Minnesota Word Search Printable

Sixteen Minnesota words to find, Loon, Itasca and Hotdish among them; New puzzle redraws, Print adds the answer key.

Name Date

Minnesota Word Search

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.

0 of 16 words found

LTRABWBIRNPWLOG

IDTSVDTVYNYZGJM

FGLWILDRICELOII

NBLIZZARDSTOTBS

MLAKESUPERIORWS

IUIHHECNYILNLEI

NCRMOEVOYAGEURS

NBOUNDARYWATERS

EGNHEAITASCASCI

AJROYKTHONCNNBP

PDATCOESGHFFBIP

OQNDRTUHQBWSOEI

LPGIIAROSTDYPDX

IIESSNORTHSTARN

SHLHPVREAIVETWE

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

MinneapolisMINNEAPOLIS
MississippiMISSISSIPPI
ItascaITASCA
Lake SuperiorLAKE SUPERIOR
Boundary WatersBOUNDARY WATERS
VoyageursVOYAGEURS
North ShoreNORTH SHORE
Iron RangeIRON RANGE
LoonLOON
HoneycrispHONEYCRISP
Wild RiceWILD RICE
North StarNORTH STAR
DakotaDAKOTA
OjibweOJIBWE
BlizzardBLIZZARD
HotdishHOTDISH

16 of 29 words from the Minnesota Favorites list.

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Easy: words go across and down.

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Word list

Large print Lower-case letters Name and date line on paper

The puzzle changes as you go. See the puzzle

Answer key: Minnesota Word Search

LTRABWBIRNPWLOG

IDTSVDTVYNYZGJM

FGLWILDRICELOII

NBLIZZARDSTOTBS

MLAKESUPERIORWS

IUIHHECNYILNLEI

NCRMOEVOYAGEURS

NBOUNDARYWATERS

EGNHEAITASCASCI

AJROYKTHONCNNBP

PDATCOESGHFFBIP

OQNDRTUHQBWSOEI

LPGIIAROSTDYPDX

IIESSNORTHSTARN

SHLHPVREAIVETWE

MINNEAPOLIS, MISSISSIPPI, ITASCA, LAKE SUPERIOR, BOUNDARY WATERS, VOYAGEURS, NORTH SHORE, IRON RANGE, LOON, HONEYCRISP, WILD RICE, NORTH STAR, DAKOTA, OJIBWE, BLIZZARD, HOTDISH

Next step Make a word search from your own lake and town names Scramble the Minnesota lake names

All 185 words

Minnesota Cities and Towns 24

Bemidji Northern lake town with giant statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.
Bloomington Suburb south of Minneapolis on the Minnesota River.
Brainerd Town on the Mississippi at the heart of a popular lake vacation area.
Duluth Port at the western tip of Lake Superior, known for its Aerial Lift Bridge.
Ely Small town that is a gateway to the Boundary Waters canoe country.
Eveleth Iron Range town that is home to the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
Grand Marais Harbor village on the North Shore of Lake Superior.
Hibbing Iron Range town that was moved to make room for a huge open-pit mine.
Little Falls Town on the Mississippi that was the boyhood home of aviator Charles Lindbergh.
Mankato City at the great bend of the Minnesota River.
Minneapolis Largest city in the state, built beside the Falls of St. Anthony, whose water power drove flour mills.
Moorhead City on the Red River, across the water from Fargo, North Dakota.
New Ulm Town on the Minnesota River founded by German immigrants.
Northfield College town on the Cannon River, home of Carleton and St. Olaf.

Show all 185 words (171 more)

Minnesota Cities and Towns, continued

Red Wing Mississippi river town named for a line of Native leaders, known for stoneware pottery.
Rochester Southeastern city known around the world for the Mayo Clinic.
Saint Cloud City on the Mississippi long known for its granite quarries.
Saint Paul State capital, on a bend of the Mississippi beside its larger twin.
Stillwater Old lumber town on the St. Croix River, often called the birthplace of the state.
Twin Cities Nickname for Minneapolis and its neighbor the capital, taken together.
Two Harbors Lake Superior port where iron ore is loaded onto ships.
Walnut Grove Prairie town where the family of author Laura Ingalls Wilder lived by Plum Creek.
Warroad Town on Lake of the Woods near the Canadian border.
Winona Mississippi river town below tall bluffs in the southeast.

Minnesota Lakes and Rivers 23

Boundary Waters Roadless wilderness of lakes and forest along the Canadian border, traveled by canoe.
Cannon River of the southeast that passes Northfield on its way to the Mississippi.
Gooseberry Name of a river and falls in a state park on the North Shore.
Headwaters Starting point of a river; visitors wade across the Mississippi at its own.
Itasca Name of the lake and state park where the Mississippi begins.
Kabetogama Large, clear lake that lies within Voyageurs.
Lake of the Woods Sprawling border water dotted with islands, shared with Canada.
Lake Pepin Wide stretch of the Mississippi known as the birthplace of water skiing.
Lake Superior Great inland sea that forms the northeast edge of the state.
Leech Lake Large northern water on the reservation of an Ojibwe band, near Walker.
Mille Lacs Big, round, shallow lake in the center of the state, famous for walleye fishing.
Minnehaha Name of a creek and waterfall in a Minneapolis park.
Minnetonka Lake of many bays west of Minneapolis.
Mississippi River that begins as a small stream at Lake Itasca and leaves the state as a wide waterway.
Northwest Angle Bit of the state cut off by Lake of the Woods; by road it is reached through Canada.
Portage Trail where paddlers carry a canoe overland from one lake to the next.
Rainy Lake Border water east of International Falls.
Rainy River Waterway between International Falls and Lake of the Woods that separates the state from Ontario.
Red River Stream that flows north along the North Dakota border toward Hudson Bay.
Saint Croix Scenic waterway that separates the state from Wisconsin for many miles.
Vermilion Name of a big island-dotted lake and an iron range near Tower.
Winnibigoshish Large northern lake on the Mississippi whose long name comes from Ojibwe.
Zumbro River of the southeast that flows through Rochester.

Minnesota Landforms and Parks 23

Agassiz Name of the vast glacial lake whose bed became the flat Red River Valley.
Arrowhead Name for the pointed northeast corner of the state.
Big Woods Hardwood forest of oak, maple and basswood that once covered south-central counties.
Blue Mounds State park on the southwestern prairie with a quartzite cliff and a bison herd.
Chippewa National forest of pines and lakes around Leech Lake.
Cuyuna Name of an old iron mining district near Crosby, now known for bike trails.
Driftless Name for the southeast corner that the last glaciers missed, a land of bluffs and deep valleys.
Eagle Mountain Highest point in the state, in the far northeast.
Glacier Sheet of ice that once covered the state and scooped out its lake basins.
Grand Portage National monument at a fur trade depot where a long carrying trail began.
Iron Range Mining region of the northeast, made up of several belts of ore.
Laurentian Name of the divide that separates waters bound for Hudson Bay from those bound south and east.
Mesabi Name of the chief belt of iron ore in the northeast.
Moraine Ridge of rock and soil left by a glacier.
North Shore Rocky coast of Lake Superior from Duluth to the Canadian border.
Palisade Head Sheer cliff of volcanic rock above Lake Superior.
Peatland Soggy ground of mosses and stunted trees, as in the big bog near Red Lake.
Pipestone National monument where Native people still quarry a soft red stone for pipes.
Prairie Grassland that once covered the south and west of the state.
Sawtooth Name of the jagged ridges that line the North Shore.
Split Rock Name of a clifftop lighthouse on the North Shore.
Tettegouche State park on the North Shore with waterfalls and shoreline cliffs.
Voyageurs National park of lakes and islands on the Canadian border, named for fur trade canoe men.

Minnesota State Symbols 20

Agate The Lake Superior kind, with red and orange bands, is the state gemstone.
Blueberry Fruit of the official state muffin.
Bumblebee The rusty patched kind is the state bee.
Flag Banner of dark and light blue with a white star, adopted to replace an older design.
Giant Beaver Ice Age rodent the size of a bear, named the state fossil.
Gopher Animal of the state's nickname and of its university teams.
Grace Title of the official state photograph, a man bowed over a simple meal.
Honeycrisp State fruit, an apple bred at the University of Minnesota.
Ice Hockey Official state sport, in which teams shoot a rubber disk across a frozen rink.
Lady's Slipper Pink and white wild orchid, the state flower.
Lester Name of the official state soil.
Loon Black-and-white diving bird with red eyes and a wailing call, the state bird.
Milkweed Wildflower with white sap whose leaves feed the striped young of the state butterfly.
Monarch State butterfly, orange and black.
Morel State mushroom, with a honeycomb cap, hunted in spring.
North Star Meaning of the French state motto, shown as a white four-pointed shape on the state seal.
Norway Pine State tree, a tall evergreen with reddish bark.
Seal Emblem of the state; its design shows a loon rising from the water.
Walleye State fish, prized by anglers for its glassy eyes and mild taste.
Wild Rice State grain, the seed of a water grass harvested from canoes.

Minnesota Farms and Industries 23

Barge Flat boat pushed in strings by towboats on the Mississippi.
Cooperative Business owned by its farmer members, such as a creamery or grain elevator.
Corn Grain that covers the fields of the south and west.
Dairy Milk farming; cooperative creameries turned cream into butter.
Flour Ground wheat; mills at the Falls of St. Anthony earned Minneapolis the name Mill City.
Freighter Long cargo ship that carries ore and grain across the Great Lakes.
Grain Elevator Tall building that stores a harvest beside a rail line.
Granite Hard building stone quarried near St. Cloud.
Honey Sweet food made by bees from clover and wildflower nectar.
Iron Ore Rock mined on the Mesabi and shipped by rail and lake to steel mills.
Logging Cutting of the northern pine forests, whose logs were floated downriver to sawmills.
Oats Cereal crop grown for livestock feed and breakfast food.
Ore Dock Long, high pier where trains drop iron pellets into ships.
Paper Mill Plant that turns wood pulp into sheets.
Peas Green vegetable grown for canning and freezing.
Sawmill Plant that cuts logs into boards.
Snowmobile Motor sled; makers in the northwest of the state build many of them.
Soybean Bean crop grown in rotation with the state's leading grain.
State Fair Late-summer gathering in Falcon Heights of farm animals, rides and food on a stick.
Sugar Beet Root crop of the northwest that is processed into a white sweetener.
Taconite Hard, low-grade iron rock that is crushed and rolled into pellets.
Turkey Farm bird that the state raises in very large numbers.
Wheat Grain that fed the mills of Minneapolis.

Minnesota History 23

Babe Blue ox of tall tales, companion of a giant woodsman.
Capitol Domed building in Saint Paul, a Cass Gilbert design.
Dakota Native people of the south and west; the state's name comes from their language.
Finnish Immigrant from Finland; many worked the mines and brought the sauna.
Fort Snelling Stone post built where the Minnesota River joins the Mississippi.
Fur Trade Business of swapping goods for beaver pelts that brought the French to the region.
German Immigrant from the homeland of the settlers who founded New Ulm.
Homestead Free farm claim that drew settlers to the prairie.
Lumberjack Woodsman who felled the pines and floated logs to the mills.
Mayo Family name of the doctors who founded a famous clinic in Rochester.
Mill City Name Minneapolis earned from its riverside flour factories.
Mni Sota Dakota name behind the state's own, describing cloudy or sky-tinted water.
Norwegian Immigrant from Norway; more settled here than in almost any other state.
Ojibwe Native people of the north and east, also called Anishinaabe or Chippewa.
Paul Bunyan Giant woodsman of tall tales.
Sibley Fur trader who became a governor; a house of his stands at Mendota.
Skyway Enclosed footbridge that links downtown buildings above the street.
Sod House Home of a prairie settler, walled with strips cut from the grassland itself.
Statehood Admission in 1858 that added a thirty-second star to the national flag.
Stone Arch Name of the curved railroad bridge of granite and limestone below the Falls of St. Anthony.
Swedish Immigrant from Sweden; many farmed in Chisago County.
Territory What the region became in 1849, nine years before it joined the Union.
Treaty Agreement between nations, such as the one signed at Traverse des Sioux.

Minnesota Wildlife and Trees 26

Aspen Pale-barked tree that springs up after a fire or a clear-cut; pulp mills use it.
Bald Eagle White-headed raptor that gathers along the Mississippi near Wabasha in winter.
Balsam Fir Fragrant evergreen of the north woods.
Beaver Dam-building rodent whose pelts drove the fur trade.
Bison Shaggy grazer of the old prairie; a herd lives at Blue Mounds.
Bluegill Small, round sunfish that children often catch from a dock.
Bluestem Grass of the old prairie that can grow taller than a person; one kind is called turkey foot.
Fisher Dark, long-bodied member of the weasel family that climbs trees.
Gray Wolf Wild canine that hunts deer and moose in packs in the north woods.
Lake Trout Cold-water fish of deep northern waters, a relative of salmon.
Lynx Wild cat of the far north with huge paws for walking on snow.
Marten Tree-climbing weasel relative of the northern pine forests.
Moose Long-legged giant of the deer family, found in the forests of the northeast.
Muskie Short name for the muskellunge, a big, hard-to-catch relative of the pike.
Northern Pike Long, toothy fish of weedy lake shallows.
Paper Birch Tree with white, peeling bark once used for canoes.
Red Fox Bushy-tailed mouse hunter with a coat the color of rust.
Ruffed Grouse Forest game bird whose males drum with their wings.
Sandhill Crane Tall gray bird with a red crown and a rattling call.
Snowshoe Hare Northern rabbit relative whose coat turns white in winter.
Snowy Owl White raptor that drifts south from the Arctic in some winters.
Sturgeon Ancient, armored bottom fish of the Rainy River and Lake of the Woods.
Sugar Maple Hardwood with brilliant fall color whose sap is boiled down into pancake topping.
Tamarack Conifer of northern bogs that turns gold and drops its needles in fall.
Trumpeter Swan Big white waterfowl brought back to the state's lakes.
White Pine Tall evergreen that the loggers prized.

Minnesota Winter and Lake Life 23

Aurora Northern lights, seen on clear nights in the north.
Blizzard Snowstorm with strong wind and blowing snow that cuts visibility.
Broomball Rink sport for runners, not skaters: they chase a ball over the ice and bat it at a goal.
Cabin Lake home that many families visit on summer weekends.
Campfire Ring of burning logs at a campsite where stories are told after dark.
Canoe Slim boat paddled across the lakes of the north.
Curling Game in which polished rocks glide down a sheet toward a painted ring; Bemidji is known for it.
Dock Wooden walkway over the water at a lake cabin.
Dogsled Sled pulled by a team of huskies.
Fish House Small shelter set out on the ice for anglers.
Hotdish Baked casserole of meat, vegetables and canned soup, a church supper favorite.
Ice Fishing Angling through a hole cut in a frozen lake.
Ice Palace Castle of ice blocks built for the Saint Paul Winter Carnival in some years.
Lefse Soft Norwegian flatbread made with potatoes.
Lutefisk Dried whitefish soaked in lye, a Scandinavian holiday dish.
Paddle Blade on a shaft that a canoeist pulls through the water.
Parka Heavy hooded jacket for days far below freezing.
Pontoon Flat-decked boat on floats, good for a slow cruise around the lake.
Sauna Finnish steam bath in a small wooden building.
Skating Winter pastime on blades; cities flood park rinks for it each year.
Toboggan Runnerless wooden sled that carries several riders down a hill.
Water Skis Boards for skimming behind a boat; Ralph Samuelson of Minnesota is often called the father of the sport.
Wind Chill How much colder the air feels on bare skin in a stiff breeze.

How this list was compiled: Own work. Words and names about the state of Minnesota, chosen and described for children: eight themed lists (cities and towns, lakes and rivers, landforms and parks, state symbols, farms and industries, history, wildlife and trees, winter and lake life), Minnesota Favorites, an easy list of every word of 3 to 5 letters and a hard list of every word of 8 letters or more. The grid keeps only the letters A to Z, so Lady's Slipper is hidden as LADYSSLIPPER and Saint Paul as SAINTPAUL. Entries have 3 to 14 letters once spaces, hyphens and apostrophes are dropped, and inside one list no word sits inside another, forwards or backwards. Clues are our own wording; no clue repeats a word of four letters or more from its own entry. No brand, team, living person or drink is listed; Paul Bunyan and Babe are figures of old tall tales. American spellings. Places, names and state symbols were checked on 3 October 2026 against the English Wikipedia article Minnesota, its list of Minnesota state symbols and the article for each entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota, license CC BY-SA 4.0). The largest city, the highest point and the years 1849 and 1858 were checked the same day in a second work, Store norske leksikon (https://snl.no/Minnesota). The water skiing clues say only what Wikipedia and that work's article on the sport (https://snl.no/vannski) both support. Where no second work gave a figure or a record, the clue leaves it out. Unofficial and not affiliated with the State of Minnesota; an educational puzzle, so check the official source before you rely on a fact. Licence: own work

How it works

This Minnesota word search opens with Minneapolis, Boundary Waters, Wild Rice, Ojibwe and 12 more favorites. Start from a list has eight themed lists, from lakes and rivers to state symbols and a winter list, plus easy and hard lists.

Read the full guide

Three lake names that fill 14 squares

Lake of the Woods, Boundary Waters and Winnibigoshish are as long as an entry may be. They are in Minnesota Lakes and Rivers with Itasca, where the Mississippi begins, and Lake Pepin, known as the birthplace of water skiing. Press Hard and they may run backwards.

A winter list for a snow day

Minnesota Winter and Lake Life has Blizzard, Wind Chill, Ice Fishing, Fish House, Curling, Broomball and Aurora, then the summer half: Cabin, Canoe, Pontoon, Dock and Campfire. Tick Show clues, not words, to turn it into a guessing game.

Easy Minnesota has the short words: Loon, Ely, Moose, Lynx, Oats, Peas, Babe and Sauna.
Saint Paul and Saint Croix are spelled out in the list, so they hide as SAINTPAUL and SAINTCROIX.

Questions and answers

Which Minnesota state symbols are in the word search?

Loon (state bird), Lady's Slipper (state flower), Norway Pine (state tree), Walleye (state fish), Monarch (state butterfly), Morel (state mushroom), Honeycrisp (state fruit), Wild Rice (state grain) and Ice Hockey (state sport) are in Minnesota State Symbols.

Is Paul Bunyan in the puzzle?

Yes. Paul Bunyan, Babe and Lumberjack are in Minnesota History, with Dakota, Ojibwe, Fort Snelling, Fur Trade and Sod House. Bemidji, the town with the giant statues of the pair, is in Minnesota Cities and Towns.

Can I pick the Iron Range or the North Shore?

Yes. Minnesota Landforms and Parks has Iron Range, Mesabi, Cuyuna, North Shore, Split Rock, Palisade Head and Voyageurs. Minnesota Farms and Industries adds Iron Ore, Taconite, Ore Dock and Freighter, the path the rock takes to the steel mills.

How do I print the Minnesota word search with answers?

Press Print or save as PDF. The sheet has a Name and Date line and the answer key prints on a second page. Press New puzzle before each printout for a fresh grid.

All 185 words

Minnesota Cities and Towns 24

Minnesota Cities and Towns, continued

Minnesota Lakes and Rivers 23

Minnesota Landforms and Parks 23

Minnesota State Symbols 20

Minnesota Farms and Industries 23

Minnesota History 23

Minnesota Wildlife and Trees 26

Minnesota Winter and Lake Life 23

How it works

Three lake names that fill 14 squares

A winter list for a snow day

Questions and answers

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