“Looking About” Our Own Backyards

Minneapolis-based travel blogger and UMN alum Lindsey Ranzau talks redefining travel, how she got started, and finding the hidden gems that are right under our noses

By Holly Gilvary

If you’re on the travel side of TikTok, or the Minnesota side--or both, like me--you may have come across videos from @lookaboutlindsey that feature beautiful parks, cool bars, or fun staycation ideas throughout Minnesota. Lindsey Ranzau, a Minneapolis-based travel blogger and University of Minnesota alum, has gained a large following on her social platforms and website, lookaboutlindsey.com, over the past few years, while sharing her experiences travelling internationally, nationally, and within the state of Minnesota. What started four years ago as a way to practice her passion of writing and document her travels is now an extremely popular website and social media presence with tens of thousands of followers.

Ranzau, who works full time, explained that she started her blog a few years ago when she started traveling more for her job. “I would travel for work and then would extend a lot of my trips for the weekend,” Ranzau said. “Then a lot of my friends would just be asking me for our itineraries of where we were and where we went.” This, she said, along with her passion for writing--Ranzau double majored in marketing and journalism at the U--inspired her to start writing about her travels online. 

Ranzau said she steadily built a following on her website and Instagram throughout the years, but she mainly attributed her blog “blowing up” to TikTok. Ranzau started creating videos on the app in the spring of 2020, when COVID hit the US and halted our normal lives and travel plans. Because of the safety risks of taking more extravagant vacations, including going abroad, many people turned to more local getaway spots--including Minnesotans and other Midwesterners. 

“All of a sudden it’s spring and summer, and people are trying to make plans, and they can’t travel, so they turn to Minnesota,” Ranzau said. “And I had, over the last few years before that, built up a pretty big library of itineraries and day trips and weekend trips and places to stay in Minnesota, so it kind of became a spot where people could go.”

However, while Ranzau has shifted to much more local travel since the pandemic began, she said that Minnesota travel has always been something she focused on. According to Ranzau, her goal is to “redefine” what we consider travel.

“People think ‘travel,’ and they think, ‘Oh, it’s a week-long vacation where I have to buy an expensive plane ticket to get there, do a ton of planning, and I’ll go once a year,’” Ranzau said. But because of her frequent traveling for work, she said she realized that travel doesn’t always have to be this way. 

“It can be quick weekend trips, it can be taking advantage of cheap flights, and knowing where to look for cheap flights, to just go somewhere for a little bit and come back,” she said. “To use your PTO instead of taking a whole week or two, like, just take a Monday off.”

Along with promoting the value of short day trips or weekend trips, Ranzau also emphasized the abundance of travel opportunities here in Minnesota and in the Midwest. A native of Glencoe, Minnesota, Ranzau said she spent a lot of time in little towns throughout the state visiting family and has found hidden gems everywhere.

“I grew up here in Minnesota and I would always hear people say things like, ‘Oh, Minnesota’s the best place to take a vacation from.’ And I always just hated that,” Ranzau said. “Minnesota’s amazing, there’s so many different landscapes, there’s so many different cultures here, there’s so much that you can experience.”

In terms of Ranzau’s favorite hidden gems in the Twin Cities, “I have a lot.” She cited the Foshay Tower’s observation deck as a big one, as well as a great place to take your parents if they’re in town. She also recommended the Minneapolis Water Taxi, which gives guests private, hour-long tours of the city along the Mississippi River. 

Whether you want to continent-hop or explore the local scene, one big piece of advice that Ranzau gave to college students is to travel while we’re young (COVID allowing, of course). 

“If you have the opportunity, go do it,” Ranzau said. “It’s going to be worth all the things that you can learn.”