Well, as a born and bred Minnesotan I’m sure you’re not surprised to see this post! Minnesota is a state in the US, located in the Midwest. It gets a true winter (you wouldn’t expect anything else up north, would you?!)—unbelievably cold temperatures, heaps and heaps of snow, everything.

But visiting this frozen tundra in winter is also a very special experience—one that I think you’ll be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. Here are 6 reasons why you should get out your warmest winter jacket and boots, and visit Minnesota in winter!

1) White Christmas (real snow)

If you’re looking for somewhere to experience a White Christmas, Minnesota is a pretty good bet. With so much snowfall, your chances of having a White Christmas aren’t guaranteed, but they’re extremely likely. In Minnesota, we get real snow. White stuff that actually sticks to the ground (and doesn’t melt on impact), and stays around for months. (At the time of writing, Minnesota just had about 2 feet of snow on April 15th, so it DOES stick around.) If you want that ideal memory of a White Christmas, Minnesota is a pretty good bet.

2) Outdoor Winter Activities

Minnesota is fabulous for visiting in summer, as there’s so many active things you can enjoy outside (like canoeing, kayaking, biking, running, etc.). But in winter, the state will give you all the winter activities as well! Whether you want to go ice skating, skiing, sledding, ice fishing, snowshoeing, ice climbing, or play some hockey, you’ll be able to find it somewhere in Minnesota. In my beautiful hometown of Minneapolis, many city parks have skating rinks during the winter—and anywhere with a hill can be turned into a sledding hill. You’ll be spoiled for choice of what to do in winter—just dress warm!

3) Minnehaha Falls looks stunning

Minneapolis is one of my favorite cities on earth (yes, I’m biased), and one of my favorite places in the city is Minnehaha Falls. This waterfall is located in the city itself, close to the Mississippi River. During the cold temps in winter, the waterfall freezes and turns into a magical kind of winter wonderland. Although technically it is trespassing and you could be issued a citation, walking behind the frozen Minnehaha Falls is a classic Minnesota winter experience for many. The photos still don’t do it justice!

4) There are a LOT of fun events

You might think that with such cold temps, Minnesotans curl up and hibernate all winter. Wrong! There are so many fun things happening in winter in Minnesota: Red Bull Crashed Ice, the St. Paul Winter Carnival, and Ice Castles (in Stillwater) are just a few of the top events in winter near the Twin Cities. There’s even more across the state!

5) Once you’ve survived here, you can survive the cold anywhere

Now, it’s not just the Minnesotan in me that says this. There have been many occasions when Minnesota has been colder than Antarctica. So trust me when I say this: if you can make it through a trip to Minnesota in winter, you can make it through pretty much anywhere. New York? Easy. Moscow? Not that bad. If you survive a Minnesota winter, you can survive anywhere.

6) You will definitely win bragging rights

Now, I know you’re not just visiting Minnesota to be able to brag to your friends about, “that time I went to Minnesota in winter and it was so cold my snot froze in my nose and my eyelashes started to freeze shut.” But trust me when I say this: you DO win bragging rights if you make the trip and survive. When your friends talk about how they went somewhere that was “so cold” it was “below freezing,” you can remind them that you’ve been to Minnesota—and survived—and they haven’t experienced real cold winter yet.

Have you ever been to Minnesota or somewhere cold in winter? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!