Excelsior Park: Minnesota's Beloved Lakeside Amusement Park

On the shores of Lake Minnetonka, about 20 miles west of Minneapolis, Minnesota had its own version of a perfect summer day: Excelsior Park.

The Park

Excelsior Amusement Park operated on the shores of Lake Minnetonka from 1925 to 1973 — nearly five decades of roller coasters, midway games, and summer memories for generations of Twin Cities families. The park's lakeside setting made it genuinely special: you could ride the coasters with the glittering expanse of Lake Minnetonka visible in every direction, and the whole experience felt like a genuine escape from the city.

The park's signature ride was the Cyclone, a wooden roller coaster that became one of the most beloved in the Midwest. For Minnesota kids, riding the Cyclone was a rite of passage — the kind of experience that gets retold at family gatherings for decades.

The Setting

Lake Minnetonka itself was part of the appeal. The lake had been a summer destination for Twin Cities residents since the late 19th century, when steamboats carried visitors from Minneapolis to the resort communities along its shores. Excelsior Park was the natural heir to that tradition — a place where the city came to play, to breathe, and to remember that Minnesota summers, however brief, were worth celebrating.

The Closure

Excelsior Park closed in 1973, a victim of the same forces that ended so many regional amusement parks: rising costs, changing tastes, and the competition from larger destination parks. The site was eventually redeveloped. The Cyclone was gone. But the memories of summer afternoons on Lake Minnetonka never quite faded.

The Excelsior Park Minnesota Retro T-shirt and Baseball Tee are for everyone who remembers. Find them in the Twin Cities collection.