Sports, recreation and tourism

Minnesota has a very active program of organized amateur and professional sports. Tourism has become an important industry, especially in the Lake region. In the North Country, what had been an industrial area focused on mining and timber has largely been transformed into a vacation destination. Popular interest in the environment and environmentalism, added to traditional interests in hunting and fishing, has attracted a large urban audience within driving range.^[140]

Organized sports

Main article: Sports in Minnesota

The University of North Dakota and St. Cloud State University during the WCHA Final Five at the Xcel Energy Center.

Minnesota has professional men's teams in all major sports. Minnesota Vikings play in the National Football League since 1961. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome hosted the team from 1982 to 2013 season; it has been torn down and U.S. Bank Stadium now stands in its place.
The Minnesota Twins play in the Major League Baseball since 1961, having won the 1987 and 1991 World Series. The team plays at Target Field since 2010. The Minneapolis Lakers of the National Basketball Association played in the Minneapolis Auditorium from 1947 to 1960, after which they relocated to Los Angeles. The Minnesota Timberwolves joined the NBA in 1989, and play in the Target Center since 1990.
The National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild play in St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center and reached 300 consecutive sold-out games on January 16, 2008.^[141] Previously, the Minnesota North Stars competed in NHL from 1967 to 1993, which played the 1981 and 1991 Stanley Cup Finals.
Minnesota also has minor-league professional sports. NASL Minnesota United FC replaced the Minnesota Thunder in 2010 and plays at the National Sports Center in Blaine. They will eventually join Major League Soccer in 2017 or 2018.^[142] The Minnesota Swarm play at the Xcel Energy Center and play in the NLL (National Lacrosse League). Minor league baseball is represented both by major league-sponsored teams and independent teams such as the St. Paul Saints, who play at CHS Field in St. Paul.
Professional women's sports include the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association, winners of the 2011, 2013, and 2015 WNBA Championships, the Minnesota Lightning of the United Soccer Leagues W-League, the Minnesota Vixen of the Independent Women's Football League, the Minnesota Valkyrie of the Legends Football League, and the Minnesota Whitecaps of the National Women's Hockey League.
The Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I school competing in the Big Ten Conference. Four additional schools in the state compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey: the University of Minnesota Duluth; Minnesota State University, Mankato; St. Cloud State University and Bemidji State University. There are nine NCAA Division II colleges in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, and nineteen NCAA Division III colleges in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.^[143][144]
The Hazeltine National Golf Club has hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, U.S. Senior Open and PGA Championship. The course will also host the Ryder Cup in the fall of 2016, when it will become one of two courses in the U.S. to host all major golf competitions.^[145]
Interlachen Country Club has hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open, and Solheim Cup.
Winter Olympic Games medallists from the state include twelve of the twenty members of the gold medal 1980 ice hockey team (coached by Minnesota native Herb Brooks) and the bronze medallist U.S. men's curling team in the 2006 Winter Olympics. Swimmer Tom Malchow won an Olympic gold medal in the 2000 Summer games and a silver medal in 1996.
Grandma's Marathon is run every summer along the scenic North Shore of Lake Superior, and the Twin Cities Marathon winds around lakes and the Mississippi River during the peak of the fall color season. Farther north, Eveleth is the location of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Outdoor recreation

Fishing in Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis

The common loon's distinctive cry is heard during the summer months on lakes throughout the state.^[146]

Minnesotans participate in high levels of physical activity,^[147] and many of these activities are outdoors. The strong interest of Minnesotans in environmentalism has been attributed to the popularity of these pursuits.^[148]
In the warmer months, these activities often involve water. Weekend and longer trips to family cabins on Minnesota's numerous lakes are a way of life for many residents. Activities include water sports such as water skiing, which originated in the state,^[149] boating, canoeing, and fishing. More than 36 percent of Minnesotans fish, second only to Alaska.^[150]
Fishing does not cease when the lakes freeze; ice fishing has been around since the arrival of early Scandinavian immigrants.^[151] Minnesotans have learned to embrace their long, harsh winters in ice sports such as skating, hockey, curling, and broomball, and snow sports such as cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling.^[152] Minnesota is the only U.S. state where bandy is played.^[153]
State and national forests and the seventy-two state parks are used year-round for hunting, camping, and hiking. There are almost 20,000 miles (32,000 km) of snowmobile trails statewide.^[154] Minnesota has more miles of bike trails than any other state,^[155] and a growing network of hiking trails, including the 235-mile (378 km) Superior Hiking Trail in the northeast.^[156] Many hiking and bike trails are used for cross-country skiing during the winter.