Team Outing Minneapolis
Skip the conference room and walk the team across the Mississippi. Cross the Stone Arch Bridge with the city skyline behind you, pose at the Spoonbridge and Cherry, sample a Juicy Lucy in the Mill District and toast the team on Nicollet Mall. A Minneapolis offsite that gets squads talking and the camera roll filling up.
Stops on this hunt
The geo-tagged checkpoints that anchor this route. You can rearrange, replace or remove any stop after using the template.
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1
Boardroom: Stone Arch Bridge
Today's boardroom is outdoors. Navigate to the Stone Arch Bridge over the Mississippi by St. Anthony Falls and check in at the downtown end.
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2
Offsite: Nicollet Mall
Walk west into downtown and check in on the Nicollet Mall pedestrian street between 5th and 8th Streets.
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3
Offsite: Walker Sculpture Garden
Rideshare or walk west across the freeway to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden by the Walker Art Center. Check in at the Spoonbridge and Cherry.
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Offsite: Minnehaha Falls
Rideshare or bike south to Minnehaha Regional Park and check in at the overlook above the falls.
Challenges (20)
Minneapolis team kick-off
The team outing begins! Find a classic Minneapolis backdrop (the Mississippi, a brick mill ruin, a lake at the edge of the city) and take a squad photo with everyone in shot, jumping in the air at the same time.
Boardroom: Stone Arch Bridge
Today's boardroom is outdoors. Navigate to the Stone Arch Bridge over the Mississippi by St. Anthony Falls and check in at the downtown end.
Stone Arch squad walk
The Stone Arch Bridge curves across the Mississippi with the city skyline behind it. Walk halfway across and take a squad photo with the arches stretching away and the skyline filling the background.
Trivia: Stone Arch opened
James J. Hill built the Stone Arch Bridge for his Great Northern Railway across the Mississippi. In what year did it first open?
Answer: 1883
Trivia: Stone Arch spans
How many stone arch spans does the Stone Arch Bridge have (the steel-deck truss span does not count)?
Answers: 21 / twenty-one / twenty one
Mill ruins squad portrait
Just south of the bridge stand the brick shells of the Washburn A Mill, now the Mill City Museum. Find an open courtyard inside the ruins and take a squad photo with the brick walls and broken arches behind everyone.
Offsite: Nicollet Mall
Walk west into downtown and check in on the Nicollet Mall pedestrian street between 5th and 8th Streets.
Mary Tyler Moore hat toss
The bronze Mary Tyler Moore statue on Nicollet Mall captures her famous hat-throwing moment. Find the statue, line the squad up and take a photo where everyone throws an imaginary (or real) hat in the air.
Trivia: Prince's club
What is the name of the legendary Minneapolis nightclub that Prince played throughout his career and that features in Purple Rain (two words)?
Answers: First Avenue / first avenue
Skyway corridor shot
The Minneapolis Skyway is the longest continuous skyway system in the world. Find an entrance on Nicollet, head up to the second floor and take a squad photo inside a glass skyway with the street visible below.
Working lunch: Juicy Lucy
The juicy Lucy (a cheese-stuffed burger) was invented in Minneapolis. Order one each from Matt's Bar, the 5-8 Club or any local joint and take a squad photo with everyone catching the cheese pull on the first bite.
Offsite: Walker Sculpture Garden
Rideshare or walk west across the freeway to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden by the Walker Art Center. Check in at the Spoonbridge and Cherry.
Spoonbridge squad pose
The Spoonbridge and Cherry by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen is Minneapolis's most iconic sculpture. Take a squad photo with everyone posed as if eating from the spoon, the cherry centered behind the team.
Trivia: Spoonbridge year
The Spoonbridge and Cherry was installed in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden in what year?
Answer: 1988
Offsite: Minnehaha Falls
Rideshare or bike south to Minnehaha Regional Park and check in at the overlook above the falls.
Minnehaha Falls squad shot
Minnehaha Falls drops 53 feet through limestone in the middle of the city. Find the overlook closest to the falls and take a squad photo with the falls visibly in the background.
Lake reflection portrait
Minneapolis has more than a dozen lakes inside city limits. Find any lakeshore (Bde Maka Ska, Lake Harriet, Lake of the Isles) and take a squad photo with the lake mirroring the skyline or trees behind everyone.
[Customize!] Team values check-in
Each squad picks one value or commitment they want the team to take away from this outing, writes it on a napkin or notecard, and the squad lead reads it aloud. Take a photo with all the napkins held up in the centre. (Organisers: replace this with a specific team-values prompt if you have one.)
Local Minneapolitan tip
Convince a local Minneapolis resident to share a tip about the city. Take a photo with your impromptu guide and remember the tip.
Minneapolis team finale
Final challenge. Find a beautiful Minneapolis spot (the Stone Arch at sunset, a lake at golden hour, the Spoonbridge in low light) and take an amazing closing squad photo. Cheers from the City of Lakes, well done team!
Frequently asked questions
Half a working day. Four to five hours covers the Stone Arch Bridge and Mill District, Nicollet Mall, the Walker Sculpture Garden and Minnehaha Falls at a relaxed pace. The lakes and Falls are a rideshare south of downtown. Most teams walk the downtown portion and use rideshare or Nice Ride bikes for the south stretch.
Best for teams of 8 to 50, split into squads of 4 to 8 that race each other through the same route. Larger groups can run two waves an hour apart to keep the Stone Arch Bridge and Spoonbridge from feeling packed. For a 100-plus offsite, theme squads by lake or river and converge at a brewery in the North Loop at the end.
Yes. The Minneapolis Skyway is more than 11 miles of climate-controlled tunnels connecting downtown buildings, and a January offsite is much friendlier through them. In summer skip the skyway and walk Nicollet Mall outdoors, where the food trucks and First Avenue come alive.
Mill Ruins Park by the Stone Arch Bridge is the natural starting point: parking is straightforward, the Mill City Museum and Guthrie Theater are steps away, and the bridge gives you the skyline shot to open with. From there teams walk west into the Mill District and downtown.
Mostly yes. The Stone Arch Bridge is fully accessible, the Mill District has paved paths and elevators inside the Museum, Nicollet Mall is flat, and the Walker Sculpture Garden has wide accessible paths. The trail to the base of Minnehaha Falls is steep, so substitute the overlook for any teammate with mobility concerns.