Minnehaha Falls, made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "The Song of Hiawatha" have long inspired many writers. According to the Pioneer Press, Mark Twain visited Minnehaha Falls in 1886. In "Life on the Mississippi," Twain wrote: "The beautiful falls of Minnehaha are sufficiently celebrated -- they do not need a life from me, in that direction."

The amazing thing to me is this tranquil park sits in SE Minneapolis, just minutes from bustling downtown, Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, and only a few miles from Saint Paul as well.

"Thus the youthful Hiawatha
Said within himself and pondered,
Much perplexed by various feelings,
Listless, longing, hoping, fearing,
Dreaming still of Minnehaha,
Of the lovely Laughing Water,
In the land of the Dacotahs."

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in "The Song of Hiawatha"