Albert Lea, MN Outdoor Activities

Cross Country Soaring owner Don Ingraham brings more than 4,000 airborne hours of experience to his sailplanes' controls, maneuvering the engineless crafts through the air with bird-like agility. Tow planes loft each passenger flight airborne, sending planes thousands of feet up into the sky before leaving pilots and their guests gliding through the atmosphere without the noisy distraction of a typical flight. Each flight is different—sailplanes may gain altitude in thermal updrafts before bottoming out stomachs with daring dives. Picnic tables and couches cluster around the hangar, giving friends and family a comfortable place to watch soaring flights. Students eager to earn their own glider rating and fly solo can take advantage of Cross Country Soaring's experienced instructors, learning the ropes under the hawk-like eyes of seasoned pros.

The sails of the 31-foot sloop Messenger wave in the wind during Sail Pepin’s outings. The staff and crew man the vessel for fun family outings, romantic cruises, sailing lessons, and team-building programs. At their location in the historic Breakwater Building on Lake Pepin’s waterfront, they also entertain guests with a wine bar, coffee shop, and live music.

The Summit Golf Club's Championship Course sprawls with meticulously manicured fairways, tees, and greens composed of hearty bentgrass. Seasoned swingers and wobbly woods-wielders alike will find the course comfortably competitive as it rolls across elevation changes of up to 110 feet. This rise and fall also makes for exhilarating golf-cart rides between holes as you and your party rush through fully grown tree lines and evade booby traps set by herds of feral groundskeepers. Multiple layers of limestone throughout the course ensure that no dancing gopher puppets distract you from scoring a birdie, eagle, or albatross.

Drive A Tank teaches civilians how to handle tanks by placing them at the controls of an FV433 Abbot tank. Comprehensive tank experiences include lessons on the history of its use, from World War I up to its present function as the vehicle of choice for the most aggressive holiday shoppers. During certain packages, tanksters complete their militaristic forays by test firing WWII-era weaponry or crushing cars beneath behemoth treads.

Lakeside breezes drift through dense tree lines and across the serpentine fairways of Silver Lake Golf Course’s 18-hole, 6,238-yard layout. Hemmed by mature arbors, the course’s narrow, unforgiving fairways prevent players from aggressively attacking its relatively short holes, encouraging golfers to doff their drivers or modified T-shirt cannons in favor of shorter clubs. Cresting hills give way to scenic views peppered throughout the course, where clubbers can pause to breathe in the fragrant scent of dew-covered grasses or look out onto the rippling waters of Silver Lake, which hugs the sides of multiple fairways. After an afternoon of tireless pin hunting, linksfolk can retire to the outdoor patio or indoor fireside seating of The Veranda Cafe to enjoy an icy beverage and scintillating games of spin-the-divot-tool.:m]]

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 70–72 course
• Length of 6,238 yards from farthest tees
• Course rating of 69.6 from farthest tees
• Slope rating of 116 from farthest tees
• Three tee options available
• Download scorecard here

The Summit Golf Club’s 18-hole course takes dimpled orbs somersaulting over a topsy-turvy landscape that spans 7,022 yards of challenging, undulating terrain. Hemmed by mature trees, the course rises and falls across elevation changes up to 110 feet, which demand deft club selection, confident swings, and golf carts not prone to motion sickness. Cresting hills give way to scenic vistas peppered throughout the course, where clubbers can pause to overlook the bentgrass tee boxes, fairways, and greens as they wind past rippling streams and hedge against arboreal walls. The club also encompasses a nine-hole, par 3 course, ideal for novices or golfers in the midst of punishing bedtime-flouting drivers.

Championship Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Length of 7,022 yards from farthest tees
• Course rating of 74.6 from farthest tees
• Slope rating of 138 from farthest tees
• Four tee options available