Goin' To The Lake: WCCO Goes To Cold Spring (Day 1)
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- It's Thursday, and that means WCCO is gearing up for another installment of Goin' to the Lake. This week, WCCO-TV's Kylie Bearse, Kim Johnson and NewsRadio 830 WCCO's Chad Hartman are visiting Cold Spring.
They stopped at the Lakeview Bar and Grill at the Rich-Spring Golf Club, which is the only place on the Sauk River Chain of Lakes that you can boat up to and grab a bite to eat. It gets really busy around here in the summer and Thursdays are men's league night, so there are plenty of golfers around.
The Rich-Spring Golf Club is right between Cold Spring and Richmond, which is clearly reflected in the course's name. It is an 18-hole championship course that is open to the public. The course offers views of Great Northern Lake -- another lake in the Sauk River Chain that surrounds this area.
Cold Spring is really known for its industry. It is a city of about 4,000 people, and granite is their biggest business. The Cold Spring Granite Company was founded in 1920 and is now the largest building granite-producing plant in the world. Poultry is also big business here with a Golden Plump plant that has nearly 1,000 employees.
Welcome To Cold Spring
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When you think about Cold Spring, the Cold Spring Brewery may come to mind. It was founded back in 1874 and is still going strong today. They offer free tours, and all you have to do is call and schedule a time to visit.
Kim and Kylie found a cool new beverage being made there, which was started by a cancer survivor who was looking for a healthier option when it came to alcohol. She found it in the form of sake.
Leah Caplanis is the woman behind Social Enjoyments, a new kind of alcohol being brewed in Cold Spring, targeting people who are living a healthier lifestyle. The sake wine is made with organic brown rice, so it is gluten free and light on calories. But that is not the only thing that makes Social Enjoyments stand out. They give one percent of their profits each quarter to a different charity.
Kim And Kylie Enjoy 'Social Enjoyments'
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The Sauk River Chain of Lakes – or the Horseshoe Chain as locals call it -- sprouts out from the river that runs right through Cold Spring. You will find a fishing pier and a park for picnics right along the river right off Highway 23 in Cold Spring.
The Sauk River is 122 miles long and actually starts at Lake Osakis up near Alexandria. The river also flows through Richmond, where you will find most of chain's lakes. It is made up of 15 different lakes that are all connected via channels.
There are three public boat ramps that folks can use, two of which are in Richmond and one in Cold Spring. The chain is perfect for all kinds of water activities, from swimming to fishing and -- of course -- boating.
The Sauk River -- Or Horseshoe -- Chain Of Lakes
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Kim spent many summers on this chain of lakes as a kid, so she was eager to show off the place to newbie Kylie. As they drove up from the cities, they had to make a little detour to check out a cool place in Eden Valley that is fun for kids and kids at heart -- the A Maze'n Farmyard.
Kim and Kylie Visit The A Maze'n Farmyard
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A draft horse show was going on Thursday night at Centennial Park in Richmond.
The show was free and was put on by the Northern Minnesota Draft Horse Association.
Kim and Kylie saw three horses pulling a Huntsman plow and even a couple of Shires pulling a two-way plow.
The shows are done to help educate people about draft horses and what they do.
Kim and Kylie Go To The Richmond Horse Show
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The folks at Channel Marine and Sports took Kim and Kylie out on a pontoon boat Thursday afternoon.
Kim and Kylie Enjoy A Ride On A Pontoon Boat
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Kylie and Kim have really stocked their road trip playlist up for the drive. Rock, pop, dance, country, hip-hop, soundtracks, soul, new wave, folk ... there isn't really a genre the two of them left untouched.
Check out all their selections below:
Goin' To The Lake: Kylie & Kim's Road Trip Playlist
[spotify id="spotify:user:ephender:playlist:0Yph5mGeR2gKQKMOdXP6R8"/]
View photos from Kim, Kylie and Chad's visit to Cold Spring here.
Stay with WCCO.COM as we bring you more of their trip to Cold Spring.
Cold Spring Links
City of Cold Spring
City of Richmond
Rich-Spring Golf Club
Cold Spring Brewery
A Maze'n Farmyard
Channel Marine and Sports
Eddie's on Grand Bar & Grill
