Horizontal Snow – Duluth, MN

from flickr user Dave Schauer

The photographer says: The wind sock high above Rices Point yard tells the story as light snow is blowing sideways as a CP transfer picks up 50 grain loads for Riverland. Had we received snow instead of rain the previous day it would have been a full blown blizzard. Welcome to March in Minnesota, it must be state high school hockey tournament time.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Winter Fence Post - Rural Minnesota

from flickr user Adam Johnson
Taken in sprawling Sibley County, MN, this fence line in between farms acts as a windbreak as it stops snow blowing across the open fields. Taken before our blanket of snow began to melt, there is definitely an air of peace and serenity in this winter scene.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Victory Memorial Parkway - Winter Storm

from flickr user Tony Webster
A winter snow storm covers Victory Memorial Parkway at 42nd Avenue North near the border of North Minneapolis and Robbinsdale, Minnesota.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Bridge Over Lake Calhoun Minneapolis

from flickr user M Hyatt
The graceful curves of the bridge's arch and the trail beneath it coupled with the straight lines of the bridge's stone and concrete make for a very geometrically pleasing photo – especially in black and white. Do yourself a favor as the weather warms up this week and get out on the many trails the state of Minnesota has to offer and, time permitting, check out this picturesque bridge and trail combo near Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Frost tracks

from flickr user Linda Owen
The photographer says: "I have a leaky kitchen window. What's interesting is that it produces the same type of leafy frost pattern each time we have subzero weather."

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Saint Anthony Falls - Minneapolis, Minnesota

from flickr user Ben Joseph Nelsen
The steam of the Mississippi River as it pours over the iconic St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis rises much like the steam from the buildings during our recent stretch of sub-zero weather in the upper midwest.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Full Color Sun Dogs - Freeborn, MN

from flickr user Darcy
The first true cold snap of the winter season in Minnesota has produced a handful of sun dog sightings but none that I have seen are as striking as this one taken near the small southern Minnesota community of Freeborn. Check out the spectrum of vibrant colors – truly a striking image.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Sunrise over Lake Minnetonka

from flickr user John Felix Mackey
A cold but orange sunrise makes its way over the horizon on St. Alban's Bay on Lake Minnetonka. Known during the summer months as a sort of playground with waves for the affluent and young who live near the largest lake in the Twin Cities with its seemingly endless number of bays and channels, the winter months leave a sense of serenity with a thin layer of snow covering the ice beneath.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

March sunset - Merriam, Minnesota

from flickr user LP_lpres
Sunsets happen every damn day. It's just that some days have better looking sunsets than others. This one, captured during our abnormally warm March weather near Merriam, Minnesota brought its A-game. Vibrant oranges. A few clouds for texture. Silhouetted trees. Hell yeah, this one's a winner.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Over the Hills and Far Away

from flickr user Benjamin Sullivan
Taken before ice covered Minnesota 10,000 lakes, this photo features dark evergreen trees, a rugged shoreline and calm, open waters under a clear blue sky. All in all, a perfect December day in Minnesota.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Vermillion Falls - Hastings, MN

from flickr user Patti Deters
This winter wonderland is Vermillion Falls in Hastings, Minnesota. Taken on a cold crisp winter's day. You can see some of the ice and frozen river of the falls in the upper and lower third of the image.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Ice Castles - Eden Prairie, MN

If you are in the greater Twin Cities area or within driving distance of the southwest Twin Cities area, you have to get out and check out the ice castles in Eden Prairie, MN. While this is not the carved-from-blocks-of-ice ice palace you'd see at the St. Paul Winter Carnival, structures made from ice are still striking. Get the details on location and buy tickets here.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Shoe prints in the snow

from flickr user Stearns County MN
A dusting of fluffy, crystal-like snow lies undisturbed on a central Minnesota lake except for one set of freshly made shoe prints.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Steamy - Lake Superior

from flickr user Bryan French
A bitterly cold -16F temperature greeted residents along the north shore of Lake Superior Monday morning but the cold and stark beauty of the lake's rugged shoreline and steam rising from the just-above-freezing water begins to make up for the frigid weather.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Albert Lea Lake - Albert Lea, MN

from flickr user Darcy
Waves of snow under the setting sun on Albert Lea's Albert Lea Lake make  delicate and almost alien formations in this photo taken on New Year's Day.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Best of MinnPics - March 2014

from flickr user David Clark
A classic view of Split Rock Lighthouse along Minnesota's North Shore -- with a little twist. On this beautiful March day, the ice on Lake Superior was melting and clearing out, but just enough was left to be beautiful and blue in this shot. (As it turns out, a month later, the ice in Superior harbor still hadn't cleared out!) While most people use this particular vantage point along Lake Superior to capture the majestic Split Rock Lighthouse, the photographer instead used the lighthouse as a distant background and focused on the action in the waters of Lake Superior. Well done and quite the gem for the Best of MinnPics 2014 - March!

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Best of MinnPics - January 2014

from flickr user Doug Wallick
Taken an a bitterly cold January evening in Duluth, a full moon hangs low over the famous lift bridge as thin sheets of ice line the foreground of this spectacular nighttime photo of deeply frozen northern Minnesota. The bravery of trudging out into the frigid temperatures of a January evening in Duluth to get "the shot" make this photo stand above the rest and make it the Best of MinnPics for January 2014.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Lake Superior slowly thaws

from flickr user Karen Ramsdale
While the days of snow blanketing the landscape are hopefully behind us for a few months, this scene from the shores of Lake Superior seems to be a study in the contrast of seasons. Open and frigid water in stark contrast to thick blanket of snow on the rugged and rocky banks of the greatest of the Great Lakes.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Abandoned home in Minnesota

from flickr user Don Deckert
An abandoned house on what I can only assume was once a thriving farmstead slowly crumbles but at least the yard surrounding this humble home is still maintained by the property owner.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!

Open Hands Farm. Northfield, Minnesota

from flickr user Glenn Switzer
The newly constructed barn from salvaged barn remnants of the Open Hand Farms of Northfield, Minnesota on another morning with beautiful frost.

Can't get enough MinnPics? Like MinnPics on Facebook for even more photo goodness!