Overview
Albert Lea is a city of about 18,000 people (2010) in Southern Minnesota.
1 sights · 2 things to do · 1 places to stay
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Best things about Albert Lea
Myre-Big Island State Park
Trails take visitors around wet lowlands, oak savanna, and grasslands. Albert Lea Lake and park marshes draw hundreds of waterfowl during migration. Oak savanna and prairie landscape, including wetlands, dominate most of…
Marion Ross Performing Arts Center
The 255-seat theater is used for the arts, business meetings, and seminars.
Fishing, boating, fishing, canoeing, and boat tours
Known as "The Land Between the Lakes," there are three main lakes in Albert Lea: Fountain Lake, Albert Lea Lake, and Pickerel Lake. Fish typically found in these lakes include bullhead, carp, northern pike, bass, walleye…
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: May–Sep. Summer highs reach about 83°F; winter lows dip to about 9°F. Cold months (Jan, Feb, Dec) can bring snow and ice; check road conditions. Wettest: Jun and Aug. (climate data from nearby Saint Paul)
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- MCW Mason City Municipal Airport, Mason City — 34 mi away. Directions
- RST Rochester International Airport, Rochester — 47 mi away. Directions
- MSP Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport / Wold–Chamberlain Field, Minneapolis — 85 mi away (major hub). Directions
Albert Lea is located at the junction of Interstate 35 and Interstate 90.
Full “Get in” guide ↓Budget & where to stay
No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.
Sample 1-day itinerary
Day 1
- Morning Marion Ross Performing Arts Center, Myre-Big Island State Park
- Afternoon Fishing, boating, fishing, canoeing, and boat tours
Stops are grouped by area so each day needs little backtracking. Check opening hours before you go.
Food for you
What to ask about, for your diet
Diet labels come from each listing's description and cuisine; “likely” means the cuisine usually has good choices, not a promise. Check with the restaurant. Open the food finder
Understand
The city is named after Albert Miller Lea, a topographer with the United States Dragoons, who surveyed southern Minnesota and northern Iowa in 1835, including the current site of Albert Lea.
Albert Lea has a warm-summer subtype of the humid continental climate with cold winters to hot summers, with significant contrasts between seasons. Its climate type is typical for inland northern United States locations, but due to its southern position in the state, its summers and winters have higher temperatures than other, more northerly regions of the state. An exception to this rule is the urban core of Minneapolis - St. Paul, which sees higher temperatures typical of an urban heat island, but Albert Lea is significantly warmer than locations such as Duluth.
Get in
Albert Lea is located at the junction of Interstate 35 and Interstate 90.
See
Do
Do Myre-Big Island State Park
Trails take visitors around wet lowlands, oak savanna, and grasslands. Albert Lea Lake and park marshes draw hundreds of waterfowl during migration. Oak savanna and prairie landscape, including wetlands, dominate most of the park. The 116-acre Big Island is covered with a maple and basswood forest. There is a glacial esker in the northeast section of the park. Blazing Star Trail bike trail runs from Albert Lea to the state park. The park also offers bird watching, hiking, canoeing, and camping.
Do Fishing, boating, fishing, canoeing, and boat tours
Known as "The Land Between the Lakes," there are three main lakes in Albert Lea: Fountain Lake, Albert Lea Lake, and Pickerel Lake. Fish typically found in these lakes include bullhead, carp, northern pike, bass, walleye, catfish, yellow perch and various panfish.
- Freeborn County Fair The annual fair in early August offers live entertainment, an antique tractor show, a draft horse show, a small and baby animal show, and a Sunday church service. It also has a beer garden, a cattle department, commercial exhibits, a conservation building, a creative arts and crafts building, fair food, a floral hall, a Freeborn County 4-H building, a heritage barn, a course arena, a kiddie farm yard, a kid's zone, and machinery hill.
Sleep
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My experience
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