Meeting Scenes

St. Croix Boat & Packet Company, Stillwater

Capacity: 25–675
Open spring, summer, and fall
Best for company outings, meetings, receptions, banquets
651-430-1234

Rather than a view of the river, you could choose a view from the river on one of six paddlewheel boats of the St. Croix Boat & Packet Company. The cruises, which launch out of downtown Stillwater, last a minimum of two-and-a-half hours and can extend as long as four hours. St. Croix Boat & Packet provides the catering and offers an extensive and varied menu. Any audio-visual or presentation needs can be brought on board the boats; podiums are available if necessary. Décor and entertainment are up to the passengers, although the Coast Guard does not allow for lit candles, and the company asks guests not to use confetti.

The company has a Dixieland jazz band for hire and can also recommend other sources of entertainment (casino games are especially popular), or companies can bring their own. Groups that prefer to get business out of the way before cruising can use the banquet hall or conference room at Stillwater’s Lowell Inn, which is also owned by St. Croix Boat & Packet. The inn can accommodate groups as small as eight or as large as 100. Flip charts and other presentation equipment are available.

Wild Mountain & Taylors Falls Recreation, Taylors Falls

Capacity: 50–350
Open year round (large banquet room unavailable from mid-November through March)
Best for formal or informal meetings, company parties, recreational activities
651-465-6315

There’s more to Wild Mountain than meets the eye. Although it is best known as a ski hill and outdoor recreation area, it has also become a popular venue for meetings and gatherings of all sorts, from company picnics and parties to business meetings. Three banquet rooms in a rustic chalet can accommodate groups as small as 50 people or as large as 350 guests; audio-visual projectors, big-screen TVs, and microphones can be rented for any of them (podiums are available at no charge). Wild Mountain also owns and operates two paddleboats, which accommodate up to 120 people for a meal or 250 for a reception. Outdoor pavilions and large tents are available, some with electricity for presentations. Catering is available directly from Wild Mountain for all of its venues, ranging from simple box lunches to full dinners.

But the best part may be all of the outdoor activities that meeting participants can take part in. Winter is an excellent time to try skiing, snowboarding, or heading down the largest tubing hill in the Midwest—the new Wild Chutes Snow Tubing. In the summer, there are go-karts, a waterslide, volleyball nets, alpine slides, and horseshoe pits. Companies can also choose to rent canoes or kayaks for three- or six-hour trips down the St. Croix.