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Minneapolis, the most populous city in Minnesota, is a haven for outdoor adventurers and urban wanderers alike. Home to one of the nation's largest indoor shopping malls and over 20 stunning lakes, this, the largest of the Twin Cities, is a playground for all.
The sheer diversity of things to do in Minneapolis makes this city a top contender when it comes to offsite retreat locations. Even in the winter, when freezing weather surrounds the city, the Minneapolis Skyway enables pedestrians to explore the city in comfort.
Minneapolis is home to the world's longest continuous skyway, a climate-controlled pedestrian walkway that connects numerous neighbourhoods and districts. There's no other city on the planet that guarantees visitors a more comfortable way to explore the city on foot.
And because the weather in Minneapolis can vary greatly, you'll find a wide range of both indoor and outdoor team-building activities here for your group to try. Whether you're interested in a scenic kayak tour or a challenging escape room experience, you'll find it here in Minneapolis.
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We've put together a list of
team-building activities for company retreats in
Minneapolis
, including options that work well for both small and large teams.
Along the Mississippi Riverfront, North Loop, and Uptown, this Minneapolis retreat agenda brings together structured sessions, a relaxed group experience, and time to explore the city.
Minneapolis works well for teams that want a clean, well-organized city with strong infrastructure and access to nature. A corporate retreat in Minneapolis combines lakes, parks, and a modern downtown, creating a setting that supports both focused work and outdoor activities.
Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) is about 15–20 minutes from downtown by car or light rail. It’s a major hub with direct flights across the US and international routes, making it easy for distributed teams to coordinate arrivals.
Late May through September is the most practical window, with temperatures typically between 65–80°F. Winters can be extremely cold, often below 20°F, so most retreats during that time focus on indoor venues.
Downtown Minneapolis is the most convenient for meetings and logistics, North Loop offers a more social and trendy atmosphere, Uptown provides a relaxed and local feel, and areas near the lakes give a more scenic setting.
Teams often organize biking around the Chain of Lakes, kayaking, brewery tours, food tours, and interactive city challenges. In colder months, indoor experiences and sports events become more popular.
Minneapolis is especially strong in this area. In our experience, teams we’ve hosted benefit from how easily the city integrates outdoor spaces into the retreat, especially during warmer months.
A 3 day format tends to work well, giving enough time for meetings, one or two outdoor activities, and some relaxed social time without overcomplicating the schedule.
Minneapolis stands out for its balance of urban structure and natural spaces. A corporate retreat in Minneapolis feels more open and less crowded than coastal cities, which can help teams stay focused.
Minneapolis has a strong food and brewery scene. Teams often organize group dinners, visit local breweries, and explore neighborhoods like North Loop for a mix of casual and higher-end dining.
Key considerations include extreme winter weather, planning around outdoor activities in warmer months, and choosing centrally located accommodation to keep logistics efficient.
Surf Office was amazing to work with - from the initial introductory call to the final day of our corporate retreat! They are well-organised, transparent, super reliable and the communication throughout the planning and execution phase was prompt and clear. We are looking forward to working with them for future company retreats.
I had the absolute pleasure of working with Elke and Álvaro to plan our onsite, and I genuinely couldn’t have asked for a better experience. From the very beginning, they were incredibly friendly, responsive, and genuinely enthusiastic about helping us create a great event. Elke was so thoughtful and organized, always making sure every little detail was covered and keeping everything running smoothly. She brought such a positive energy to the process — she was super approachable and made collaboration easy and fun. Throughout the entire planning period, they both went above and beyond to support us. I really appreciated how proactive they were in anticipating our needs, and how enjoyable every interaction was. It truly felt like working with partners who cared as much about the success of our onsite as we did. Thank you, Elke and Álvaro, for being such a joy to work with! I’d happily work with you both again any time.
It's our second year working with Surf Office for our company offsite (30 pax first year, and 42 pax second year), and we're super happy! This year our offsite was a huge success, with direct impact on our employees' satisfaction, company culture, and alignment with our mission. The week they put together for us was perfect on all fronts: venue selection, logistics, activities, last-minute changes - everything was super well executed. Couldn't recommend them more! And... I know whom we're working with next year!
Working with Surf Office was a great experience from start to finish. Communication was smooth, the planning was thoughtful, and the platform made coordination easy. We really appreciated the well-curated suggestions for locations, activities, and restaurants – everything felt carefully considered. Beyond that, the setup created a great team atmosphere, making it easy to connect and enjoy our time together. We would definitely recommend Surf Office to any team looking for a well-organized and inspiring retreat.
Danielle, Giselle and the SurfOffice team were extremely cooperative, understanding and flexible to support my team’s 80-person offsite in Belgrade, Serbia. From being patient with our company’s lengthy vendor due diligence and procurement process, to responding swiftly when an attendee misplaced her passport - everything went really smoothly. Working with them took a huge load off our shoulders and their relationships with hotels/activities/venues also helped us secure good deals. Would definitely recommend their services to any company who’s looking to plan for an enjoyable team offsite.
We recently organized our company offsite with SurfOffice, and we couldn’t be happier with the experience. From the very beginning: The location selection and contract negotiations with Giselle, to the actual planning and execution of the offsite together with Elke, everything was handled exceptionally well. Working with Elke was truly outstanding. She was incredibly proactive, always thinking several steps ahead, and responded extremely quickly to every question or change. She managed to get fast answers from all providers: from transport companies to hotels and local activity partners- and did so with a consistently friendly and professional attitude. Thanks to her dedication, we had little organizational workload on our side, and we always felt fully supported. The offsite turned out to be an amazing experience for our whole team, and we’re certain we couldn’t have organized something like this on our own. SurfOffice played a huge role in making our offsite in Kemer such a success, and we can wholeheartedly recommend them to any company planning an offsite for a larger group.
Sara was fantastic in organising our company trip to Istanbul - she was quick to reply, offered great solutions to issues, and made the trip itself seamless and enjoyable. Already looking forward to the next one!
Expertise and competence in service. Friendly, helpful, and respectful communication. Comfortable, welcoming, and inspiring surroundings.
This was our second year working with Surf to plan our annual company retreat, and once again, they smashed it. We had a beautiful, restorative and fun retreat just outside of Barcelona that the whole team loved. It was so lovely to have the team's support in planning such a complex event, and they did a great job at helping us stay within budget. Great experience overall.
The most popular team building activities are surf lessons, SUP lessons and tapas night but there are plenty more to choose from.
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