Best place to stretch your legs: The Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway (612-230-6400, www.minneapolisparks.org), is a system of trails and roadways that loops more than 50 miles around the city. Walk, bike, or inline skate (a sport invented here) along the Chain of Lakes, a series of natural lakes—including Cedar, Brownie, Lake of the Isles, Harriet, and Calhoun—that dot the southwest side of the city. Lake Calhoun's beaches attract runners and swimmers; canoers prefer the more secluded Lake of the Isles.

Best place to putt: Minnesota's climate typically limits golf season (mid April through October), but the state still claims more golfers per capita than any other. With five courses inside the city limits and more than 170 in the metropolitan area, there's no shortage of places to play. Theodore Wirth Golf Course (763-522-4584, www.mplsgolf.org) is one of the oldest in the state. The front nine offer impressive views of the city skyline.

Best place to return to nature: Picnicking and hiking the trails in 193-acre Minnehaha Park (612-230-6400, www.minneapolisparks.org) is a low-key way to spend an afternoon. The 53-foot-high Minnehaha Falls pours over limestone bluffs, surrounded by thick forest. There's also a 1893 Chicago World's Fair statue of the fictional character Hiawatha and his love, Minnehaha, in honor of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 19th-century epic, "The Song of Hiawatha." The poem, loosely based on Native American history and legends, immortalized the beauty of the falls as well as the Minnesota forests.