Minneapolis does not treat Oktoberfest as a single weekend. From the middle of September through the second weekend of October, the breweries take their turns, a Saint Paul beer hall runs two weekends back to back, and one very large building at the State Fairgrounds fills up with polka bands. If you are coming into town for any of it, the useful question is not just which fest — it is where you sleep afterwards, and whether you can get home without driving.
Here is what is actually on the calendar this year, taken from each event’s own site, and where to stay in the middle of it.
The big one: Twin Cities Oktoberfest, October 9–10
Twin Cities Oktoberfest returns for its sixteenth year on Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10, in the Historic Progress Center at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, 1621 Randall Avenue. The organisers’ own FAQ gives the hours as 5–11 p.m. Friday and noon–10 p.m. Saturday; their ticketing listing shows a shorter Friday window, so it is worth a look at the site the week of the event.
Two things make this one easy to plan around. Admission is free and the event is all ages, with a paid 21-and-over wristband required to buy or drink beer. And parking is free, which at a festival of this size is not nothing.
The organisers make a point of the whole thing being local: the beer, the food, the music and the merchandise. Expect brats from Gerhard’s, pretzels from Aki’s Breadhaus, pies from Sara’s Tipsy Pies, and three bands working in shifts — the Bavarian Musikmeisters, the Elk River German Band and the iPolka Band.
One small oddity worth knowing before you set your map app: the fairgrounds address is written as Saint Paul on the festival’s own page and as Falcon Heights on its ticket listing. Same place either way — the fairgrounds sit on their own patch of land between the two cities.
The September brewery fests, which come first
Most people find out about these too late. Nearly all of them happen weeks before the big fairgrounds weekend.
- Utepils Oktoberfest — 225 Thomas Avenue North, Minneapolis. Utepils is running three weekends for the first time; the two still ahead are September 18–19 and September 25–26. Fridays run 6:30–9:30 p.m.; Saturday the 19th is noon–7:30 p.m. and Saturday the 26th noon–9 p.m. General admission is $10 at the door, half that if you buy ahead, and there are kids’ activities on Saturdays.
- Fulton Oktoberfest — September 18, 19, 25 and 26, free and all ages, with beer bought by the token. Note the address carefully: this one is at Fulton’s production brewery at 2540 NE 2nd Street, not the North Loop taproom people usually mean when they say Fulton.
- SurlyFest — Saturday, September 19, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 520 Malcolm Avenue SE, with live music and kids’ activities from opening. Surly is also running a German-inspired beer hall menu September 9–20, so you can get most of the experience on a quiet Tuesday. Surly does not publish an admission price for the day.
- Waldmann Oktoberfest — across the river at 445 Smith Avenue in Saint Paul, September 18–20 and 25–27, marking the brewery’s ninth anniversary. Admission is $10 for adults and $3 for ages 16–20, and Sundays are family day.
One note on a name you may be looking for: the Black Forest Inn on East 26th Street does this every year, but as of early September it had not yet posted its 2026 dates. Their calendar is otherwise fully updated, so it is worth calling rather than assuming.
Where to stay: a mansion in Loring Park
Every fest on this list is a short drive or ride from downtown, which makes 300 Clifton a sensible base. It is an 1880s Georgian Revival mansion on the National Register, in Loring Park, at the downtown edge — close enough to walk into the city, far enough to be quiet when you come back.
There are eight room types across the main mansion and the carriage house, and they are genuinely different from one another rather than variations on a theme. The Crystal Mansion and the Grand Edwardian are the grand ones; the Georgian is the classic corner room; the Hayloft, the Blacksmith’s Forge and the Coachman’s are in the carriage house, and the Estate Rooms are the smaller, better-value option.
The thing that actually matters after a long day standing in a beer tent is the garden hot tub, which runs year-round and is very good in October. Downstairs there is Gertrude’s Cistern, a speakeasy-style lounge with heated reclining seats and a reputation for being haunted, which is either a feature or a warning depending on your evening.
Book direct and each stay comes with a $20 dining voucher for the Pillsbury Club and a $20 Minneapolis Trolley voucher — both stated per stay on the current vouchers page. If you have not stayed at a bed and breakfast before, we wrote a plain guide to what to expect, including check-in times and what breakfast does and does not mean here.
Getting there, and getting back
This is the part worth thinking about in advance, because the whole point of an Oktoberfest is that you are drinking at it. Twin Cities Oktoberfest offers free parking at the fairgrounds, which is genuinely convenient if someone in your group is staying dry. If nobody is, plan the ride instead: work out the route on the Metro Transit trip planner, which will also tell you about any service changes on the day, or budget for a car service both directions.
The brewery fests are easier. Utepils, Fulton and Surly are all inside Minneapolis, and from Loring Park none of them is a long trip. Waldmann is the one that involves crossing the river.
If you have a free afternoon around the drinking, Loring Park is out the front door, and the neighbourhood restaurants and bars around it will happily take the rest of the day. Autumn is also the good season for game nights downtown — we put together a separate guide on where to stay for a Timberwolves game if your trip runs later into the season.
Book the room before the fest sells the city out
The second weekend of October is a busy one in Minneapolis and rooms downtown tighten up well before it. If Oktoberfest is on your list, pick the weekend now and sort the beer out later.
See our current rooms and packages, or read more about the house itself before you come. We will keep the hot tub warm.
Keep reading: Where Should Your Family Stay for MEA Weekend in Minneapolis, October 15–18, 2026?