Things to Do
Greetings from Aitkin!
Aitkin’s All-Season Livability
Summer begins with Aitkin’s Great Riverboat Heritage Days. A grand parade kicks things off, with live music performing for street dances and beer gardens, and a few events for the kids! Shopping, fishing, camping, and swimming are other great summertime activities.
Take the kids for a riding lesson, or check out the petting zoo at the Learning Stable. The Learning Stable is not a trail ride, but an opportunity for lessons, therapeutic riding and a familiarization of animals.Call for more information at 218-927-6137.
Fall is the most beautiful time of the year to enjoy the reenactment of history-see the sites, smell the smells-while strolling through the grounds of the Annual Festival of Adventures and Mud River Music Fest. Word is it’s the time of year for some of the best fishing ever too!
Aitkin’s World Famous Fish House Parade will be celebrating another year in the North Country at this unusual parade of decorated fish houses The display travels though the downtown retail district so you can see it all! The parade has been shown nationally on the Comedy Central network, HGTV and A&E.
Enjoy the lakes, the wilderness, the trails, and the community all year round. Ice fishing; cross country skiing, and snowmobiling provide major winter performances in the Aitkin area. This is a wonderful time to relax by a cozy fire under the Northern Lights, take in a weekly movie, or enjoy a day at the skating rink with the kids.
As the winter temps turn to spring thaw, all attention is turned to Aitkin’s annual Commerce and Sport Show. Exhibitors from around the state display their products and many spectators are drawn by the novelty of the sports displays. This event is always an exciting way to give our residents a renewed vision for the year ahead.
Today, Aitkin residents enjoy the small town peacefulness of a rural
Community immersed in the energy of a growing and exciting area.
A little information about a GREAT community
Aitkin has grown from a stop on the river to a current population of 2,000 of the most interesting people you will ever meet.
A Bit of History
Many explorers passed through or camped in the Aitkin area, including Daniel Du Luth, Lt. Zebulon Pike, Joseph Nicollet, Beltrami and many others. The French established fur posts here in the 1600’s, followed by the British in the late 1700’s. Pike’s mission here in 1806, was stated to encourage peace between the Sioux and Objiwe but actually helped to establish an American presence in the territory. The expedition ended with treaty negotiations that established a location to build Fort Snelling.
In 1870, Northern Pacific Railroad surveyor, Nathaniel Tibbetts, established the present day town site. He named it after his old friend William Aitkin, a former trader with the Northwest Fur Company. Situated on the Mississippi river, it became the first railroad settlement west of Duluth. The town quickly blossomed as a lumber industry boomtown. Because of the railroad and the Mississippi river access, Aitkin became a major riverboat transportation center that provide a variety of services to the pioneer territory “up on the range” such as groceries, ministers, building supplies, new residents, etc. More than14 steamboats operated out of Aitkin between the 1870’s and the early 1920’s. Many of them only made a single one-way trip to Grand Rapids with supplies before being grounded and burned for firewood or used to build another riverboat. No less than 17 “we never close” saloons and houses of ill-repute were frequented by lumberjacks, river travelers and rail-riders during that period.
Make the trip to visit us and see whe we say...
It's All About Aitkin!