avenue bridge .
The thing I loved about Minneapolis is they have so many parks and green spaces. And, lucky for us, it was unseasonably warm, so it was a pleasant ride up and down the river. I’m not a big history buff, however, this tour held my attention the entire time. I’m ashamed to admit I don’t remember the names of all of our tour guides, but I think the head guide was named Mike. They all did an awesome job and I’d recommend this to anyone if you’re in the area.
At the end of the tour, we received our free ticket to the Mill City Museum, along with a few other goodies, and an official license signed by the ‘owner’ of the company, Eileen Forward. 🙂
