Rochester (Minnesota)

Rochester, Minnesota, about 80 miles (130 km) southeast of Minneapolis/St. Paul, is home to the Mayo Clinic. Rochester is cold in the winter and warm, and many times hot, in the summer. It has a population of 107,890 in the city limits, with more in the surrounding areas, but hosts millions of out-of-town visitors coming for treatment at the Mayo Clinic. Owing to the large number of visitors, Rochester has a well developed infrastructure and is much busier than other cities of its size.

By plane

 * There are several car-rental companies located at the airport. Taxis are relatively expensive, approximately $25 between downtown Rochester and the airport. Shuttle service is available, timed to meet each arrival; one-way fare to downtown hotels is approximately $11.50. Some hotels also provide shuttle service.
 * There are several car-rental companies located at the airport. Taxis are relatively expensive, approximately $25 between downtown Rochester and the airport. Shuttle service is available, timed to meet each arrival; one-way fare to downtown hotels is approximately $11.50. Some hotels also provide shuttle service.

When flying to Rochester, it is worth checking flights into both airports.

By car
The closest interstate to Rochester is I-90 running east and west across Minnesota. There are two exits from I-90 that will take you north into Rochester, US Highway 63 (when coming from the west) and US Highway 52 (Exit 218) (when coming from the east).

US Highway 14 runs east and west through Rochester, connecting Rochester with Winona and Owatonna. Highway 14 east is a 4-lane freeway in Rochester (with the exception of a partial cloverleaf.)

US Highway 63 runs north and south through Rochester and is the main north-south thoroughfare through downtown Rochester, and connects Rochester with Lake City and south to Waterloo and connect you up with the Avenue of the Saints. It is a 4-lane expressway between I-90 and US 52, with a freeway portion in the last couple of miles towards Highway 52.

US Highway 52 also runs north and south through Rochester and is the main pipeline connecting Rochester with the Twin Cities and running south to the southeast corner of Minnesota and into Iowa. It is a 6-lane freeway.

By train
There is no train service into Rochester. The closest station is 45 minutes drive away in Winona. Ground transportation between Rochester and Winona is available from GoCarefree Shuttle . However, GoCarefree Shuttle does not wait in Winona for passengers disembarking at the Winona Amtrak station seeking transit to Rochester.

By bus
Jefferson Lines offers service to many cities, plus connects to Greyhound in Minneapolis. Jefferson Lines buses stop at the located at 205 6th St SW. If part of your trip involves travel on Greyhound, you can purchase your ticket on Greyhound's website, which will cover travel on both carriers.

Get around
If you are only going to the Clinic, you may not need a car as most hotels provide (free) shuttle service to the Clinic. However, most visitors will want or need a car to get around.

The central part of the city is arranged on a more-or-less standard grid. Streets run east-west and avenues run north-south. This divides the city into four quadrants, NW, NE, SE, SW. There are some named streets you might encounter.
 * The dividing line between east and west is Broadway (up to about 25th St north when things get weird).
 * The dividing line between north and south is Center St.
 * Civic Center Drive runs east-west from Hwy 52 to downtown approximately at 5th St. NW.
 * West Circle Dr. (also called CR 22) runs north-south at the west edge of town.
 * There is also an East Circle Dr, but there are fewer businesses there. In case you're wondering, the two circle drives do not meet, yet they are both CR 22. They are both 4-lane expressways.

Most of the newer residential development has abandoned the numbered grid system and gone to named curved streets. If you need to find these, there are free maps available in most hotels and the local phone book.

By car
In most areas of Rochester, parking is not an issue, with plenty of surface parking. The only exceptions are downtown and near the clinic. It is possible to find street parking downtown, although difficult in the inner downtown. The time limit on parking meters is enforced even for cars with handicap parking placards. The city-owned parking lots are free nights and weekends, with the first hour free during weekdays. However, the privately-owned lots do not offer this, so look for the "free evening parking" signs if you want to take advantage of this. The signage downtown is pretty much non-existent, so you're own your own to find the lots. If you are going to the clinic, there are Mayo-owned lots near the primary patient-care buildings; Mayo provides a map showing them. Rates are $2 for the first hour, $1 per hour thereafter. You can purchase 5 or 10 day passes which allow in-and-out in the same day. They also do not need to be used on consecutive days. The Mayo lots sometimes fill during the morning hours, but turnover is very quick and you are unlikely to wait more than 10 min.

By bus
There is a public bus system, but it is likely not to be useful to the visitor. There is no bus service on Sundays or holidays, and during the rest of the week, they will stop running fairly early: generally the last routes end at 9PM. The main goal of the bus system is to serve the downtown area. Also, the bus system revolves around the Mayo Clinic schedule, so if the Clinic were to close early (Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve), the buses will also stop running early as well. The buses run generally on an hourly basis with half hour service during the rush hours. The bus system utilizes a wagon-wheel-spoke type of grid, with routes all ending up in the downtown area to make transfers. You can request a transfer pass from one bus to the next if you are getting on a bus to get to another part of the city. On Tuesdays, there is a Shopper's bus that will get you to some of the different shopping areas in Rochester. There is a bus terminal downtown, with electric signs telling when the bus route is scheduled, and whether it is on time or delayed (like an airport).

By foot
Downtown Rochester has a network of enclosed walkways: above-ground "skyways" and underground "subways", which are kept at a comfortable temperature all winter long. These walkways are connected to the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Civic Center as well as several hotels, shopping, restaurants, parking, and so on. They aren't just bare hallways, either – inside the subway there are a variety of attractive features, restaurants, and shops, and the skyway allows views of the city from above.

Parks
Rochester has more than 30 parks and 9 golf courses.

Movies
All three movie theaters are relatively new and offer stadium seating.



Buy

 * , located southwest of downtown, is the main (indoor) mall. Major department stores are Macy's and J.C. Penney.  Also contains about 60 other smaller stores.  However, there are not any stores here that you wouldn't see at any other mall.
 * For most of the unique and interesting stores, the downtown is your place to go.  (which used to be called the Galleria Mall) is home to most of them, two blocks east of the Clinic.  It is rather small, only about two dozen stores, but well worth the visit if you want something different.  The subway level (between US Bank and Gonda Building) also contains several unique stores, well work a walk down there if you're downtown.  There are also some nearby at street level between The Shops at University Square and the clinic.
 * Other small malls with some unique stores can be found in, located just northeast of the intersection of Hwy 52 and 2nd St S. (just west of Hwy 52) is starting to turn into a small but interesting shopping area. , located at 12th Street and South Broadway, rounds out the small malls.
 * There are four major strip malls in town. (at 55th St NW and Hwy 52) has Wal-mart, Sam's club, Dollar Tree, Petco.  (at 41st St and Hwy 52) has SuperTarget, PetSmart, Staples, and Home Depot, with Best Buy and Hobby Lobby on the east side of Highway 52.  between 23rd street and 30th street has Wal-mart, Kohl's, Shop-Ko, Menards, Bed Bath and Beyond, and others.  The newest is  (at Hwy 63 and 48th St S) is home to SuperTarget, Lowe's, Dick's Sporting Goods, PetSmart, Best Buy, numerous smaller tenets, and an enormous Fleet Farm.
 * The best place to buy Rochester souvenirs would be Eagle Drug in downtown Rochester as well as at the gift store in the Kahler hotel.

Budget
The majority of budget dining options are fast-food chain restaurants. A variety of chains exist. Downtown on the second floor of the University Shops are several other budget restaurants, many open only for lunch.



Mid-range
While mid-range dining is not dominated by chains, there are a number of popular chains in town as well.



Sleep
Owing to the large number of visitors to the Mayo clinic, and their unique needs, there is a wide range of sleeping arrangements to fit almost any budget or need, from low-end to high-end, from short-term to long-term, from standard hotel rooms, to rooms with kitchenettes, to fully furnished apartments. While there are some hotels spread-out throughout the city, most of the hotels are grouped downtown (by the clinic), along SW second street (by Saint Mary's), and along South Broadway (where most of the cheaper, non-chain ones are located). Rochester has about 5,400 hotel rooms in the city, which is more than most cities that are twice Rochester's size.

Below are only a sample of the available hotels. Most of the cheaper, non-chain hotels are not listed.

Mayo Clinic area
The following downtown hotels are connected to the clinic, and to the rest of downtown, via the network of above-ground enclosed skyways and below-group passages (called subways). This is very useful in the winter!



Connect
Many many places offer free internet access


 * Caribou Coffee. All five locations offer free Wi-Fi.
 * Dunns Brothers. Both locations offer free Wi-Fi and free computer use.
 * Panera Bakery. Both locations offer free Wi-Fi.
 * Panera Bakery. Both locations offer free Wi-Fi.

Cope

 * The Post Bulletin's listing, local newspaper's list of upcoming events. The best source for looking for things to do.

Go next

 * Twin Cities (Minneapolis/Saint Paul) – about a 90-min drive north on Hwy 52, the Twin Cities area offers all activities of a big city without being overwhelming. Including, of course, the Mall of America.
 * Winona, Lake City, Red Wing, Wabasha – cute cities on the Mississippi River. Wabasha includes the National Eagle Center.
 * Austin – about 45-min drive from Rochester, the home of Hormel and the Spam Museum. For an experience you can't get anywhere else, give this one a try.
 * Lanesboro – historic village in a beautiful valley. Old-town main street with unique shops and restaurants. Many outdoor activities along the Root River. Near a fish hatchery where you can feed hundreds of fish with one toss.
 * Kasson – It is a small hometown place with a population of about 6,000 to 6,500. It is a nice place to eat, and it has an Aquatic Center with two slides, a rock climbing wall, and two diving boards if you visit in the summer. It is located about 15 to 20 minutes away from Rochester.
 * Lanesboro – historic village in a beautiful valley. Old-town main street with unique shops and restaurants. Many outdoor activities along the Root River. Near a fish hatchery where you can feed hundreds of fish with one toss.
 * Kasson – It is a small hometown place with a population of about 6,000 to 6,500. It is a nice place to eat, and it has an Aquatic Center with two slides, a rock climbing wall, and two diving boards if you visit in the summer. It is located about 15 to 20 minutes away from Rochester.
 * Lanesboro – historic village in a beautiful valley. Old-town main street with unique shops and restaurants. Many outdoor activities along the Root River. Near a fish hatchery where you can feed hundreds of fish with one toss.
 * Kasson – It is a small hometown place with a population of about 6,000 to 6,500. It is a nice place to eat, and it has an Aquatic Center with two slides, a rock climbing wall, and two diving boards if you visit in the summer. It is located about 15 to 20 minutes away from Rochester.
 * Kasson – It is a small hometown place with a population of about 6,000 to 6,500. It is a nice place to eat, and it has an Aquatic Center with two slides, a rock climbing wall, and two diving boards if you visit in the summer. It is located about 15 to 20 minutes away from Rochester.