Things to Do in Roseville

Radiating at a balmy 104 degrees with 35% humidity, Heat Yoga Studio is an ideal place to sweat out toxins or thaw TV dinners. The studio plays host to one-hour classes that begin with seated positions and flow into standing poses, backbends, and other asana that challenge students to find a balance between effort and ease. As instructors coach students through sequences, they emphasize pranayama, or breathing, in order to optimize circulation and focus. The classes are suitable for students of all levels.

MN Surf Co. is intent on converting Minnesota's richest natural resource—water—into pure adrenaline. The company has two locations in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, and both stock a wide variety of vessels and apparel to make days on the water exciting, stylish, and safe. First-timers can get their feet wet by renting a paddleboard, wake surfer, wakeboard, or kayak for up to seven days. MN Surf Co. also sells boards, plus wetsuits and tees suited for the beach.

Beyond supplying equipment, MN Surf Co. offers plenty of water-based instruction. Standup paddleboard lessons impart various techniques for mounting boards, paddling, and staying safe. Once students master the basics, instructors show them how to tone muscles with paddling workouts and test their knowledge of basic mathematical concepts by asking for a quick series of high-fives. With options for beginners and advanced water athletes, windsurfing lessons rely on a similar system of positive reinforcement as students learn to cut across the windswept surfaces of Lake Calhoun, Lake Minnetonka, and other Minnesota waterways.

When they aren't building students' self-esteem during group lessons, MN Surf Co.'s crew use the standup paddleboards for fishing expeditions and yoga classes to help fishermen work on their balance before being tugged around in circles by a disgruntled large-mouth bass.

The castle turrets of Lilli Putt Family Entertainment Center greet travelers from afar, inviting ladies and lords to wile away the day in a trifecta of leisure activities. Towering trees and domesticated dragons dot the landscape of a challenging mini-golf course. There, golfers can knock balls over ramps and around aquatic obstacles in all five seasons of the year. Guests can also celebrate the sun with a ride on one of Lilli Putt’s go-karts, which come in single- and double-seater models.

Cutting through the still surface, free from the churning wakes and roaring engines of speedboats and snowmobiles, a kiteboarder can lift off more than 40 feet in the air, spin over their shoulder, and land back safely on the water to finish the stunts. An offshoot of Lakawa, the region's leading advisory for kiteboarders and windsurfers, the Lakawa School of Kiteboarding teaches students to ride the water and snow themselves, powered only by the sky's giant oscillating fans. Using gear held to high standards of durability and performance, a team of PASA-certified instructors lead classes during both summer and winter, covering the basics of boarding on a lake even when it's frozen over. The Lakawa School offers a complete online store with all necessary adventure gear. Lessons are also offered in stand-up paddleboarding, a pastime that recreates the fun of being a Venetian gondolier without the stress of tying a tight red ascot.

Minnesota Helicopters’ Robinson R22 hovers like a hummingbird high above the St. Croix River, an ideal vantage point for scouting the surrounding bluffs for bald eagles. The craft then swoops toward St. Paul, darting past skyscrapers and the state Capitol. Tours such as this spotlight Minnesota’s natural and urban splendor from a singular perspective. In addition to the St. Croix River, pilots trace routes up the Mississippi and over Lake Minnetonka, and can even customize flight routes for passengers.

Those not content to cruise in the passenger seat can sign up for Minnesota Helicopters’ flight school and eventually chart their own courses for friends or stowaway ostriches.

Taste of Stillwater's annual festival, established in 2011, directs the spotlight toward the palate-popular offerings of local wineries, breweries, restaurants, and food trucks. Throughout the daylong celebration, empty tummies shuffle from station to station filling up on samples of refreshing beverages and foods, fueling bodies to explore the festival grounds' shopping opportunities and to tour Saint Croix Vineyards. Families stake their claim on the lawn area with blankets, foldable chairs, and giant bronze statues of their great-grandfathers before they feast their ears on live music. Taste of Stillwater dedicates a portion of its proceeds to charities including Valley Outreach, a community-based nonprofit organization that supports low-income people with donations of food, clothing, and other necessities.