Minnetonka Real Estate
Search Homes For Sale in Minnetonka

Minnetonka Real Estate Blog

Location- Minnetonka is located eight miles west of Minneapolis in Hennepin County and has a land area of 28 square miles. Minnetonka has convenient access to the Minneapolis and St. Paul via interstate Highway 494 and 394. Interstate Highway 394 in Minnetonka runs east to Minneapolis, and is the primary route to downtown Minneapolis. Minnetonka is 25 minutes from the Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport. 2003 Real Estate Minnetonka Statistics Houses Sold Avg List Price Avg Sold Price % of Listing Price Received Avg Days On Market 509 $381,268 $372,386 %97.67 43

City of Minnetonka

History- Minnetonka was settled at Minnetonka Mills on Minnehaha Creek in 1852. Minnetonka's name came from the adjoining Lake Minnetonka which is one of the largest lakes in Minnesota. The name Minnetonka came from Minne (also spelled mini) which is the common Dakota word for water, and Tonka (also spelled tanka) is their common word for big or great. Minnetonka was incorporated in 1956.The earliest record of exploration of Lake Minnetonka for the white man was in 1822 by two youths named Joseph R. Brown and William Joseph Snelling, son of the commandant of Fort Snelling explored the area. Lake Minnetonka discovery was kept quiet because the land still belonged to the Dakota Sioux tribe. It wasn't until 1852 that a group from New York were visiting and ventured up the creek in which they discovered Lake Minnetonka

Shopping- Minnetonka is home to the Ridgedale Mall, where you will find anything your looking for. Adjacent to the Ridgedale Mall in Minnetonka is Target, Byerly's grocery store and Best Buy for all your electronic needs. A little east of Ridgedale in Minnetonka on 394 off Hopkins Crossroad you will find Galyan's a huge sporting goods store and within the area you will find many other independent stores. There are also many restaurants to choose from such as Macaroni Grill, Redstone, Champps, Don Pablo's, Applebee's.

Recreation- There is plenty of recreation to do in Minnetonka. There are 39 parks, 5 large community parks and recreation lands totaling 1,100 acres. Within Minnetonka there is the Minnetonka Loop Trail system, which is a 30-mile long trail to enjoy bicycling, running or walking. The shores of Lake Minnetonka are found on the eastern part of Minnetonka where the water activities are endless.